Make your house trustworthy and marketable

Imagine two houses that are equally matched. Each has a great location. Each has amenities that make it feel like a “dream house” to the prospective buyer. And each has an enticing price.

But one is immaculate, and the other is messy. In this scenario, the clean house is victorious.

Simply put, there’s no compromise here. If you’re putting your home on the market, two things are non-negotiable. It must be clean. It can’t be cluttered.

I’ve been in the real estate business a long time and I know the following to be true: Buyers don’t trust houses, or the people trying to sell them, if the houses are dirty or unkempt. Laugh at this if you want, but it is reality.

So, we need an expert source to get us started: “Martha Stewart’s Homekeeping Handbook” has some excellent tips.

What do you say we take advantage of them?

Vacuum and shampoo rugs. You still may end up replacing some carpeting, and if you know it’s substandard, go ahead and replace it before putting your home on the market. But if your rugs are in pretty good shape, you can make them look new with a little effort. Wipe walls and ceilings. I won’t go into the details of how to do that here but, suffice to say if you don’t do it your buyers will quickly turn and go.

This isn’t on her checklist, but probably should be Priority One: Remove all clutter from every room. Clutter makes rooms look smaller, not to mention messy. Clutter also tells buyers the homeowner doesn’t bother with maintenance. In short, it’s a gigantic red flag.

Clean window treatments. They get almost as much attention as walls.

Wax non-wood floors. People notice. Restore wooden furniture. To its original beauty, if possible. Think of this as valuable extra credit.

Reseal grout lines. People forget about this. But this area is easily stained and easily noticed.

Polish metal door and window hardware. Make it sparkle.

Dust everything and work from the top down.

Clean upholstered furnishings. If necessary, remove stains.

A last word: Be honest with yourself. Odds are you have a relative who keeps a neat house. How does it feel when you walk into that home? Open, fresh … might even make you feel younger.

Now, compare that with a friend or a relative who has a messy house. How does that feel to you? A bit depressing, isn’t it?

Nobody enjoys being in the middle of someone else’s clutter. So, now is the time to get this work done if you’re about to contact a REALTOR® and place your home on the market. And your REALTOR® should have even more great ideas!