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Get Ready to List your Home.
Step by Step Action Plan

get ready to list
Joanna Gerber
Sales Representative

Home Life
Kempenfelt-Kelly
Realty Ltd. Brokerage*

284 Dunlop St. W.
Barrie, Ontario
L4N 1B9

(705)794-6482
O:705-722-8191

F:705-725-8232
TF: 1-877-722-8191

*Independently Owned and Operated

How do you get ready to list your home? How do you go about tackling all the areas of your home that need work?

Lets start at your Front Door
Go outside and walk up the front walk towards the house. How is the grass? Is the walkway tidy, are the paving stones sturdy? Any planting that needs to be tamed? Perhaps pretty, new flowers would make it just right? Then, take a very close look at the front door. Is the door clean and dust free? How is the glass? Now, you don't need to go out and paint the front door unless you feel it needs a fresh coat. Just a spray of Windex can do the job here. Or, if your door is just not what it should be and you feel that a wash cloth will not do the trick, you may chose to install a new door for about $200.00. All we want here is a Great First Impression. get ready to list

So now we come into the Front Foyer
Stop here and slowly look around. What do you see? Is there a pile of shoes by the front door? How is thatfront closet doing. Stuff falling on your head when you open the door? Is the mirror sparkling and theconsole table top empty? If not take five minutes to deal with the culprits. Done? Let's move on...Let's sneak a peek into the Powder Room
Is the garbage bin empty? Is the sink shining, the soap dish clean? How about some fresh towels, perhaps a bowl of potpourri. That's all you need here. We can move on...get ready to list
We go into the Living and Dining Areas
Let's take a look at those sofa pillows, toss cushions, sofa tables etc. Is everything in order? Perhaps the diningtable could use some polish? How about some de-cluttering here. Are there things that perhaps should be some place else? Take a moment to deal with those things.

Let's move further into the house
How is that Family Room doing? If you have kids like me, I know exactly what it looks like. How about we involve the kids here. All it takes is 15 minutes, assign one area to each child, you take one as well. And off we go! Andy will deal with the sofas, Kathy will pick stuff off the floor, Tommy will take care of the movies and you may get the coffee table cleaned off. You are done! get ready to list

So how is that Kitchen?
Can you see the counter tops? Yes? Great! Start right there. Even if you feel you need to keep your toaster, coffee maker, blender and deep fryer on the counter top, please put them away. You don't use them all at once, and it only takes a moment to take them out when you do need to use them. You want to show off your counter space and not your appliances. The more space you can offer in your kitchen, the better.

Breakfast Area should be nice and tidy too.
The cereal boxes, napkins and that spoon all have a home, some place else in the kitchen, so let's get them there. We are trying to reduce the visual clutter, so less stuff around, the better. You can leave your tables uncovered, a center piece is all you need here.

Let's peek into the Bedrooms...
Are the beds made? The bedside tables tidy and clutter free? How about that pile of clothing that "fell off"the hangers in the closet? How about the kid's bedrooms? Is it safe to go in there? Don't laugh, I have two teenage boys... believe me, I know sometimes it can be scary. But we don't want scary when your home pictures are posted on the internet and local newspapers.

Bathrooms here we go.
Here you may need to look at all those shampoo bottles adoring your bath tub. There probably is stuff on the counter top, and the towels are not best looking either. Remember, those first impressions? We need the buyer to remember your home by visually associating the nice things in it to the listing. Last thing we want is the client to refer to your home as "the one with the mess in the bathroom". So grab your Windex, a garbage bagand an air freshener. Off you go! Ten minutes.

How am I supposed to do it all?
If you feel a bit overwhelmed, scared and want to give up, even before you start getting the house ready for sale, be sure to take a look at this site. Fly Lady changed my home in so many ways. With her anychore is doable and it only takes 15 minutes. get ready to list

Please remember that I am here to answer all the questions you may have in regards to getting your home ready for sale. If you need advice on renovations that will give you the biggest return on investment take a moment to visit this page.

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