We have very good friends who moved due to a relocation over a year ago. At first, instead of selling, they decided to rent out their house.  Fast forward a year....with the renter moving out, our friends decided to take the leap and sell....but first there were a few things that needed to be done to get their house ready. Enter me.

Initially they asked me to help them in replacing the carpet (the renter's dogs had damaged it), getting a painter, and letting everyone in. What ended up happening though, is I ended up working for them to update their home and get it ready to sell. With older homes, the more work you do, the more work reveals itself to be done. So I did what I normally do, I jumped right in with my crew and got to work. We spent three weeks checking all of the items off the list, but everything was ship shape and the house was ready to be put on the market!! I am happy to report that our friends signed the closing papers last week!! The house sold in just three months on the market, a record, especially in the Real Estate market here in Southwest Florida. They are now happy non-homeowners and off to a good start in this new chapter of their lives!! J & T we miss you guys so much! xxoo

First, I want to say that since I am new at this blogging thing and the work was done on their house in the spring, I'm afraid I don't have a lot of before pictures of the house. The few I do have are not great, so I apologize up front. I have several tips on getting your home ready to sell though and I was intending on making this one post, but it started getting a little long, so I will post about the tips in part two.

Moving on...these next photos are a few taken after the renter moved out and examples of what you DO NOT want to do if you are selling your home.  I warn you, the carpet photos are pretty gross, if you have a weak stomach....close your eyes and run the other way!!

Before:

After:

Clearly, if your carpeting is damaged to this extent, you can not sell your home, nor will you. No one will want to walk into it because they will smell it a mile away!!  The renter actually paid to have the carpet cleaned and it did not change anything as you can see.  The smell was better, but it was definitely still there.  My guys had to rip out the carpet, pad, and tack strips.  The floor had to be cleaned with bleach and muradic acid to get rid of the pet smell, but good as new!! 

The interior of the laundry room cabinets had not been taken care of and were pretty discolored and the light fixture was damaged and did not work. These are the types of items that immediately go on your "To Do" list. These are simple fixes.

And here's the laundry room!  All cleaned up, interior of cabinets were primed and painted and the light fixture was replaced.  For a little money, about 20 bucks, you can easily replace broken or damaged light fixtures.  Sorry, I thought I had a better photo.

Next up, let's take a look at some maintainence things we did.  We removed the doggy door.

The microwave ventilation duct in the kitchen had not been enclosed, so we took care of that.

Now, you don't even notice it!! The can lights were changed out as well and updated.  This provided a lot more light in the kitchen than had been there previously.  These types of updates are not expensive and are worth hiring a handyman or twisting the arms of some handy friends to help with.

If your home is going to be vacant, it is important to do some minimal staging.  Just enough to make the spaces look homey.  The dollar stores and goodwill will have items you can purchase for a steal and then donate or use after the home is sold.  I invested very little in the actual items used to stage the house for sale.  But look at what a difference it makes!!  Let's start with the kitchen and bathrooms, since those are what sell homes!!

Kitchen

Notice the new pendant light over the sink....my electrician removed the recessed can fixture and replaced it with a junction box and voila....nice detail over the sink!

Guest Bathroom

Master Bath

Master Closet

Family Room

Kitchen Nook

Garage

While you might question me on doing the garage, I think it is a must.  Unless you are storing your items until you move.  But if your home is vacant or you can do it...you should.  The center door in the back wall now hides the hot water heater.  Previously, it sat in an open niche and looked horrible...but my crew built a custom door and trimed it out.  The ceiling, walls, and floors were painted.....all ready to go for new owners! 

Finally, the first impression of your home is your first impression.....the front of your home.  Curb appeal baby!!  This means your landscaping and your entry.  Here is the before and after of my client's entry with some help from my little one!!!

It doesn't even look like the same house!  A little paint,  repair to the sidewalk leading up to the entry, new lighting, new house numbers, new hardware on the door, a new decorative mat, and new landscaping...with some flowers for a pop of color. 

Okay, part one is finished.  I'm pooped!!