Marketing

Marketing a home isn't magic. Marketing is taking what you have and presenting it in the best possible light to as many people as you can reach.

Marketing a home isn't complicated, but it isn't easy. Doing it properly can make the difference between someone buying your home and buying someone else's. There are abundant resources on how to do it. There are books, TV shows, and even entire cable channels devoted to it, but here are the basics:

Once you've decided to sell, stop thinking of it as your home and start thinking of it as a product for sale. It may be hard, but in a real estate transaction your emotions can cost you money, big time. Remember, your goal in selling is for it to become someone else's home, not yours. For now, forget about all the good times you've had in your home and focus on the good times yet to come!

Make it anonymous. Pack up the personal photos and family treasures; the pictures of Spike the family dog eating Aunt Bessie's birthday cake need to go. You don't want buyers being distracted by a pictorial history of your life; you want them envisioning their own family treasures and pictorial life histories strewn about the abundant shelf space and splayed across uncluttered walls you can provide them. In other words, you don't want buyers thinking about your life in that home - you want them imagining their life in that home.

A word about junk. OK, fine, it's not junk, but if you haven't touched it in over a year, you can probably live without it. If you can live without it, it might be more valuable to someone else who needs it, so why not either sell it and put some cash in your pocket, or give it away to a charitable organization and take a tax write off? If you hang on to it, it's just one more thing you'll have to move and possibly pay to store.

So have a garage sale (or two), donate to charity, or rent a storage unit. But whatever you do, get rid of the clutter!

• Remove all books from bookcases.
• Pack up those knickknacks.
• Clear everything off kitchen counters.
• Put essential items used daily in a small box that can be stored in a closet when not in use.

Buyers are going to look into every nook and cranny. They'll open every closet door and every cabinet (and sometimes your nightstand drawer). Think of an open house or a showing as a civilian search warrant. Aside from the pictures from last year's office party you don't want anyone to see, think of the message it sends if an avalanche of junk falls out when they open a closet door or the mountain of "stuff" they'll see if they look in the garage. The message you really want to send is that you're an organized person and likely have been very meticulous about taking care of their new house! How can you do this?

• Alphabetize spice jars.
• Neatly stack dishes.
• Turn coffee cup handles facing the same way.
• Hang shirts together, buttoned and facing the same direction.
• Line up shoes.

Almost every home shows better with less furniture. Open paths to walk freely around the rooms by removing excess furniture. If you've emptied your bookcases, remove them and put them in storage. Grandpa's Lazy-Boy? Outta there! Got your dining room table configured for Christmas dinner? Removing extra leaves will make the dining room look bigger. Leave just enough furniture in each room to keep potential buyers from scratching their heads and saying, "I wonder what this room is for?"

If you want to take window coverings, built-in appliances, or fixtures with you, remove them now. If the dining room chandelier was bequeathed to you by Uncle Arlen and Aunt Suzie, take it down. If a buyer never sees it, they won't want it. Once you tell a buyer they can't have an item, they will want it, and it could put your sale at risk. Remove those items and replace them, if necessary.

Make Minor Repairs

• Replace cracked floor or counter tiles.
• Patch holes in walls.
• Fix leaky faucets.
• Fix doors that don't close properly and kitchen drawers that jam.
• Consider painting your walls neutral colors, especially if you have grown accustomed to purple or pink walls. (Don't give buyers any reason to remember your home as "the house with the orange bathroom.")
• Replace burned-out light bulbs.
• If you've considered replacing a worn bedspread, do so now!

Clean sells!

• Wash windows inside and out.
• Rent a pressure washer and spray down sidewalks and exterior surfaces.
• Clean out cobwebs.
• Recaulk tubs, showers, and sinks.
• Polish chrome faucets and mirrors.
• Clean out the refrigerator.
• Vacuum daily.
• Wax floors.
• Dust furniture, ceiling fan blades, and light fixtures.
• Bleach dingy grout.
• Replace worn rugs.
• Hang up fresh towels.
• Bathroom towels look great fastened with ribbon and bows.
• Clean and air out any musty smelling areas. Odors are a no-no.

Go outside and open your front door. Stand there. Do you want to go inside? Does the house welcome you? Linger in the doorway of every single room, and imagine how your house will look to a buyer. Examine carefully how furniture is arranged and move pieces around until it makes sense. Make sure window coverings hang level. Tune in to the room's statement and its emotional pull. Does it have impact and pizzazz?

Check Curb Appeal If a buyer won't get out of the agent's car because they don't like the exterior of your home, you'll never get them inside.

• Keep the sidewalks cleared.
• Mow the lawn.
• Paint faded window trim.
• Plant yellow flowers or group flower pots together. Yellow evokes a buying emotion. Marigolds are inexpensive.
• Trim your bushes.
• Make sure visitors can clearly read your house number.