Cleaning Up Your Home Act

(The Washington Post). Realtor Rachel Adler thought she had found her client, a newly arrived Catholic priest from California, the perfect home "He wanted a contemporary, and there aren’t that many really nice ones in Potomac," said Adler, of Re/Max Realty Services in Bethesda. "This one was beautiful: cedar Shake Roof, vaulted ceilings, hardwood floors on two levels, double doors. The master bedroom even had a canopy bed. I was especially impressed by the huge closet space.

"But when I swung open the closet door, we gasped and our eyes nearly popped out. Right in front of us were posters showing all kinds of exotic sexual positions. The priest was a good sport about it. He said, ‘an active person obviously lives here,’ or something to that effect. I nearly died." That’s the last time I open a closet door without looking. I think the karma of the house would have precluded a Catholic priest from buying that particular home, anyway."

The lesson here is that sellers need to fully understand what they can do to help realtors sell their home, and what they should avoid.

This goes far beyond simply sticking questionable posters and other off-putting items where potential buyers won’t stumble across them.

"A lot of people don’t think about what goes into selling a home," Adler said. "Sometimes, the most seemingly innocuous behavior by the seller can queer a deal." She points a garden connoisseur who bought an elegant Victorian home specifically because of its lovely flower garden and landscaping. "During the final walk through, the purchaser noticed that a crape myrtle was missing from the backyard. The contract specifically called for all trees, shrubs, and flowers to remain on the property. However, that particular crape myrtle happened to be one of the seller’s prized possessions and he took it. A bitter dispute over the plan in question ensued. "They managed to reach a compromise," said Adler, "but the problem could have been averted if the seller had thought about this in advance and then stuck to his contract."

Much of this is just plain common sense, according to Martin Green, who asl works at Re/Max. "A seller must first make sure the house has good ‘curb appeal,’" he said. "That means that the flower bed should be mulched and paint should not be pealing. I’ve seen a lot of front doors that look pretty beaten up. People will actually say, "it’s been like that for years. We have no problems with it."

"I tell them that if they ere selling their car today, they’d make sure it’s polished and sparkling." They need to have the same attitude in selling their home. If a person is not interested in fixing up his house to improve the chances of selling it, then he’s not really motivated. I have a client who has closets crammed with junk. Plus, there’s green carpeting everywhere, which gives the place a stale odor and a sixties look. The window’s aren’t even clean. It’s no wonder that people who come here get the impression it’s a dump. The owner says that if someone wants the house they’ll look beyond this. The problem is, he wants what the market will bear if the house showed well. This person won’t listen to anything else. He’’s just not in tune with reality."

Green said homes that are up for sale should look as large as possible, and that means getting rid of clutter. "The more stuff that’s in the house, the smaller it looks," he said. "I advised unloading everything that hasn’t been used in three or four years at a yard sale or else taking it to the dump. In other words, neutralize the house, make it as airy and light as possible."

Green also warns his clients about stuffing too much unused junk in the attack or allowing pets to run loose before or during a showing.

"Not everybody appreciates animals," he said. "I don’t know how many times I’ve walked into a house and smelled a cat litter box. It really puts off potential buyers. The same is true with old junk cars that people leave parked on the driveway. Sometimes I have to be careful about that, though. Once, I suggested that a client remove a beat up old sixties Ford from his driveway. The problem was, it happened to be his main transportation."

Home Seller Check List:

Make sure your house is clean, Green said, especially the kitchen and bathroom. Fix leaks and attend to other problems before you put the house on the market.

If the roof only has a couple of years of life left, it should be replaced. If the house hasn’t been painted in five years, apply a new coat of paint.

"There are a lot of things that drive buyers crazy," Green said. "A lot of times the windows are painted shut, or don’t have proper locks. I’ve come across situations where the seller has done the work himself. Unfortunately, an amateur handyman can screw things up. I’ve seen exposed wires, outlets without any plates, that sort of thing. These are safety hazards. Buyers who see people taking shortcuts wonder what else might be wrong. They’re either not going to want such a house, or else offer a price lower than similar homes in the area."

Another caveat: stay out of the buyer’s way. "I want potential buyers to look at a house, and visualize themselves living there. I’ve seen situations where a buyers said to a seller, ‘would you take $5,000 less.’ And the seller says, ‘Sure, I’m going through a divorce, or I have to be out in thirty days.’ The buyer realizes that the seller is very anxious. This could easily affect the final selling price."

Sellers should try to put themselves in the buyer’s shoes, Green said. Try to be away during showing. And minimize personal displays such as pictures or other family heirlooms. "Such items can be very distracting. A lot of times buyers will focus on them rather than on the house. Ive walked in houses where the whole hallway is full of family portraits going back 30 years. Buyers will remember all these pictures, and not the size of the room and other things that are really important in making a decision about whether to buy. Buyers re much likelier to to remember a house that’s light, uncluttered, fresh smelling, and clean."