First of all, take a good look at your house, both inside and out. You never get a second chance to make a first impression, use your captive audience to its fullest potential. The first seconds are critical in the decision to buy a home. It is said that the buyer makes a decision on a property in the first 15 seconds of seeing a house.

Before you even start, you’ll need to get boxes and pack up everything that won’t be needed for the next few months. Clean your cabinets, dressers, closets, laundry area like never before. Get rid of all the clutter, the house should look as spacious as possible. Remember that the potential buyer is there to imagine your life in your house and not your things in their lives.

Let’s start with the curb appeal. When a potential buyer arrives at the property, it should look neat, clean and free of what I call lawn clutter, aka statues, Nome’s. Shrubs and lawns need to be immaculate, spruce up a garden instantly by fluffing mulch into beds. Remove weeds in beds, concrete, driveway, anywhere with views.

Some people have been known to weed and cut down their neighbors’ yards to give them a head start when their house was on the market. If you have a dog, pick up the droppings in the garden. Use a blower to make a clear and clean path for the prospective buyer to walk into your home for the first time, including patios, back hallways, etc. One last point in the yard, make sure there are no signs of neglect in terms of flowers, shrubs being watered, and the exterior of the house should be washed and cobwebs removed.

Now, when you enter the house, you should be free from any clutter that includes toys, clothes, bills, shoes. Shades or blinds should be placed to create a sun-soaked environment and to model sparkling clean windows. Any recessed lighting should be turned on along with some select accent lighting. Ceiling fans should be on and low in addition to air controls in a comfortable location. If the season calls for it, make the fireplace crackle.

All rooms must be clean and tidy, that includes the closet, the beds made and the room vacuumed. The bathroom should sparkle and the linen closet should be clean and tidy to show enough space for your own linens. Any living room should be chosen not to have a blanket if it does not complement the decoration. The kitchen appliance should be as clean as it has ever been. Never to find a dish in the sink, even make sure the fridge is clean along with the cabinets because they will look, trust me. Kitchen and bathrooms can’t be clean enough.

So, with all that said, I highly urge a seller to get to work on the cleanup process right away when you decide to advise selling. The rest will fall naturally, only on the vision and what you would like to see when viewing a house. You will never have another chance to make a first impression!