So you want to sell your home – you have interviewed the Realtors, you have selected one, you have priced your home to sell, and now you are ready to have the pictures taken of your home!  The Realtor comes over and takes a picture and --- YOUR LIVING ROOM IS NOW UP ON THE INTERNET!!  Do you think this is the living room of your buyer’s dreams?  Probably not!  So, as in the previous “Messy Rooms” posts, here are my top 10 ideas on how to make this Messy Living Room a Showplace Living Room!  Let me know your ideas!

• First, get rid of the clutter on the floor!  Of course, this goes without saying!  You certainly want the buyers to be able to walk through and not worry about having their kids fall on the floor while walking through!  So, pick up the clutter that is on the floor!

•  Second, clean the carpet!  You will notice that although the carpet is a nice neutral, it does have stains on it!  The last thing a seller should want is for a buyer to think about having to replace the carpet and use this as a way to bring down your price!  So invest the money in having a professional steam clean the carpet to get rid of the stains!

• Third, put up some nice curtains on the windows!  The walls are painted a nice neutral color, but the room has no pizzazz to it!  Putting some nice curtains on the window will help to soften the look of the bare windows!

• Fourth, put some furniture in the room!  If the house is a vacant home, perhaps a nice chair and small table, as well as a light fixture will help the buyer visualize the room!  Take a trick from the decorators who stage the new home models!  Perhaps you have some furniture sitting in a rec room that can be moved into the living room to show it off to the best you can!

• Fifth, remove the dog crates!  This is a living room, not a kennel!  Since the front door comes right into the living room, the last thing that your potential buyer wants to see is the animal crates!  Many buyers have allergies and seeing the animal crates when they walk in may be a turnoff to some buyers!

• Sixth, put some pictures on the wall!  As with the curtains, putting a few well placed pictures on the walls will help to make the room show great!

• Seventh, make sure the dining room is also in great show condition!  When the buyer comes into your home, they will look first straight ahead at the living room, but as soon as they turn their heads, they will see the dining room, so make sure it also shows to perfection!

• Eighth, put a small welcome mat at the front door!  This is especially good when you are showing your home in a bad weather season, such as the winter where there is lots of snow or rain!  This will help to prevent buyers from tracking in lots of dirt onto a neutral carpet!

• Ninth, put a little bit of Carpet Fresh on the welcome mat at the front door!  This will help the buyers bring in that fresh smell into your home while they are walking through it!

• Tenth, open up the blinds when showing your home!  On a nice sunny day, you want as much light to flow into your home!

Imagine that you have now done all those things!  If you were a buyer for this home, would you find this a more appealing home than the home which has the living room as it is pictured?  I would love to hear any other suggestions you may have!  As always, feel free to call or email me should you have any questions.