The Big List of Getting Ready for Sale and Home Inspections
If you’re up for the challenge, work through this list and you will be way ahead of the competition. If this is too much, just remember, we can make the list and get contractors to do it, simple as that.
- Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes – drive up to the front and look around.
- Make your address numbers easy to read from a car driving by.
- If you have a driveway, make sure the bushes are trimmed to the edges of the drive so customers can get out of their car and walk to the house.
- Make the walk up to the door inviting and cheerful – trim the bushes so the walkway is open, plant flowers, remove all weeds, add mulch, etc.
- Wash or paint the front porch and door– no spiders or wasps in the overhang, dirt in trim, etc.
- Get keys made for every lock and test them to make sure the lock works easily; silicone spray may help.
- Have a mat, both inside and out, so agents and customers can wipe their feet on wet days.
- Around the exterior: If not very fresh, repaint trim, siding, and shutters a modern color scheme.
- Clean and organize the garage, get rid of bugs and cobwebs, inside and out.
- If you have a patio or deck, make it inviting, with chairs, plants, clean floor, etc. Power wash and seal if appropriate.
- Trim shrubs away from the windows, and pull down any ivy growing on the sides of the house.
- Clean the gutters, and make sure the downspouts are draining properly and running the water away from the house.
- Weed and trim; get rid of low hanging and dead branches, make sure you have no poison ivy.
- Keep your firewood stack away from the house (an opportunity for termites)
- Inside – no buyer ever asks us to find him a dark, smelly, dirty house with a wet basement.
- Have window coverings open to let natural light in, wash the windows inside and out.
- Make sure all your windows open, close, and lock with ease.
- Make sure you have working light bulbs in all fixtures; take them up to the maximum voltage allowed in the fixture. Fix any electrical outlets that don’t work right; repair exposed or frayed wires.
- Turn on lights in dark or difficult-to-find-switches areas. If you will be away for the day, and there might be showings, leave lights on in strategic places. (Pepco will love you.)
- Keep the air-conditioner on, set in the mid 70s, if the weather is above 70, even if you usually wouldn’t. Have furnace fan running continually, in all weather, at all times (keeps odors minimized, evens the temperature)
- Clean the tracks of the sliding glass doors, so they open and close easily. Once the dirt is out, silicone spray can help this, too.
- Re-do the caulk around the tub and shower in a neat and clean line.
- Fix running toilet; if it clogs easily get it fixed or replaced.
- Install Ground Fault Interrupter (GFI) outlets in baths and kitchen.
- Make sure your smoke detectors work. If you have gas appliances, install a carbon monoxide detector.
- Straighten closets; put out-of-season clothing away (in containers in the basement or attic).
- Wash all the back laundry that has been piling up by the washer.
- Scrub the stove, clean the oven, wipe down the microwave, inside and out.
- Wipe down the dishwasher, washer, and dryer, and clean the refrigerator, inside and out (and under and behind).
- Check that faucets operate as they should, and don’t leak at the connections or underneath.
- Wipe the tops of things, and dust the chandeliers and light fixtures.
- Change your furnace filter, and vacuum the outside of the furnace (and the water heater), air return vents, check that the registers open & close
- Clean the humidifier – if it isn’t operable, get rid of it (the water reservoir types aren’t popular now).
- Check the sump pump to see it is working.
- Check for odors and correct – dank basements and pets are two common culprits.
- Keep the bathrooms clean, mop the kitchen, dust and vacuum regularly.
- If you are going to be gone for an extended period, make sure someone is coming in at least every two weeks to do this; even an empty house gets dirty. Turn water off whenever you leave for more than a weekend (and put notice on commodes).
- Anything that doesn’t work or has been abandoned, fix or throw away (alarm system, intercom, trash compactor, doorbell, wall heaters, light switches). Don’t leave these system pieces around for future questions.
- If you have an unusual system, i.e. perimeter lighting, speaker wiring, write out the instructions and layout.
