Annoying but worth it.

My job is to help you be aware of the big and simple things that will help smoothen the home selling process. Below are some of the simple things that will save you from having buyers cringe or turned away from your home.

Listing your home can be stressful, but doing the small things is SO worth the little extra effort you put into getting your home ready to list/show and help take stress off in the long run.

1. Decluttering. A good way to make spaces in your home look larger and gives you an opportunity to start packing, aka save yourself some stress in the end.

2. Touch up your lawn and landscaping. The first thing a buyer sees is the outside of your home, it's only wise to make sure it looks presentable and doesn't look like a ton of work for them.

3. Put away personal belongings. Not only is this for the safety of yourself and your things, but it gives the buyers a chance to picture themselves in your home vs staring at your family portrait being reminded their walking through someone else's home.

4. Make sure the keys work! You would not believe the number of times I've shown a home and struggled with the keys or had to come back because the key wouldn't work, and I used to work in property management where I got pretty good at struggling with keys. In the buyers' eyes, this is just one thing right off the bat that needs to be taken care of.

5. Make sure your home smells good! It's so important that when a potential buyer walks into your home, they don't get the ick. This could be pet smells, cooking smells, BO smells, or anything that could be a turn off. Now I'm not saying drench your home in febreeze when you walk out the door, that just makes buyers think your covering something up. But instead, be conscious of the smells in your home and take actions to neutralize them. It could be something as simple as taking your garbage out or cleaning your carpets.

6. Clean, clean, clean. There is no bigger turn off than walking into a home that's visibly dirty. In the eyes of a buyer, that just shows them how much the home is taken care of. You bet your ass they are creeping in every crevasse of your home also.

7. Clean the walls if you don't plan on painting, especially if you have animals or kiddos!

8. One of those annoying but worth it tasks - make all the beds, clean up the bathroom and clear your kitchen counters.

9. Changing out lightbulbs for white ones! This not only helps with pictures, but also lights your house in a brighter perspective!

10. Do the small updates. If a buyer can walk into your home and not see a list of things that they will need to do or ask you to fix that's a HUGE win! Might as well knock out the small things to give yourself a leg up. This could be anything from re-caulking the bathroom tub or sink to paint touchups. If you have crazy paint colors throughout your home, I suggest painting them neutral! This will appeal to more buyers and turn away less.

11. If you know it's broken - fix it. Your home being move in ready and not having a long list of things to fix or touch is a big win in buyers' eyes.

12. Take your animals and their things with you. Your dog can be the cutest and sweetest dog on the planet, and I would still tell you to take them with you. I'll never understand it, but not everyone likes animals so to them that's a turn off. Yes, you still have to disclose that you have animals, but visibly seeing them is a whole different thing.

13. Open your curtains. Let in as much light as you can, give them a grand feel walking into your home.

14. Put your toilet seats down. Small but effective, no one wants to look at the inside of your toilet.

15. Don't make it hard to see your home. Limiting showing times can turn away buyers if they can't make it work with their schedule. (This may not always be the case and could demand on the market) Homes that don't get shown, don't get sold.

TIP: Avoid big remodel projects and making huge updates. Not all buyers will appreciate the update, save your time and money.

Get a good realtor on your side!

You can do everything on this list and still not come out ahead if you don't align yourself with a good realtor. A good realtor goes above and beyond, gives you candid feedback, is kind and easy to work with, and works their ass off for you. A good realtor is not only giving you this list of things to help you prepare and put you in the best position to sell but will help you accomplish them, along with guiding you through the process as stress free as I can.

Overall make sure your home looks move in ready, not a lot of maintenance or things needing to be done or worried about after a buyer moves in. This attracts buyers!