If you plan on listing your house, here are 10 things worthy of your attention. 

 Curb Appeal – It is important to make a good first impression. A buyer may not even approach an open house if the frontage presents an unappealing impression.  Great curb appeal is a must – trim the bushes, sweep the leaves, shovel the snow and fill the planters!

 Clutterless – Declutter as much as you can.  Pack up Grandma’s collectibles and your vacation trinkets and ready them for the move.  Let potential buyers imagine their own bevy of knick knacks in the space.

 Clear Out – Make use of a good storage facility and clear out extra furniture.  If a room is minimally appointed it will look and feel larger.  This also applies to your storage areas.  Clear out your storerooms, junk cupboards and furnace rooms.

 Closets – Remove and pack up as much as you can from all of the closets.  An over-stuffed closet leaves an impression of inadequacy.  You want the potential buyer to feel that there is plenty of room for their belongings.

 Colour – While you may appreciate the opposing forces of the neon orange wall running up against purple trim – most potential homebuyers will lose focus faced with these visual stimuli.  Neutrality and inoffensive colour schemes are recommended.

 Create a Stage – Whether you hire a professional stager or prepare your property yourself, the goal is the same – make your home stand out and be buyer friendly.

 Companion’s gear – Pets! You may love your pet but not everyone will.  When showing your house, send your companion to family and friends for a while.  Remove dog bowls, kitty litter stations and buckets of play toys. 

 Control Odors – We can all attest to the fact that if we are in an environment with an offensive odor, we all look for the nearest exit.  We want potential buyers to spend a sufficient amount of time at our listings.  Pet, diaper and strong cooking odors must be controlled.  Offering the smell of freshly baked bread, while inviting, is quite impractical.  Slightly warming vanilla on foil in the oven can do the same trick with little effort!

 Cheerful – Have your home look welcoming. Open the blinds, put out guest towels and soaps and put out some fresh flowers.  

 Clean, Clean, Clean! – Keeping the environment organized and dust free may be tiresome (especially with children in the home), but is essential.

If cleaning and organizing are not your forte, there are plenty of reputable services that specialize in cleaning, organizing and staging that you can use.  Your Real Estate Representative should have many references to offer. 

Shari Greenglass, M.B.A. is a Real Estate Representative with Chestnut Park Real Estate in Toronto.  She can be reached at sharigreenglass@chestnutpark.com or via her website at www.sharigreenglass.com.

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