Clean and shine
I suggest that first of all, you hire an actual maid service for the first step. Spend the money, and get their thorough, first time cleaning.
You can go to Craigslist and get two or three estimates. They will probably all be fairly competitive, price-wise, so pick the one that you like best, and just have them do that
There is a phenomenon I call incrementalism. It means that when it comes to the condition of your house you get used to things being out of place a little bit at a time, and eventually, a lot can end up out of place and you not even notice. So a made service would be ground zero for the clutter in your house
Once your house is in great shape, then your job is to maintain it to be that way. You may have to have the maid service come back periodically, or you may be able to do it yourself once it’s thoroughly clean. But that is imperative to sell your house. When somebody looks at your house, if they think you have ignore maintenance on small things, they will be tempted to think that you ignore maintaining the larger things.
Put away
These days there is a fairly new concept called “pods.” Pods are like storage areas that you can rent, except they’re put on your own driveway. You don’t have to drive to the storage facility. The company will even pick them up after you fill them, and move them to your new house.
I like and recommend these for many of my customers. They may not look great in the driveway for a period of time, but what they allow you to do is to gather up all the stuff you don’t use on a daily basis and put them in the pod. That lets you to have more room in your house and a lot less clutter.
Landscape
While you are at it, call two or three landscape companies and have them look at your yard. Have them tell you their vision for your yard and an estimate of the cost for their vision
This may be exactly the ticket to give your house more curb appeal, and it possibly might not cost that much money
Have fresh eyes look
Finally, have a trusted friend just take a look at your overall house and yard. Ask them to be brutally honest, and tell you what they think you still need to do to make your house attractive enough that it would be sold.
Accept what they say, and use it or don’t use it, but thank them. Don’t argue with them. Just used their advice as you wish. Fresh eyes always see a problem more clearly then the eyes that have looked at the problem all the time.
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Broker Don Martin, founder and CEO of Martin Properties, besides helping hundreds of FSBOs save thousands of dollars, also delivers seminars, keynotes and motivational messages to real estate and sales professionals. His 30+ years of experience in sales, marketing, real estate, promotion, management and technology has empowered thousands to expand their knowledge and achieve their goals. Connect with Martin Properties on Facebook, TheReasonableRealtor.com, MLS-TODAY.com or Amazon.com.
