By Noel Peebles
Co-Author For Sale By Owner Home Selling Secrets ebook.
When selling your home FSBO - first impressions do
count! The first thing to
do is clean the interior of your home from top to bottom.
Dust every nook
and cranny. Cleaning is the cheapest home improvement
any seller can
undertake. It just takes a little time and effort.
Here are quick 16 quick tips from my FSBO real estate
book to get you
started:
FSBO Tip #1.
A fresh coat of paint is often one of the easiest, cheapest
and most
dramatic improvements you can make to the home interior.
If you do nothing
else, at least consider a paint touch-up. I’m
sure that you’ll get more than
your investment back.
FSBO Tip #2.
Indoor/outdoor flow is important too. If it is a nice
day and you have doors
to the outdoor decking, then open them up. Give the
idea of outdoor living
by adding an outdoor table and chairs… maybe a
colorful umbrella. I did this
when I sold my last house. A local outdoor furniture
store was closing down
so I lashed out and spent $140 on a table and 4 bright
colored chairs and a
matching umbrella. It looked a million dollars!
FSBO Tip #3.
Get rid of items that you never use. Check the garage,
attic and every room.
FSBO Tip #4.
Organize the home interior to make it look uncluttered.
Rearrange furniture
to make each room look as spacious as possible.
FSBO Tip #5.
Put anything you don’t need in storage –
hire a storage unit. Any pieces of
furniture that look “comfortably warn” should
be taken off show.
FSBO Tip #6.
After you have cleaned the walls and checked for fingerprints,
smudges,
dents etc do another careful home interior inspection.
If the walls are
still not 100%, consider a fresh coat of paint. Check
woodwork, tiles,
vinyl, wallpaper etc for signs of wear and tear.
FSBO Tip #7.
Check windows and windowsills carefully. Look for chipped
paint, signs of
leaks etc. Even check regularly for dead flies. Consider
taking down the
curtains or drapes for washing or laundering.
FSBO Tip #8.
Wax any linoleum flooring. Clean around the edges and
make all the floors
look sparkling clean. Make your whole home interior
sparkle!
FSBO Tip #9.
Get rugs and carpets shampooed or hire one of those
“do it yourself”
carpet-cleaning machines. It is better to spend a few
dollars now rather
than have the buyer ask for a “new carpet allowance”
as a condition of
purchase.
FSBO Tip #10.
Look carefully at the color coordination throughout
the house. Does the home
interior color scheme flow? Does anything clash horribly
with the rest of
the house?
FSBO Tip #11.
Check for leaking faucets, running toilet systems etc.
Strange noises or
sounds of water flowing can spook a buyer. Small things
can make a buyer
wonder what is wrong or not working.
FSBO Tip #12.
Bathrooms need to be cleaned as if you could eat off
any surface. They must
be spotless! Clean baths, showers, toilets and sinks.
Replace the shower
curtain if it has mould on it. Look for water stains
or rust in basins or
around the fixtures. Check that the chalking around
the shower, tub and sink
is in immaculate condition. If not – replace it!
FSBO Tip #13.
Organize the closets to make them look spacious. Store
your out of season
clothes in the storage unit you have hired. It is important
that closets
look as large and as spacious as possible. Also make
them smell nice (not of
foot odor from smelly shoes).
FSBO Tip #14.
Look at replacing light switch surrounds. Check that
light shades are clean,
dust free and in keeping with the décor
FSBO Tip #15.
When people visit a strange house their senses are alert
to anything
unusual – sights, sounds and SMELLS. If you have
a smoker in the house, then
make sure your home interior doesn’t smell like
an ashtray. Spray some
neutral air-freshener or use one of those plug-in types.
Maybe the old trick
of using the smell of baking or freshly brewed coffee
might be worth
considering.
FSBO Tip #16.
If you have pets, then put them outside when a prospective
home buyer calls.
Check for fleas, cat fur, dog hairs etc on furniture
and flooring. Also be
aware that some people hate animals and some people
are easily frightened
and intimidated by a barking or over boisterous dog.
The trick when sprucing up the home interior for your
FSBO sale is to Spend
money wisely.
Don’t be afraid to invest a little to make your
FSBO home more presentable.
However, be careful what you spend your money on. Any
major improvements or
structural changes should be carefully considered. Will
costly changes bring
you enough money from the FSBO sale, or would you be
better off not spending
the money at all? There’s an old FSBO real estate
saying “Never put a nickel
into your house unless you can get a dime back out!”
© Noel Peebles, Market Leaders ebooks.
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Noel Peebles is author of the best selling ebook
"173 Powerful Ideas, Tips, Tactics And Proven-To-Work
Strategies To Sell Your Own Home."
For details http://www.forsalebyownerguide.com
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