Rand Seller Orientation Guide May 13, 2017

Cleaning Up Your Home

Now that your home has been cleared, it now needs to be clean. This is not to say that your home isn’t “clean” right now. Most lived-in homes are “clean.” But if you want buyers to see yours as a “model home,” it needs to be as immaculate as a new car out of the showroom. It’s that simple – spotless homes sell in competitive markets, and average homes do not. So either do it yourself or hire a service, but the house needs to be clean if it’s going to sell. The good news is that maintaining that clean look is not that difficult once the harder process of doing the initially rigorous cleaning is done.

Here is a simple list of suggestions for making sure that you, or someone you hire, cleans the house to a “model home” shine. Some of these suggestions include items that would not occur to most people (like cleaning light switches), and some include cleaning products or methods we recommend:

General Interior

•Clean and deodorize all the carpets.

•Clean smudges off walls using the “Magic Eraser” (you can buy it in hardware stores).

•Clean the windows inside and out (if possible).

•Wipe down window sills.

•Dust all window treatments.

•Wipe down and dust the light fixtures.

•Turn off lights and clean bulbs.

•Wipe down all railings.

•Clean all light switches.

Bathrooms and Kitchen

•Bleach out toilet stains.

•Scrub out any mildew in tubs.

•Clean off deposits on shower heads by soaking in vinegar (it works!).

•Clean all the surfaces.

•Bleach out any stains in the sink. D Defrost and clean the refrigerator.

•Clean out the oven.

•Wipe down all appliances.

Exterior

•Pay careful attention to cleaning the front entrance, which is where most buyers enter your home.

•Sweep the exterior walkways, and hose down if possible.

•Trim and tidy up hedges to open up windows.

•Tidy up any flower beds or other exterior landscaping.

•Cut back on plants, trees, shrubs, so they don’t block the house or the view.

•Store or throw away gardening equipment.

•Throw out all the stored dead plants, fertilizer bags, unused pots.