Below is a concise punch list with key items that could significantly increase your selling price and make for a faster home sale:

Curb Appeal

  • Keep your front entrance well-maintained
  • Repaint your front door
  • Repaint or replace door hardware
  • Repaint or replace house numbers to make them easy to see
  • Repaint the mailbox
  • Make sure the doorbell works
  • Repaint or replace stair railings
  • Do a little landscaping
  • Garden beds need to be well defined and freshly mulched
  • Keep the lawn edged, cut and watered regularly
  • Trim hedges, weed lawns and flowerbeds, and prune trees
  • Add a few showy annuals, perhaps in pots, near the front entrance
  • Take care of other exterior features
  • Check the foundation, steps, walkways, walls and patios for cracks and crumbling
  • Inspect doors and windows for peeling paint; keep the windows clean and free of spider webs and vines
  • Clean, align and secure the gutters
  • Inspect and clean the chimney
  • Keep shutters in good condition, freshly painted and hung straight
  • Repair or replace loose or damaged roof shingles
  • Repair or repaint loose siding and caulking
  • Keep the garage door closed

Walk into Something Wonderful

  • Give every room in the house a thorough cleaning. Wash the windows inside and out, clean the carpets and wash the walls.
  • If the walls and carpet are especially dingy or brightly colored, repaint or re-carpet with a neutral shade, such as off-white or beige.
  • Get rid of the clutter and make your house appear bigger and brighter.
  • Rent a storage unit
  • Have a garage sale!
  • Donate your excess "stuff" to charity
  • Repair cracks, holes or damage to plaster, wallboard, wallpaper, paint and tiles
  • Replace broken or cracked windowpanes, moldings, and other woodwork
  • Inspect and repair the plumbing, heating , cooling, and alarm systems
  • Repair dripping faucets and showerheads
  • Re-caulk bathroom shower or tub if necessary
  • Spruce up a kitchen or bathroom with new cabinet knobs, curtains and towels
  • Repair anything that could be construed as dry rot
  • Repair a leaking roof or wet basement
  • Make sure every electrical outlet and light switch is in working order
  • Replace all light bulbs with the maximum wattage bulb permissible. Light sells!

Sherman Smith & Associates 1173 Irvine Blvd Tustin, CA 92780-3528
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