Mindset:

- When your home is on the market, your home is no longer your home - it is a product.

- How can you make your home more appealing to the widest group of potential buyers ?

There are many factors involved in marketing and selling your home. You can't control most of them. The curb appeal of your home plays a big role in the sales process, and it's one of the things you can have direct control over.  You'll never get another chance to make a first impression of how your home looks from the street. If your home exterior needs new paint, potential buyers might not even get out of their car to come in and look.  Putting fresh paint on your home, both on the outside and the inside, is usually the one thing you can do that pays off the fastest.  You'll get more buyers looking, and they'll like what they see more, translating into a better chance for a quick offer at a higher price.   

Follow the Lead of Decorators & Builders ... Go Neutral

Stick with light, neutral colors.  Visit model homes.  Decorators and builders have found that buyers "feel" more comfortable in those surroundings.  These colors seem to resonate best with buyers.  A fresh coat of light beige on interior walls will freshen up your home and make it more marketable.  Since lighter colors harmonize with other colors easily, buyers can more readily imagine how their furnishings will look in the new home. 

Simply put, new paint is usually the most profitable improvement you can make when getting your home ready for sale.  So unless your paint is already in like new condition, you probably should paint.    

Getting Ready To Go To Market  ... On a Budget

To keep your costs down while gaining the greatest effect in getting your home ready to market: 

• PAINT IT,
• CLEAN IT,
• SHINE IT,
• DE-CLUTTER IT,
• MAKE SURE IT SMELLS CLEAN AND FRESH,
• ORGANIZE IT ( MAKE IT NEAT ),
• RE-CARPET, IF YOU MUST

The Bad News

The longer you wait, ignore, or refuse to do these things, the more likely that 

• your house will stay on the market unsold,
• the longer your plans will be delayed, and
• the more likely that you'll receive a lower offer for your house.