Looking to prepare your home and set the stage for a successful sale? Check out this 25-point checklist!

Focus on First Impressions

The outside of your home and your property are the first things potential buyers will notice, and a first impression can make or break a sale. To entice buyers to your doorstep, ensure the outside of your home looks inviting.

◻ Mow the yard

◻ Pull weeds

◻ Prune the hedges

◻ Plant flowers

◻ Put away bikes, toys, and trash cans

◻ Pull cars out of the driveway for a clear view of your home and property

◻ Consider a freshly painted door

◻ Ensure your house number is easily visible

Consider driving around Fargo, Moorhead, and surrounding areas and seeing how others care for and tend to their yards and homes. You'll quickly see that most residents enjoy a clean and well-maintained yard.

Eliminate Clutter

Potential buyers are looking to easily visualize themselves and their belongings in the home, and clutter is a significant distraction. Clutter not only can make your visitors feel uncomfortable, but it can also make your house seem smaller and unmaintained. 

◻ General: Remove personal items like family photos, knickknacks, awards, and collectibles from tables, windowsills, shelves, and other surfaces

◻ Kitchen: store away countertop appliances, put away towels, magnets, sponges, paper towels, and dish soap

◻ Pets: Remove pet beds, toys, kennels, and bowls

◻ Bathroom: Remove all toiletries, hairdryers, and trashcans. Open the shower curtain, and close the toilet lid.

◻ Closets: Tidy up closets throughout the house. (Cluttered closets give the impression they're smaller than they are.)

◻ Furniture: Too much can feel cluttered. Consider storing half of your furniture in storage and boxing up smaller items like books and pictures.

Once the clutter is gone, give your home a deep cleaning. You might even consider hiring a cleaning crew to come regularly throughout the selling process to keep it looking great and keep you from the extra work and stress. If you are doing the cleaning, consider these tips:

◻ Don't forget the windows, behind the toilet, grout, and under sinks

◻ Move furniture and vacuum behind and under it

◻ If clutter is an issue, try FLYlady's 27-Fling Boogie. 

Marla Cilley, the Fly Lady, invented the 27 fling boogie as a strategy to help people declutter their homes. Here's how it works:

• Grab a garbage bag or some kind of container.
• Walk around your house, and pick up anything you want to get rid of.
• Put the items to be decluttered in your bag.
• Don't stop decluttering until you've put 27 items in your bag.
• Once you've decluttered your 27 items, bring the bag out to the trash bin.

Repair and Replace

The outside of your home and your property are the first things potential buyers will notice, and a first impression can make or break a sale. To entice buyers to your doorstep, ensure the outside of your home looks inviting.

◻ Repair squeaky doors, hinges, broken fixtures, and fittings

◻ To give your home a more modern look, consider replacing light fixtures, light switches, outlets, and door and cabinet hardware 

◻ Refinish floors or update with inexpensive area rugs, if need be.

Finishing Touches

Lastly, keep these finishing touches in mind for the overall look of your home and property.

◻ Paint: Use fresh, neutral colors (beige, taupe, light gray) for living spaces and neutral hues (green or blue) for bathrooms. Stay away from bold wall colors as they're often a turnoff to buyers.

◻ Accents: Instead of bold colors on walls, use colorful accents with pillows or vases of flowers. 

◻ Furniture: Arrange your rooms and furniture to accentuate the architecture of your home and highlight its stunning features, such as high ceilings, windows, views, fireplaces, and more. You can make ceilings look higher by placing tall objects, such as bookshelves, against walls or by hanging your art a bit lower. 

◻ Wall Art: Keep wall art and paintings neutral and simple.

◻ Light: Open up your blinds and drapes to ensure plenty of welcoming, natural light throughout your home.

Help is on the Way

Selling your home can be an exciting adventure full of surprises and pitfalls. If you're looking to make selling and staging your home less of a chore, reach out for help from Christians Home Crew today!

Let's connect! 

Reach out today by email

or by calling (701) 373-5155.