Selling Your Home Tip #4: It’s Time to Clean House!

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, sellers often ask us for tips on how to inexpensively prepare their home for sale.  In this post, I’ll talk about the importance—and value—of a clean house!

A Clean House

In addition to staging and decluttering, it’s crucial that you clean house from top to bottom.  Consider for a moment that you are a buyer viewing a home in-person.  A single dusty light fixture might not be a big deal, but if it’s compounded with dirt around the baseboards, smudged appliances, dust bunnies on the hardwood floors, sticky countertops, and dirty walls, you’ll probably start wondering how well the home has been cared-for and maintained.

Dusting and vacuuming are probably done with at least some regularity in your home.  But there are often-overlooked items shouldn’t be ignored when selling your house.  This includes wiping down baseboards, vacuuming carpet edges, dusting light fixtures, washing windows, and cleaning fingerprinted light switches.

Utility Room

It will also boost buyer confidence if you run a tight ship in your mechanical room.  What do I mean by that?  Wipe down your water heater and furnace so they aren’t covered in dust.  Label your furnace filters so buyers know you’re keeping track when you change them.  The ceiling in that area is likely unfinished so vacuum away all of the cobwebs.  Spending 5 minutes cleaning this area will go a long way with buyers.  When I show a home, there’s nothing worse than walking into a spiderweb!

Dark Places

Pay close attention to areas in your home that are rarely seen by you, but may be investigated by buyers.  This might be storage areas under the stairs or unfinished rooms in the basement.  These areas are most likely to have dead bugs, spider webs, or rodent droppings—all of which are huge turnoffs for buyers!

Once you’re past the initial deep-clean, remember to keep it clean while it’s listed!