Great curb appeal is a must. Buyers begin making judgement of your home before they enter the front door. Peeling paint, dead grass, weeds in flowerbeds are all major turn-offs even if the inside is amazing!

Household odors are the number one cause for a house to stay on the market indefinitely. Cigarette smoke, pet odors and mildew are big uh-oh’s when staging your property for sale.

If you smoke indoors – your house DOES smell of cigarettes, even if only a small amount, but that can be enough to chase great buyers away. If you have pets, your house may smell bad and you don’t even notice. Ask a friend or neighbor to take a sniff and don’t take offense with their honesty! It will only increase your chances of selling.

It’s imperative to completely ERADICATE the odors, not just cover them up with heavy perfumes. You want your house to smell fresh and clean for potential buyers.

Not everyone is a dog or pet lover. This can be frightening and irritating to people coming to see your home, not visit your pets. You’ll have a much more positive effect on showings if you control your animals. Holding them up in a bedroom, laundry room or bathroom isn’t a good idea either. Would you feel comfortable buying a home where you couldn’t see all of the rooms?

If possible, remove your pets from the premises or crate them for their own safety and the safety of others.

Make them sparkle and make them shine! Invest in a new shower curtain, bath rugs, etc. if this will make your bathrooms look their best. If you’re serious about selling, this will only increase your chances and the extra work is worth it!

Dim light can be a turn-off to most buyers. Here are a few hints to brighten them up:

• Replace dim light fixtures
• Install additional light fixtures
• Install sun tunnels or skylights
• Remove heavy drapes to let the light in
• Repaint darker painted rooms to help reflect light
• Trim trees that shadow the house
• Clean dirty windows
• Replace double paned windows with foggy seals

Neutral, neutral, neutral!!! Even wallpaper lovers will most likely dislike what you’ve picked out. Leave a clean pallet for a buyer to create their own personal decorative touch.

It’s the masses that you must appeal to when you’re selling your home. Take a good look at your wallpaper and decide if it should be removed and replaced with paint, but don’t paint over it! This makes it difficult to remove and is very noticeable.

Wet and damp smells from the basement throw up red flags that your basement may leak!

Most problems we see are not caused by faulty foundations but by rainwater being diverted into the foundation instead of away from it. Make sure you have no clogged underground drains, you have gutters along the roofline and downspouts are aimed the correct direction to divert water.

Ants, spiders, roaches, anything creepy crawly will leave a bad feeling for any potential buyer. Get rid of any bugs you might have right away!

Want to make a potential buyer wonder if you’ve done your job in maintaining your home? This is a good way to do it! Get your gutters clean and keep them clean to avoid other problems that can arise from clogged gutters.

Most buyers feel very uncomfortable opening closets, drawers, etc. if the seller is standing over them. Buyer’s want a good look at the house but feel intrusive if an owner is hovering over them.

Go for some coffee, for a walk, whatever, just give potential buyers some space!

I will help you get the most for your house!