Seller Maintenance Tasks

You want your selling clients to put their best house forward for this spring’s selling season, right?

One of the best ways you can help them do that (and help them get the best price for their property in the shortest amount of time) is by sharing with them your to-do home maintenance tasks. Once your sellers have accomplished those maintenance tasks, plant a For Sale sign in front of their property.

Here is a suggested to-do home maintenance list for your selling clients:

1. Make your home’s curb appeal irresistible by cleaning up everything in and about the home’s exterior.
   1. Pressure washing
   2. Painting
   3. Cleaning all the windows
   4. Cleaning the gutters
   5. Pruning and removing all overgrown and/or dead trees, shrubs, plants, walk-ways
   6. Cleaning the front door
   7. Cleaning and/or changing out door hardware
   8. Making sure the doorbell works.
2. Give your HVAC a clean and functioning bill of health. Be proactive about this, as any home inspector will do the same.
3. Make sure all light bulbs are working and completely debris-free.
4. Replace all the batteries in you smoke detectors. Write down the date you replaced them so the new owner will know that you’ve done it and when to do the same once they become the new owners of the home.
5. Blue tape any dents/scratches on doors/moldings and then fix them. The blue tape will remind you where and what to repair. The more wear and tear your home shows, the more any potential buyer will be motivated to chip away at your asking price.
6. Deep clean and de-clutter everything inside and out.
   1. Wipe down baseboards, moldings, fan blades, cabinets, appliances, light fixtures, closets.
   2. De-clutter/clean out/sell/donate/store belongings and furniture you’ve not using. The less “stuff” in the house, the more the potential buyer can visualize living in the house with their stuff.
   3. Clean out the garage.
      1. Make the garage clean, well organized and in good repair.
      2. Consider painting the walls and/or finishing the garage floor with epoxy.
      3. Repair any loose seams/cracks in the garage ceiling.