WHY BUYERS SKIPPED YOUR HOME CHAPTER 12
Buyers decide in the first eight or so seconds of seeing a home whether they’re interested in it or not. That’s why it’s so important to stage it. You can hire someone to do much of the hard work for you, but some things you can handle yourself: CLEANING: Spotless is the name of the game. It’s vital to do a thorough, deep cleaning of your home. It works for people selling a car (they get more money), and it will work for you on a bigger scale when selling your home. For a good deep cleaning, you should do the following: Declutter: Begin with decluttering. This is the standard rule: go through your home, and get rid of 50 percent of your belongings. Look for items such as photographs, highly personalized items, out- of-season clothes, random junk, and excessive furniture. These all need to go. To be clear, you don’t have to throw the stuff out! Donate it. Sell it at a yard sale. Give it away. Someone can use what you don’t need. Put the precious items, such as family photos, into a safe, offsite storage location. After you declutter, you’ll be amazed howmuch roomier and friendlier your home feels. The goal is to de-personalize the home so potential buyers can envision themselves living there. Hardcore Cleaning: Now that the clutter is gone, move on to hardcore cleaning. Be meticulous. Tidy each room from top to bottom.
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