SO YOUR THINKING OF SELLING YOUR HOME?
HERE ARE SEVERAL TIPS THAT ARE ESSENTIAL TO DO BEFORE PUTTING YOUR HOME ON THE MARKET.

1. Clean up the clutter: Yes, the stuff that you have been accumulating over the years and never used. Throw it out, give it to the poor but the best idea to help yourself out is have a garage sale or even better a tag sale. This will give you some extra money and with that you can purchase a storage POD. Since your going to move anyway, this is a wonderful idea to get a head start on things. A POD is a great item that takes away all the clutter in the house, garage and basement. You fill it up with your belongings and then it is shipped off to storage until the day you need it back. Storage is usually a monthly fee and much more reasonable than people think. The emptiness in the home will give the prospective buyer a better visual on how they can furnish the home, the size of the rooms and it makes it look neat. A person who keeps their home neat means they have pride and take care of the parts of the home you can not see. Trust me it makes a lot of sense.

2. Clean up outside the home: Notice I state, home and not house. It should be your pride and joy: your home. Cleaning up any debris, sticks and branches after winter and papers under the trees makes a nicer curb-side appearance. We can't all afford a landscaper, but we can all afford some time in the fresh air straitening flowerbeds, throwing dead leaves and debris away. I know it sounds like work, but it works like magic. People will drive up and see the pride outside too! Curb appeal is a large part of the first impression of your home. Try some new plants with fancy pots on each side of your front door or on the steps. It is inviting to the buyer and brings warmth to your outside entry.

3. Painting: Painting is the most inexpensive way to clean up a home. Now grant it, that doesn't mean paint every room. If the walls are messy from kids fingerprints, from the dog, from just plain wear and tear after years, yes then paint that wall or room. You can always go into Home Depot on the clearance rack and pick up a can for about $5.00. They are returns and who cares what color as long as it is a neutral color, you are looking for clean not your favorite color. Painting is very good therapy and it may bring out the artistic side of you that you never knew about.

4. Garages: Now everyone knows 80% of people use their garage for storage. Do not fret over the boxes, storage and stuff that are in them. Go back to my idea of a tag sale, garage sale or a storage POD. In a standard contract it will state home is to be broom swept. Sorry folks, but that does also state the garage. But you have months for that after you get an offer. In my many years in the business, a deal has never been broken over a dirty garage.

5. Basements: Before putting your home on the market, do a quick look at all the exposed beams and wood in the basement. A lot of homeowners never realize that Long Island is based on sand. Wet and sand attracts termites. All though you do not see termites, you can still have them. If you see tracks on the wood, tracks look like a child that took a pencil and dug a trail in the wood, then you may have termite trails. If there is some kind of dust or mud or dirt that goes with the trails, then you have active termites. I would suggest you get this resolved by calling your local exterminator before you have a deal on your home. I have seen more deals die from buyers who do not understand that it is inevitable most homes get termites. The deal dies because they don't know the extent of the damage and it scares most buyers. If you have an exterminator in before hand, you will receive documentation that you took care of the problem and your buyer will continue to buy the home as planned. The buyer will have a warm and fuzzy feeling and you will also!

6. Fixing of small inexpensive things. A lot of homeowners live with little things in their home that they have come accustom to seeing day in and out. For example: The light switch plate that doesn't matter to you it has not been there for 4 years. Well for .99 you can replace that switch plate and it will look better and show again pride of ownership. Another example: The piece of molding that takes all of 1 hr to replace that was the dogs bone for a day. I know it does not matter to you, but to a buyer a molding that stands out in the entry hallway can be seen very easily by a buyer. And then they tend to look for everything. So keep the little things to a minimum and fix them very inexpensively. You will be glad you did!

7. Rugs: If you have a very old 1980's green shag, throw it out. Do not use the excuse the new buyer will get a new one. It is most likely there is a beautiful wood floor never used under that old rug and why not show it off. If it is too much for you to do, then hire a young kid on the block to do it for you. Call your local boy scouts and see if they are willing to help do a community service for an elderly lady or man. There are organizations that would love to help you for a few bucks. They are only picking up and throwing out so you do not need a licensed carpet installer! Well, this is enough small stuff to get you on the road to "Selling your Home." Thanks for dropping in and taking some tips.

Don't forget to email if you have any further questions, we would love to help you. Do you have a question about Long Island Real Estate or how to buy or sell your home? Well here is your chance to Ask Toni and get the real scoop from a professional!

Just email directly to AskTL@lirealestate.org