Ten Ways to Make Your Home Sellable and Irresistible!
1. When the potential buyer is arriving, make sure you have something delicious cooking up with an irresistible aroma. That home cooked smell is tantalizing and appealingly familiar. The smell of baking bread is inviting and will keep them looking, smelling and feeling at home. If you don’t have a bread machine, it’s a cheap investment for such a time as this and not only will your home smell irresistible, you will enjoy a warm loaf of bread when you arrive home. Make sure to get the already boxed mixes so it will be easy and convenient. Baking bread in a bread machine is easier than making a cake and you can program it to begin cooking whenever you want. Since baking time is usually about 3 hours you will want to make sure you time it all right. If you will be home at the time, consider having cookies baking or rolls in the oven. You can also try cooking a pot roast in the crock pot with the smell of mesquite sauce simmering on top.
2. Make the bedrooms look inviting by having your bed made up with big soft pillows to show.
3. The house should be very clean when someone is there to look at it. You might consider hiring a cleaning service to knock it into shape and then keep up with it if you have the tendency to let things go. If you have pets that live inside, make sure they are out for that period of time and make sure your yard is free of dog or cat poo. If you have a litter box, hide it in the garage.
4. While your family may be adorable, it’s best to take down all personal photos and other effects. Some people may judge the home by the pictures on the wall of the people in it. Of course, if your selling it yourself that’s different.
5. Remove all nick knacks and other stuff that make your home look cluttered. When we sold our home (in 10 days by owner) we got a deal for storage where we got the first month for a penny and we moved our entire extra’s into it so the house would look larger, uncluttered, clean. Personal effects and clutter can distract buyers from what they are supposed to be looking at and that’s your home.
6. Lights should be on and bright and curtains open to let the sun in. At night time, consider leaving your front door open while you’re inside watching T.V. If you’re unsure why I would suggest this, go outside your home at night and leave your front door open and stop and look at your home. The darkness contrasting with the warm glow from the inside of your home is inviting.
7. A fresh coat of paint in all the rooms and a freshly cleaned carpet will pay off in the long run. If you have removable rugs, make sure the area underneath is clean as many buyers will pick up and look beneath and sometimes they will even look under photos or posters hanging on the wall to see if you are hiding anything.
8. Drive up appeal is very powerful. Have flowers blooming in the yard and free of toys and clutter. A porch swing or bench is nice too. Place a clean welcome mat in the entrance way and when they open the front door, make sure the very first thing they see is clean, inviting and full of warmth. This can be easily done with big fluffy pillows and a bouquet of freshly cut flowers in a nice vase. With the aroma of cookies or bread baking filling the air you should sell your home in no time!
10. If you will be home or near by, consider having a candle discreetly burning in some of your rooms. I always had a fresh cake candle by Dee Jay burning in my rooms or her cinnamon apple blend. A safer way to have aromatic rooms is to have electric candle burners. I get little tart holders and then buy Dreamsicle or Ocean Breeze candles from Hobby Lobby as they are the longest lasting smell for these burners and smell very yummy and clean. They don’t tend to get a waxy smell when they are done burning. I cut the candles up into tart sizes and they last along time.
They say the longer a potential buy stays inside, the more they are considering buying your home. Good luck and happy, profitable selling!
