Your Cost. Suppose you had received the place as a gift. Must you then give it away?
Your Investment in Improvements. You put in that purple kitchen because you enjoyed it, but you are not likely to find anyone who feels your house is worth $15,000 more because of the color selection. They may instead be calculating the cost of taking it out and replacing it with something in turquoise.
Emotion. Watch out that you do not over value the home because your daughter took her first steps on the porch and your beloved Tabby is buried under the orange tree. On the other hand, do not let the stress of divorce, or the need to settle an estate quickly, lead you to under value the place.
Neatness– The elimination of clutter is very important and leads to top dollar!
You need to take the excess belongings out of the house and pack them. Many buyers subliminally equate a messy house as a house with problems.
Kitchen- When you are selling your home, your best chance at cooking up a sale is in the kitchen.
For today's home buyer, the kitchen is typically the most important room in the house….an area where form and function are equally important. Buyers view kitchens as an area that has many, many functions: preparing dinner; sharing meals; sorting mail; paying bills; and generally hanging out.
A major kitchen overhaul probably does not make sense when you are ready to sell. But you will want to do all you can to make your kitchen look its best.
Odors- Even though you have grown accustomed to certain odors, they can harm a sale. When a prospect walks in your door and smells something, even if they cannot identify what is it, they will definitely be turned off.
Repairs and Improvements- Basically, freshness, neatness and good working order are the keys to top sales appeal.
Pre-Sale Inspection- Why? Because if an inspector seconds your opinion that your home is in good condition, then you have got an excellent marketing tool that should help your Realtor sell your home more quickly and for the highest price possible. Your pre-inspection report is your negotiating tool that gives validity to your asking price. It places confidence in the minds of prospective buyers, who know that they are not jumping into uncertain territory. If you are preparing to place your home on the market, a pre-inspection should not be overlooked. It is your insurance policy for a smooth and speedy transaction
Home Warranty- By having a home warranty in place, your home will be more marketable and it can discourage downward price negotiations. In addition, you will have protection against costly repair bills at a time when they are least affordable and most inconvenient.
Look at your house as if you were seeing it for the first time and be just as critical as buyers will.
Repair what strikes you as the least bit in disrepair.
Your ideal goal is to show the property in ''move-in condition''... without a thing to fix.