There are a lot of "lists" on line for getting your house ready to sell. From baking bread for complete kitchen remodels, I drill down the ones that are the least expensive to do and make the biggest difference for a buyer!!
If there is no need for it, pack it or sell it. Organize whatever is left to the best of your ability. This calms buyers.
Remove personal photos & mantras. You do not have to replace them. In many cases, nothing on the wall is as good as a painting or piece of art.
Whatever you are not currently using, pack up! For example: take a look at your closets and pack up clothes that are out of season or that you haven't worn in a long time. This will "loosen up" your closets and will make them feel like there is more room. Do as much of this as possible in all areas of your home.
Think "nice hotel". When you go into a hotel room you think, "Wow this is nice." But in reality, all of the hotel furniture is cheaper than your own, yet it "feels" nicer. Why? Because there is nothing on the surfaces or out of place. The same thing will happen to buyers who walk into a home with clear surfaces! Don't leave anything sitting out and come up with quick storage solutions for things like liquid soap that you use and normally leave sitting out. When there is a showing, try to store that under the sink for the showing.
Neutralize as many paint colors as possible. Think "light earth tones" or "grays" or greige (it's like a grey-beige). Even though the next buyer may paint the entire house shades of rose, that buyer may have a hard time looking past current paint colors to picture their own customizations. It is not necessarily about saving money, or adding value. Neutralizing is more about appealing to the highest number of possible buyers on the market.
Walk through the home with a drill and screw drivers and tighten everything. Light switch & plug covers, fixtures, drawer pulls, hand rails, door hinges, etc. If a screw is loose and someone touches an item and it moves, they immediately THINK that it is lesser quality, true or not.
I suggest most home owners power wash their house twice a year. Clean out your gutters and make sure they are in good condition and the downspouts are connected. It is a good idea to do this before you go on the market.
Replace all light bulbs that are out and replace bulbs in fixtures with "matching" lights. In other words, don't use super white light, blue light, and yellow light in the same room. Change bulbs in lamps to match as well.
Find a fresh baked bread or cookie scent to place in the kitchen area. I suggest adding a "clean linen" scent or a "soap" smell to the laundry room. You can also use a plug in scent in the bedrooms, but don't go overboard. Use the same scent for all other rooms. A few subtle scents here and there throughout the home could make it "feel" cleaner and well kept.
If you still have it, get out the old inspection and complete all of those little things that may be left undone. We know those will probably appear on the next inspection so it is a good idea to go ahead and address them.
Mow and rake the lawn and then take a good look at your yard from the street. How is the "curb appeal"? If the wood or rock on the outside of your flower beds is warn, replace it with an easy landscape timber flower bed. Mulch the flower beds (you can get free mulch from two rivers park), trim the hedges, and keep seasonal flowers (annuals) and good smelling herbs planted while your home is on the market. Build easy shutters out of 1 x 3 wood, stain it to match the landscape timbers or give it some "pop" by painting the shutters a bright color that coordinates with the house.
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