Simple Spring Cleaning Tips for Selling Your Home
Springtime is an excellent time for selling a home at the Lake of the Ozarks. If you are planning to sell your home in the Eldon, Missouri area, your Mid-Missouri real estate experts have compiled this list of simple spring cleaning tips to help with your home selling experience.
Apply a Fresh Coat of Paint
A fresh coat of exterior and interior paint is a fairly easy and inexpensive way to dramatically improve the appearance of your home. A new coat of paint also can brighten up your space and make it appear fresh and clean on both the inside and outside. No time to paint the exterior? No worries. Unless your home is in desperate need of a new exterior coat of paint, power-washing the siding can do wonders to improve the look and feel of your home from the outside. Interior painting may not need to be done throughout the home, but take a look at the color palate you currently have inside and think about it from a buyer’s perspective. Stick to neutral colors for the most part, as this will go with any furniture and makes it easy for a potential buyer to see themselves living in the home.Make a Front Porch Statement
If you want to make a statement, choose an area of interest to appeal to the buyer’s eye. Consider replacing or painting your front door; if you have shutters, paint them in a matching color. Make sure your doorknob and fixtures are polished and your porch lights have new bulbs and are in working order. Feel free to decorate your porch minimally – adding a springtime floral arrangement or a seasonal wreath will draw a buyer in, without over-stimulating the eye. Yellow flowers are recommended for springtime showings, as yellow specifically stimulates buying urges. Yellow daffodils or yellow tulips induce feelings of happiness and remind buyers that spring has come after a long winter. Placing pots of these flowers along a bench or planting them in the front flower bed is a beautiful way to invite buyers into your home.Do you have an outdoor mat for cleaning shoes? Consider getting one, or replacing yours with a brand new one. This is not only appealing to the eye; it is practical, as springtime can come with rainy weather. Also consider placing an umbrella stand at the entrance, or offering buyers a designated place to store their umbrellas. This is once again a practical idea to keep the home clean, but offers a sense of warmth and invitation, making the house feel like a home.
Make Sure Windows Sparkle & Let Sunlight In
When cleaning your home, think of what you would like to see when walking into a new-to-you space. Sparkle and shine doesn’t cost much, but is key in selling your home. Make sure you wash your windows both inside and out, and polish all mirrors and reflective surfaces in the home. Clean windows and mirrors reflect sunlight and offer a warm, inviting space.On the same note, make sure to clean all drapes, curtains, and blinds and keep windows open on a nice day to circulate spring breezes. Keep curtains open to allow in the warmth of the sunlight. Also, be sure to clean and dust all light fixtures, and replace any bulbs as needed. A room filled with light feels open, warm, and inviting to a potential buyer.
Focus on Clean Floors
When touring a home, buyers tend to pay the closest attention to walls, ceilings, and especially floors. Steam clean all carpets – consider hiring a professional service, especially if you have had pets in the home. Use a wood-cleaning product on hardwood floors, and pay special attention to any tile or marble. Bleach any dull grout and thoroughly clean any area rugs. Replace area rugs if needed, and match them to throw pillows and blankets of soft spring colors that go with a neutral palate. This is a small investment that can really brighten up a room.Deep Clean the Kitchen and Bathrooms
Kitchens and bathrooms are number-one when it comes to maintaining cleanliness for home showings. Buyers tend to pay extra attention to the kitchen and bath so make sure you get them sparkling! Wipe down or paint the cupboards if needed, clean the grout between tiles, and take all personal items off the counters and sink areas. Make sure all fixtures are polished and in good working repair, and re-caulk tubs, showers, and sinks if needed. Again, investing in new kitchen and bath linens in neutral spring colors is a good idea to freshen up these rooms.
Organize and De-Clutter (Inside and Out)
Keep only the essentials out for showings, and put everything else in storage, or give it away. Your home will feel cleaner and bigger to potential home buyers, and you will already have a head-start on packing to move! If you are keeping some storage items at home, keep them in organized tubs or cubbies in a designated storage room or the garage. Keep the garage and storage room neat, with room for buyers to walk around and see themselves in the space. It is okay to keep some storage in your garage, but make it look neat and organized. A buyer will look in the garage or storage room, and they want to be able to see every way in which they can use the space – they won’t be able to see the potential if your space is filled with boxes!Make an Exterior Statement
Rake the yard and trim back your bushes. Clean out dead leaves and debris in your lawn and garden areas. If you have overgrown bushes or trees that block your windows, consider cutting them back so that the sunlight can make it inside the home, and also so that the exterior of your home can be showcased from the road. Overall, keep your outside as fresh as your inside. Mow your lawn on a regular basis and keep up with any plants or flowerbeds. Curb appeal is highly important as the outside of the home is the first look a buyer will get.Don’t forget to stage your backyard as well. Oftentimes, the backyard is the last thing buyers see on a tour of the home, so make sure it looks nice. This could be as simple as keeping up with the greenery, keeping the lawn looking fresh, and investing in some minimal outdoor furniture to complete the look. If you have a back porch or backyard fence, make sure they are in good condition, and take the time to power-wash them.
As you get ready to start cleaning your home near Eldon, MO, think about the next steps you plan to take. If you have not yet listed your home for sale, now is the time! Spring is a great time to sell your Lake of the Ozarks home. There are a number of potential buyers eagerly awaiting the perfect home in your area. Give Devine & Associates a call today to get your home on the market. We would love to help you have a successful sale!
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