Why Can’t I Sell My House

I talked a little about this the other day and I wanted to discuss it some more today, because let’s be really honest this is a daunting task.  Selling a house is  very important.  It affects us financially and anything that affects us financially is a big deal.

When my children were small I would give them chores or task to do.  It was part of their week or day on a regular basis.  I realized very early on that just telling my son or daughter, “Go clean your room!” was not going to work. They were very inexperienced in cleaning anything, right?  Jobs that I have been doing all of my life come very easily to me because, well, I have been doing them all my life.  So I learned that if I needed them to understand what that meant I had to teach them and give them a check list.  So I started writing what they needed to do on a 4×5 index card.  The card may have only had 3 things on it.  Like,

Clean Your Room

• Make your bed.
• Pick up your bed clothes or any clothes on the floor.
• Put your baseball glove and any other toys in the closet.
• Books and other reading material, XBox, Playstation need to be put away, games included!!

And that is how they learned to clean their room, the bathroom and do their own laundry.  The only reason I am talking about that is sometimes we need help with the same kind of thing, right?  I have had people say to me, “I don’t know why my house won”t sell.”  Well I know why and I want to help you. You need an index card, with a check list on it.  Starting with the kitchen.

THE KITCHEN

If there is any room in your house you can not neglect when you are trying to sell it is your kitchen.  The way your kitchen looks can make or break a deal for a buyer.  It is one of the most important rooms in the house.  So let’s start there okay.  If your kitchen is not very big that is alright.  It must look bigger and has to be clean.  This is a must.  So first things first.

• Wipe your cabinet doors and drawer down.  They get so grimy around the handles.  It seems like I can not keep mine clean and it is just me and my hubby now.  Use whatever cleaner you need to.  I use those amazing magic eraser sponges from Mr Clean.  They do not last long but are great for this.
• If your cabinets are full, clean them out.  Now I know how hard this can be. I am a yard sale person myself.  I try to go almost every weekend.  It is my therapy and social time with a friend.  So I am not judging your junk.  I love stuff, but not everyone does.  That means if you do not need it everyday box it up or get rid of it.  When someone opens your cabinets they need to LOOK organized.  Maybe the cabinets have been fine for you, but they will not be for someone else.
• Same goes for your counter tops.  Clean them off.  If you keep containers with spoons or flour and rice on the top, put them in the cabinet for now.  Give the appearance of space.  Sometimes buyers can not see past your stuff.  They think their things will never fit on an already full counter top.  It does not matter if it was good enough for you.  It just looks full.
• Clean your stove, refrigerator, and dishwasher. The means the front of them and inside of them.  Even if you are not leaving these appliances clean them inside and out.  Whatever type of surface they have they need to look spotless.  That means using your new trusty best cleaner the Magic Sponge Eraser.  Make the tops and doors shine.  Remove the dishes from the dishwasher, clean the inside of the oven and wipe all surfaces in the fridge.  You want it to look clean. Expired food throw it out.  Old food throw it out.  Clean, clean clean is your new motto.
• Be brutal in your cleaning.  When in doubt throw it out.  That is what my hubby says and it is not always easy.

You know the things on my counter tops is not that much.  It is really just my junk,  but look after I clean it up just a little.

Take the time to declutter.  I really could probably get rid of a few more things by the sink on both sides.  What do you think?  Remember, don’t take any of this personally.  You want to sell your house, right?.  So you want your kitchen to look better that before.  Clean, clean, clean that needs to be your motto.  So let’s wrap up what you need to do in your kitchen.  You need to clear your counter tops off, wipe all surfaces down.  That is doors, around knobs, counter tops and appliances.  You need to declutter inside the cabinets, refrigerator, and pantry if you have one.  Don’t forget under your sink where things get neglected too.

Lights On

The last thing I want to encourage you to do is turn all the lights on if someone is looking at your house.  Turn all of them on, especially in the kitchen.  The brighter it looks the better.  If you need to change all of your bulbs to LED than do it.  It is worth the money.  I promise you it will make a big difference.

Don’t get discouraged.  It takes time to sell a house.  Just make sure you are doing all that you can.  Next let’s talk about bathrooms and closets, okay and believe me I am talking to you honestly.  The best way to sell your house is to make sure it looks clean to someone else.  It may not be the way you live but you want another person to want to live there.  So give this a try.  Honestly, Janet