Selling Your Home Checklists:
• Preparing Your Home for Sale     • Day of Showing

As a homeowner, you play an important part in the timely sale of your property. When you take the following steps, you’ll help sell your home faster, at the best possible price. As Realtors with deep roots in our communities, we'll be able to help you find the right home contractors to get your house ready to sell. We can also give you advice on where and how to put your most effort.

There's obvious things you cannot change about selling your home: the real estate market, location, home or lot size, proximity to shopping and other services, local schools, or your neighbors. Use our checklists below to impact what you can control!

Preparing Your Home for Sale Checklist

1. Be Objective
   View your house as a commodity to be sold. See it through a potential buyer's eyes. Neutralize odd colors, pack away the family photos, declutter. Don't get defensive about repairs and alterations we suggest to help sell the home.


2. Make the Most of that First Impression
   Prospective buyers will make a snap opinion of your home based on a first glance. A well-manicured lawn, neatly trimmed shrubs and a clutter-free porch welcome prospects. So does a freshly painted – or at least freshly scrubbed – front door. If it’s autumn, rake the leaves. If it’s winter, shovel the walkways. The fewer obstacles between prospects and the true appeal of your home, the better.
   Scrutinize your siding, gutters and downspouts, and take care of any repairs. These are a minor expense and will show pride of ownership. Make sure your address numbers are easily readable from the street and in good repair. Your mailbox is more than a mail depository — it's a sign of good taste and housekeeping! If it needs replaced, now is the time to do it. Replace the kickplate on your door if it's scratched. Paint the front door if it needs it. Seal your blacktop driveway for a nice look.


3. Invest a Few Hours for Future Dividends
   Here’s your chance to clean up in real estate. And we also mean literally...clean up the living room, the bathroom, the kitchen. If your woodwork is scuffed or the paint is fading, consider some minor redecoration. Fresh paint adds value to your property. If you’re worried about time, hire professional cleaners or painters to get your house ready. Remember, prospects would rather see how great your home really looks than hear how great it could look "with a little work."


4. Depersonalize Your Home
   You'll want to help buyers envision themselves in the home, which is hard to do if your walls are chockful of family photos and other personal memorabilia. If this is the case with your home, remove most of the personal items.


5. Don't Go Overboard with Remodeling
   You'll need to spend money to make money when it comes to preparing your house. But beware of pricey remodeling projects that won't give you a good return on your investment. Talk to us before undertaking a remodeling project.


6. Check Faucets and Bulbs
   Dripping water rattles the nerves, discolors sinks, and suggests faulty or worn-out plumbing. Burned out bulbs or faulty wiring leave prospects in the dark. Don’t let little problems detract from what’s right with your home.


7. Don’t Shut Out a Sale
   If cabinets or closet doors stick in your home, you can be sure they will also stick in a prospect’s mind. Don’t try to explain away sticky situations when you can easily plane them away. A little effort on your part can smooth the way toward a closing.


8. Think Safety
   Homeowners learn to live with all kinds of self-set booby traps: roller skates on the stairs, festooned extension cords, slippery throw rugs and low-hanging overhead lights. Make your residence as non-perilous as possible for uninitiated visitors.


9. Make Room for Space
   Remember, potential buyers are looking for more than just comfortable living space. They’re looking for storage space, too. Make sure your attic and basement are clean and free of unnecessary items. It's time to declutter the closets: donate or store off-site what you don't need.


10. Consider Your Closets
    The better organized a closet, the larger it appears. Now’s the time to box up those unwanted clothes and donate them to charity. Buyers will look at your closets.


11. Make Your Bathroom Sparkle
    Bathrooms sell homes, so let them shine. Check and repair damaged or unsightly caulking in the tubs and showers. For added allure, display your best towels, mats, and shower curtains.


12. Create Dream Bedrooms
    Wake up prospects to the cozy comforts of your bedrooms. For a spacious look, get rid of excess furniture. Colorful bedspreads and fresh curtains are a must.


13. Open up in the Daytime
    Let the sun shine in! Pull back your curtains and drapes so prospects can see how bright and cheery your home is. Make sure the windows are sparkling clean.


14. Lighten up at Night
    Turn on the excitement by turning on all your lights — both inside and outside — when showing your home in the evening. Lights add color and warmth, and make prospects feel welcome.


15. Watch Your Pets
    Dogs and cats are great companions, but not when you're showing your home. Pets have a talent for getting underfoot. So do everybody a favor: Keep Kitty and Rover outside, take them for a long car ride or walk, or at least get them out of the way!


16. Think Volume
    Rock-and-roll will never die. But it might kill a real estate transaction. When it's time to show your home, it's time to turn off the stereo or TV.


17. Photographs to Showcase Your Exterior
    If you're showing your home during the winter, considering placing an album of photos showcasing your home's summer landscaping. This is particularly useful if you have a swimming pool, a wonderful garden, spa or a landscaped gazebo that could be covered by snow. Make sure the photos show off the best outdoor features of the home.


18. Avoid Crowd Scenes
    Potential buyers often feel like intruders when they enter a home filled with people. Rather than giving your house the attention it deserves, they're likely to hurry through. Keep the company present to a minimum. Even better, run your errands during a showing time. It's best not to present at all during your home's selling: let us show potential buyers your home.


19. Keep a Low Profile
    Nobody knows your home as well as you do. But your RE/MAX Sales team know buyers — what they need and what they want. We will have an easier time articulating the virtues of your home if you stay in the background. (See the previous suggestion!)


20. Don't Turn Your Home into a Second-Hand Store
    When prospects come to view your home, don't distract them with offers to sell those furnishings you no longer need. You may lose the biggest sale of all.


21. Defer to Experience — It's the Experience®
    When prospects want to talk price, terms, or other real estate matters, let them speak to experts — your RE/MAX team, The Jimmy Dulin Group. We've handled countless transactions over the years.


22. Help Us Help You
    Your RE/MAX Associate will have an easier time selling your home if showings are scheduled through our office. We'll give you advance notice when a showing is scheduled. You'll appreciate the results!

"Day of Showing" Checklist

1. Use a professional cleaning service prior to and during showing period.
2. Make sure door is accessible: no garden gear blocking the path; ice or snow removed.
3. Bring in your garbage cans and recycling bins from the curb.
4. Don't leave your car in the driveway.
5. Close the garage door.
6. Make sure closets are organized.
7. Put away any valuables: jewelry, cash, medicines.
8. Put out new towels and linens for show.
9. To showcase your diningroom, set the table with fine china and glassware.
10. Keep all counter tops cleared.
11. Declutter your dressers, bookcases, and shelves.
12. Make your bathrooms model-home clean, including the shower/tub area.
13. Make the beds.
14. Replace burned out light bulbs.
15. Open all drapes and blinds.
16. Turn on lights.
17. Vacuum the carpet and spot clean.
18. No dirty dishes in sink.
19. All dirty laundry in hamper.
20. All clean laundry neatly put away.
21. Empty waste baskets, and trash bins, litter boxes, etc.
22. Contain or remove pets (See "Watch Your Pets" in above list.)
23. Make sure the home smells fresh.