If you are thinking about selling your home, there are several things to consider working on in your home before listing it. These are typically things I as a REALTOR will go over with you at a pre-listing appointment as well.

This list will serve as a place to start as to ensure that you as a homeowner will be doing things to get the most out of your home when it comes time to sell.

Let's take a look at several areas for sellers to consider.

Big Ticket Items
How old is your furnace and air conditioner? When was the roof last replaced? Maybe the water heater has reached it's end of usable life. These are things to consider when selling. Worse yet, being unprepared when an inspector or appraiser requires a replacement of something before the deal can close is a nightmare.

If you do not have the budget to replace such items, consider offering a credit to the buyers to help with replacement cost or some of the cost. If anything, I always suggest a home warranty to my buyers and my sellers. This will give everyone piece of mind that if something fails, that home warranty could help with replacement of an item.

Exterior and Landscaping
I know mother nature is unpredictable – especially here in Ohio. That makes keeping the exterior of the home cleaned up but with some maintenance while the property is listed, you can keep it looking great.

Start by decluttering. If you have a garage, use it to keep cars from obstructing the view of the home from the street. Clean up the kids toys and bikes.

Does the exterior of the house need anything repairs like lose siding or fascia? Or does something need repainted. If there is chipping paint, be sure and scrape it off and repaint the surface as this could be an FHA issue.

Freshen up your landscaping. Rake the leaves, keep the grass trimmed and pull any weeds in the flower bed. Trimming hedges and plants will also help. You could also put out some new flowers or plants in the flower beds and put down a fresh layer of mulch.

Interior
Honestly, once the outside is spruced up, doing something with the inside could be even more daunting. This is your living space and things that do not typically bother or you things you may not even notice are going to be scrutinized.

This is a good time to fix holes in the wall from hanging items on the walls and fix those holes in the drywall. Drywall repairs sometimes take extra time so do not be in a hurry to get those done and slap some paint on the walls.

If trim looks worn or dirty, repaint with a neutral color. The same goes for walls and any other painted surface. The majority of buyers cannot see passed paint colors so for that reason, I definitely suggest repainting personalized colors with neutral, non overbearing colors.

Consider doing other little things too like replacing switches and receptacles and their plate covers. Change up the bathroom fixtures by replacing faucets and lights. Consider upgrading your ceiling fans or at the very least, do not forget to clean the fan blades!

Kitchens and Bathrooms
Kitchens and bathrooms could be expensive to make any changes. If it is within your budget, consider replacing the backsplash to modernize it or install new appliances. New countertops are also a quick and easy way to bring an old kitchen back to life. Consider changing out hardware or if your cabinets can be painted, consider a cabinet refinishing kit that your local home improvement store sells.

In the bathroom, consider recaulking the tub or anything else that has caulking on it. If you have tile and grout, use a heavy duty grout cleaner to clean the grout or consider regrouting tile to make it stand out. Another thing in a bathroom is to consider changing out the mirror. Maybe your bathroom just has a plain old mirror held to the wall over the sink. Consider adding a trim border to it to really make it stand out. A project like this could be a simple and easy project.

Flooring
This is a big one. I am always amazed when I see a house before and after flooring is replaced. It makes a bigger difference than what you think it will. New padding and carpet can really make a potential buyer happy and it can also change the look completely of a room.

This is especially relevant if perhaps you have pets and there are pet stains or even tears in carpet and linoleum. Some older homes have carpet in bathrooms and kitchens. Consider changing those from carpet to something more trendy like wood laminate or linoleum. If the carpet or padding is worn out in places, consider pulling it all up and putting new down. A buyer will appreciate not having to worry about flooring as soon as they move in.

Seems rather tedious doesn't it? I do not recommend trying to do all of this at once. Listing and selling your home is a process and ensuring that your home is as prepared for the market as it can be is very important.

The most important thing to remember about making changes in preparation for selling is to ensure you are making the right improvements and not spending time and money on something that will not matter in the long run. Ask your selling agent – they would be more than happy to assist you!