Real Estate Agent specializing in helping you Sell and Buy homes. First home time buyers, residential single family homes, lake and luxury homes, vacant land. Seving the greater Milwaukee Metro area including: Waukesha County, Lake Country, Jefferson, Dodge, Washington, Walworth, and Milwaukee Counties. I offer online markets, LISTING PACKAGES, MLS Search access, Buyer Agency, all with outstanding service.
Showing posts with label Open House Check List. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Open House Check List. Show all posts
The Ultimate Open House Prep Checklist: Bathroom Edition
It may not be the grandest room in the house, but the bathroom is one of the most important when it comes to selling your home. Buyers want as many bathrooms as they can afford, and they want them pristine. So, if you’re getting set to host an open house, it’s time to spiff yours up! Here’s exactly what you need to do to get it ready:
Clean everything. You know this already: There’s nothing worse than walking into an open house and finding mildew, scum, hair (or worse) in and around the tub, toilet, and sink. Give your bathroom the kind of deep cleaning you’d usually reserve for when the in-laws visit. Ask yourself, “What would Martha Stewart think?” No rings around the tub, no soap scum on the shower door, no beard clippings in the sink. Use a mix of vinegar and water in a spray bottle to make mirrors sparkle—it’s an old-school recipe that gets fabulous results (just remember to wipe away streaks with either newspaper or a microfiber towel).
Hide your toiletries. That means toothbrushes, contact lens kits, loose makeup containers, hairspray bottles—anything that could clutter up your countertop goes into the medicine cabinet, under the sink, or wherever it won’t be seen.
Then put out nicer ones.Now is the time to break out those triple-milled imported soaps, or a nice handsoap and lotion duo. Think hotel bathroom.
Stock toilet paper. A well-organized bathroom has plenty of toilet paper at the ready. The person who needs it will appreciate it. Though we’re not suggesting that open house visitors use your loo.
Keep that toilet seat down. While we’re on the subject of toilets, the seat should always be down and the lid closed. Always.
Test the water pressure. During my years as a Chicago real estate broker, I saw buyers turn on the shower and the faucet and flush the toilet. They’re checking your water pressure. If it runs at a trickle, get your plumber to take a look.
Fix those drips. If your sink has a slow drip, fix it. A drip isn’t just annoying; to buyers, it’s a sign you might be letting other, bigger things go.
Make it bright. A dimly lit bathroom can make even the cleanest space appear grimy. Try installing a few natural light bulbs to give the appearance of sunshine.
Clear out the library. You may be proud of your bathroom’s collection of old Architectural Digests, New Yorkers, and Teen Vogues. But it’s time to move them to the recycling.
Show off that shower. If your shower is a showstopper, show it off! Pull back the curtain to reveal those coordinating glass tile borders or decorative mosaics you invested all that time and money in.
Fix that fan. A loud exhaust fan is a no-no. If the bathroom exhaust system is audibly exhausting, it might be cheaper to replace it than to have it repaired. Most new fans have a sound rating measured by sones. Be sure to buy one rated at 1.0 sones or less, as advised by the Home Ventilating Institute.
Say it with flowers. Heavy air fresheners can be off-putting, but a vase with fresh flowers goes a long way. Orchids, hydrangeas, and eucalyptus all add a pleasant scent to a small space—and give potential buyers a reason to smile.
Stage the tub. Whirlpool bathtubs may no longer be the sought-after luxury item they once were, but the idea of a drawn bath remains appealing. Stage your tub by placing flameless candles around it and setting a favorite book and a stack of towels nearby, all to conjure up images of “me time.” (There’s no need to fill the tub with water, though!)
Upgrade your towels. The easiest way to gussy up a bathroom is to change the towels. Invest in fluffy new ones that pop with color (especially if the walls are a neutral shade), and fold them in three parts so no edges show.
Nix the rugs. Rugs are necessary, but they’re not always the most attractive aspect of a bathroom. Leave the floor bare—it makes the space look cleaner and roomier, and gives buyers the chance to see a (we hope) nice floor. Which you swept clean, right? Right!
The Ultimate Open House Prep Checklist: Kitchen Edition
Flickr user Rocker_44
When you’re selling your home, the kitchen is the single most important room—so when you hold an open house, you want it to shine. Literally. You’re going to have to deep-clean, declutter, and touch up whatever you can. Luckily, we’ve put together this pathologically complete checklist to help make sure you forget nothing.
Don’t make it hard on yourself: The night before, don’t fry fish, don’t whip up a new batch of kimchi, and don’t cook bacon the morning of the open house. Go out for dinner! Order takeout! Please?
Clean out the fridge! We all know that buyers will look in your refrigerator. They’re just nosy that way. Give them something to look at—a spotless interior. Then wipe down the outside, too.
Clean those floors! Nothing says turnoff like a trail of crumbs on the kitchen floor. If you have hardwood or tile flooring, vacuum and damp mop, making sure to get in all the dark corners. If you haven’t yet replaced your linoleum, sweep, mop, and wax it.
Make it shine. If you have stainless-steel appliances, take care of them properly. Wipe them down with the proper cleaning supplies. Honestly, one spray and a little elbow grease, and they’ll look brand-new.
Clean those stovetop drip pans—or better yet, replace them! A rusty, crusty drip pan can make your stove look older than it is. If you don’t have time to scrub them clean, spend a few bucks to replace them.
Degrease that hood. Those vents are grease magnets. Clean the filter before the open house. You may need to dig out the user manual to learn how to remove it, soak it, and make it make shine.
Clean the light-switch plates. Those switch plates can get splattered with grease or, worse, show years of fingerprints and dirt. If they can’t be freshened up, replace them—all of them.
Debug your light fixtures. See those dark spots in your overhead light fixture? Those are dead bugs! Clear the carcasses and wipe the glass clean.
Granite should sparkle. Most people wipe their countertops clean with the same dish sponge they use to wash their dishes. Let’s take it a step further. Use granite polishto wipe on a shine that will make buyers think you spent thousands of dollars on new granite just for them.
Countertops should be spotless. Nothing impresses buyers more than endless stretches of pristine countertop. So it’s time to stow the toaster, the Vitamix, the burr grinder, the rice cooker—all those appliances that take up valuable real estate.
Clean the microwave. You’ve already polished the stainless steel, now clean the inside. Few buyers will open the microwave and check inside, but for those who do, let’s not greet them with years of caked-on food splatters.
Clean the cabinets, inside and out. No one really cares if your canned peas are next to your canned tomatoes, but buyers do care about space. Now’s the time to purge: Do you really need that tin of Spanish octopus? A buyer should be able to open the cabinet door and see the back of the cabinet wall. And while you’re at it, get a pail of water and Murphy Oil Soap and wash your cabinets.
Update your knobs. Cabinet knobs installed in the 1980s can make a kitchen look dated. But upgrading them is easy: Just buy new ones, then install them. Presto! Your kitchen is awesome(ish).
Don’t bake cookies! Baking cookies seems like a nice gesture for buyers, but the trend has run its course. Just have a clean kitchen—everyone appreciates that.
No need to set the table. The kitchen is all about space. If you’re lucky enough to have an eat-in kitchen, let it speak for itself. A clutter-free kitchen with clean, expansive surfaces will do way more than a set of fancy dinner plates.
Flowers are always nice. The one exception to the clutter-free countertop rule is a vase of fresh flowers. Who doesn’t love a pleasant smell ?
