5 Things That Will Ruin Your Chance of Selling Your Home

You won’t sell your home in Los Gatos,  San Jose or Phoenix for that matter, if you can’t get the potential home buyer to the front door.   Homes for sale, even short sales, must look neat and tidy!

When they drive up to your for sale sign will they still want to come in?

They won’t  if …

• Lawn is overgrown and there is cheezy yard art everywhere
• Weeds are growing in the flower beds and around the walkways
• When the door is being opened it squeaks and the paint is old
• The paint is peeling and cobwebs have taken over
• The Doorbell is hanging off the wall or doesn’t ring

It is so very simple to overcome these curb appeal Killers if you want to sell your home!

Here are a few suggestions of how you can take care of these 5 deal breakers for little or no money.  Get those home buyers in the door!

• An overgrown lawn should be mowed and edged properly.

Remove any lawn art, Holiday decorations, Beware of Dog and I love Cats signs.   Pets can be a deal breaker for some  home buyers and your Realtor can help you address this in a better way.

• Pull weeds along walkways and flower beds and dispose of them.

Leaving the dead weeds in a pile somewhere after you pull them is actually worse than pulling them at all.  It leaves the impression that you don’t follow through.  So get rid of them!

• Repair a sticky or squeaky door and paint it.

WD 40 will usually fix a squeaky door.  Spray hinges lightly while you swing the door back and forth to help it get deep into the hinge mechanism.

A sticky door can be a bit more technical, but a little common sense and some time is all it takes.  Look carefully where the door contacts the frame to find any rub marks.   Usually,  a good scraping off of old built up paint will do the trick.    Check the latch to see if the strike plate is out of alignment.  The strike plate is the small plate on the frame where the bolt enters.  Adjust it if necessary.  Are the hinges tightly screwed in?  No?  Choose the right screwdriver and tighten them.  Now Paint!

Painting is easy!   A light sanding and a patiently applied coat of  white or an accent color will bring a bang to the entry!  Caution:  Paint won’t stick to WD40 so you  should wash areas where you sprayed it with a little alcohol swab.

• Broom away cobwebs followed by a good washing of the front and touch up peeling paint.

Washing the front with a power nozzle attached to your garden hose, before removing cobwebs, will only make it worse so, brush them away first.  Peeling paint is an easy fix!  Scrape away loose paint and simply apply a light coat of fresh paint.   If matching the color is difficult paint larger areas from a corner to the nearest opposite corner or trim board to trim board.

• Does the doorbell work?  Is it attached to the wall?

When a doorbell doesn’t work it can be for a number of reasons.  Doorbells are powered by low voltage, so there is no reason to fear electrical shock.   Remove cover plate and look to see if the wire is connected.   Reconnect wire if necessary and reattach it.   Here is a simple ‘one move fix’ to cover all the reasons it may not work.  Go to your local Lowes or Home Depot and ask for a wireless doorbell.  These are easily attached and there are no wires to fiddle with.

Want to take it all up a notch?  Add color.  In most every  gardening center or department you will find what is called a color bowl.   These are filled with bright flowers and soft green fillers.   Strategically placed along boring walkways  or a bland porch can really add some attractive flavor.  Tip:  Always work with odd numbers 3s, 5s and 7s.   Using odd numbers of plantings always appears more natural.

A large new welcome mat, placed at the entry to your home for sale, will make home buyers feel more welcome and it also gives a sense of ‘new’.    What will your potential buyers see when they open your fresh front door?

There are many more simple ways to sell for more money.    Assistance is a few clicks away.

Fill out this form and we will assist you.