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| Minimal countertop clutter in the kitchen is ideal for selling a home. Realtor Tim Westhoven, of A.A. Green Realty, shows off this room in his Bowling Green home. (Photo: J.D. Pooley/Sentinel-Tribune) |
Put away the pictures. Nix the knickknacks. Toss the toaster.
"The owner needs to be prepared to let the house go. It is a product," said Bill Cameron of John Newlove Real Estate. "You want potential buyers looking at the house like it could be their house, not someone else's. You're selling a product now. There's a difference between house and home."
Deb Shaffer with Welles Bowen Realtors said prospective buyers want to come into a house and see the possibilities of it being their home - not be reminded that someone else lives there.
"The biggest thing, which most of us are guilty of, is dejunking," Shaffer said of getting a house ready to sell. "You have to make room for the potential buyer, for them to imagine it being their house. It almost needs to be a blank canvas."
Once the house is clean and clutter-free, sellers should pull out all the stops when they know a potential buyer is stopping by, said Tim Westhoven of A.A. Green Realty.