1)First Impressions Matter- Often times a buyer’s first impression will match their last. This isn’t the time to leave the weeds growing, the grass brown, and the landscaping unattended to. When someone drives up to your house what is the first thing they notice? It also quick and easy to pressure wash the house and driveway.

2)Clean!- Most people aren’t in love with cleaning, however showing a clean house is way too important to not do it right before an open house. If you don’t have the time to scrub the house from top to bottom, a one-time cleaning service is relatively inexpensive and well worth the price.

3)Don’t Make it Personal- One of the hardest, but most important parts of staging a house is taking your home out of the house. The goal is for the buyers to imagine their family there, not yours, so remove as many personal belongings as possible.

4)Clean the clutter- Clutter isn’t just unappealing, but it also makes your house look much smaller than it really is. If you haven’t moved into your new house yet, I suggest renting a storage to store your non-essential personal belongings while you’re going through the moving process. PODS also are amazing for this, because you get to start early on the moving and save yourself one round of packing and unpacking.

5)Hide the Pets- House shoppers don’t want to be afraid of being attacked by your dog or smell your cat’s litter box. You may love your furbaby, but that doesn’t mean the buyer is the same.

6)Let the light in- All too often I’ve walked into an Open House and it felt like a dungeon. This is the time to turn on all the lights, open the blinds and drapes, clean the windows, and let the light on in. Natural lighting gives a welcoming feeling and opens up a room.

7)Turn on the A/C- Not only does cranking up the A/C help the house stay nice and cool, but it also helps filter the air of any odd odors you may have lingering around. It doesn’t hurt to get a A/C tune-up and change your air filter prior either. People like being assured that the home’s Air Conditioning unit works properly and you want your guests comfortable. I’ve been in several houses that 0were hot, musty, and uncomfortable and it only makes you want to leave sooner.

8)Cleaning out those closets and garage- Different things matter to different people, but storage matters to almost everyone. Keeping the closets and garage cleaned out and tidy will make them appear that they have more storage.

9)Fix the little things- Do you have a facet that leaks or a door handle that’s broken? You may have gotten use to them and may not pay them much attention anymore, but a buyer will immediately notice them and start associating those small issues with the condition of the rest of the house. Many of them are cheap fixes, so take a day to walk your house and fix all those little things you may have been putting off for awhile.

10)Make the price right- I get it. Pricing your house is an emotional thing. You value your house more than anyone else. The goal is to remove the emotion from this. Your Realtor will run comparables for like homes in the area and let you know what they think it’s worth. Most of the time they are pretty close. Don’t overprice your home and scare away potential buyers. Often times under-pricing does much more good, because you may create a bidding war.