If you've recently decided that the time has come to put your home on the market and move on to your next adventure, you probably already know that it will be in your best interests to have your carpets professionally cleaned, apply some fresh coats of paint, and perhaps plant some flowers in your front yard in order to create optimal curb appeal. However, before you put these finishing touches on your home prior to placing it on the market, there are several other things you should take care of before putting on the finishing touches. Following are three of the first things you should do after you've decided that you'll be putting your house up for sale.
Get Rid of Clutter
One of the first things you need to do after you've made a firm decision to put your home on the market is to get rid of clutter. Not only do most people find the sight of other people's clutter aggravating, it will prevent potential buyers from seeing the actual bones of your home. and the place will also look much larger. Homes sell more quickly when interested parties can easily imagine themselves and their families happily occupying the space, and that's easier for people to do when presented with a blank slate. As an added bonus, you'll get a head start on actually moving out of your home when the time comes if you've already seriously decluttered the place. Use a local storage facility to keep your stuff until it's time to move into your new home, and have a big garage sale to get rid of items you no longer use.
Get Rid of Rodents
One of the last things you want to happen while your home is on the market is for someone who's considering buying it to notice signs of rodents in your homes -- or worse yet, the rodents themselves. Even if you only suspect that you may have a rodent problem in your home, you should have a thorough pest control evaluation performed prior to putting your home on the market.
Many homeowners wrongly believe that pests are only active during the spring and summer months. Although it's true that most outdoor insect activity picks up significantly when spring comes and that pest populations continue to increase through summer, ignoring pest control during the rest of the year can have unpleasant ramifications. Homeowners need to be particularly cautious concerning rodent infestations during autumn, because that's the time of year when rats and mice begin to seek indoor shelter for the winter. It's important to seal up any possible points of entry on your home exterior to prevent them from accessing your home in the first place, but autumn pest control for rodents shouldn't stop there -- it's likely that a few may have already migrated indoors, so you may need to seek out the services of a professional rodent exterminator to make sure that your home puts its best foot forward when you place it on the market.
Do Any Necessary Maintenance
Before you paint or have the carpets cleaned, inspect your home thoroughly for anything that needs to be repaired -- doing this first will ensure that your carpets stay as clean as possible and that you won't mess up the new paint job. Take a critical look at built in household features such as kitchen and bathroom cabinets and consider having them resurfaced or replaced if you think they detract from the good qualities of your home. This is also a great time to upgrade lighting fixtures and replace outdated hot water heaters.
For more information, contact companies like Godfather's Exterminating, Inc.
