My name is Cathy McClellan. I am a Florida licensed real estate broker and certified building contractor with Today's Home Real Estate in Panama City, Florida. Our topic for today is the list of chores that you need to do before ever putting your house on the market for sale. Selling your home is a bit overwhelming and the things that need to be done ahead of time can be a bit overwhelming. A lot of people put off selling their home because they don't want to deal with these tasks. If you're organized and make yourself a list, it makes it a whole lot easier. Curb appeal is very important. When someone drives up to your house, the first impression that they're going to get is your yard. If your yard is a mess, if it needs to be mowed, if your flower beds is having weeds, you need to clean up your yard. If your mailbox is tipped over, there's garbage strewn, that's going to be what they remember when they think about that house. When they walk in to your house, they're going to notice the smell. Clean your house. First thing you should do before you ever let anybody come in is a deep cleaning. Smells are what people do remember. I've been told that over and over again through the years. If it smells like an ash tray, if it smells like pets, they have a problem with that and that's what they're going to remember. They're not going to remember your amazing floor plan or your fabulous fireplace or your large kitchen, they're going to remember that it smelled like a litter box, so clean your house. And if you can contain your pets while your house is for sale, that's a good thing too. Deep clean your house. Declutter, depersonalize your house, and what I mean by that is maybe you have too many pictures on the walls and someone comes in and they can't envision themselves living in that house. You have magazines and books from ten years ago. You need to get rid of them. Pack them up if you're taking them with you or throw them in the garbage. If you have paperwork that would be important to the buyer, it shows good faith if you gather this for them. If you get warranties, bonds or things that are important to someone, put them in a drawer in your kitchen and tell your real estate agent that you've gathered these items for the buyer. That shows good faith and that helps them along the way. If your roof needs repairing or your air conditioner is broken, get some estimates. They're usually free and you can pass those on to your realtor as well. That also shows good faith. Lastly, take a bunch of pictures. You've lived in the house, this has been your home, you've raised your family, you're never going to be there again, so take a lot of pictures for your memory book. I hope you found this helpful. This is Cathy McClellan. Until next time.
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