One of the most important things you can do to sell your home in addition to working with a great agent and pricing it right is to make sure everything is in good working order. You will be amazed at the pay off for you taking time to go from room-to-room, identifying various things needing to be fixed. With the home in excellent condition inside and out, you will see faster and for a better price.
Just remember that home maintenance projects do not necessarily have to be large or expensive to make a huge difference in how well your house sells. Therefore, we suggest you start at one end of the home, working your way through while making a list of everything needing to be done. With this, you can then determine what items need to be contracted out and what things you can do on your own. For each project completed, keep a list of the item along with the receipt for any work done, as well as supplies.
For starters, work on the inside of the home. The various things you want to look for include loose handrails, insecure steps going up or downstairs, improper working smoke alarms and doorbells, garbage disposal not working, clogged waste pipes and traps, damp areas of the basement, broken windows, peeling paint, cracks, etc. Just remember, if your list begins to get long, the majority of items can probably be taken care of inexpensively and easily.
Then for the outside of the home, make sure all gutters are clean and sloping toward the downspout, that outside window wells are clean, that there is proper flashing where the chimney and roof meet, and that any loose shingles are tightened. Additional things to check for include any loose or worn paint areas that would need to be repainted, squeaky, or tight moving garage doors that could need lubrication, or cracks in the driveway or front stoop needing to be filled and then sealed.