Everyone’s perspective on clean is different, as I can attest to after seeing thousands of properties in my Real Estate and Staging career over the last 25 years. Even some professional cleaning companies have different views on what they deem as clean, which can make even hiring cleaning companies a bit tricky.

To sum up what I will write about I will cut to the chase and say that your home, when prepared for sale, should be WHITE GLOVE clean.

This means that anyone can wear a white glove and wipe any surface of your home and the glove stays white. Even in areas like the tops of door trims…Sounds complicated? It is, but it’s manageable. It will require a “face to face inspection” of areas that you normally don’t get too close to!

Let’s start with a major once over clean of your home

This will occur after all the de-cluttering, packing updates and repairs. It is the step before the Staging.

So first, having these other items taken care of will make the cleaning process go much smoother. A large portion of what would have normally hindered your progress is now out of the way.  You can begin at the top or back of your house and make your way to the front door, using a room by room process or you can do all similar items at the same time.

For example, all light fixtures, then all window sills…and follow that pattern. Whatever works best for you and your family. Remember that cleaning will represents hundreds of dollars to your bottom line and it is worth doing to create the best first impression for the buyers.

Take the following list and use it as the guide to make your master list

• Clean fireplace thoroughly

• Clean out ashes and remove all firewood

• Clean off soot stains with soot remover

• Clean all chandeliers and light fixtures & change bulbs to yellow/ incandescent

• Polish all woodwork, including furniture

• Clean back splashes in all bathrooms and kitchens

• Polish mirrors

• Clean all window screens and storm doors and screens

• Clean front door hardware

• Clean the front entryway very well, it reflects the first impression of the entire house

• Sinks should be free of food, stains and odors

• Keep dishes done and put away every day

• Clear off all small appliances off the counter tops

• Take all items off the refrigerator (top, front and sides)

• Clean cabinets of all stains and food splashes. This will require getting on your knees in front of the cabinets for a “face to face inspection”. You will be surprised what you find!

• Clean kitchen exhaust fan, filters, hoods

• Clean bathroom exhaust fans, they can be easily pulled down, washed and put back up or for a few dollars they can be replaced. You can find them at home improvement stores.

• Clean toilets using “the face to face” approach

• Wash all sinks and faucets, including behind them. They should shine.

• Clean oven, stove top, burners (replace burners if needed)

• Run a dishwasher load with CLR™ only

• Empty the refrigerator and wash all drawers, and shelves. Buyers are buying these appliances and will look inside them. Clean exteriors as well.

• Wash all floors, staircases and closet floors. Keep swept and shiny

• Wash all baseboards throughout the house. Face to face inspections!

• Organize all scrub pads, cleaning supplies and soap under the sink

• Empty pantry by 50% and wash all shelves

• Keep interiors of cabinets neat, clean and free of smells. This will require de-cluttering the pantry also. Cabinet interiors should reflect storage space and should not look cramped and “too full”

• Empty garbage daily to prevent odors

• Eliminate all odors “If you can smell it, you can’t sell it!”

• Wash walls, especially high traffic areas that have been used and abused

• Clean ceiling fans

• Clean and dust everything (doors, mirrors, shelves, baseboards…)

• Clean carpets or update them to the most current trends

• Vacuum often, including the couches. Pet hair is a turn off, so stay on top of it.

• Clean under and behind appliances. This is a dirty job but somebody has to do it

• Garbage out daily

• Cat litter cleaned every day, or if you have other pets, keep their wood shavings or “messes” clean 100 % of the time, you never know when you will get a last minute showing (put a soft air freshener nearby)

• Call an exterminator to deal with any insect problems 

Jill Turgeon 

The Staging Agent 

One Percent Realty 780-218-7444

photo credit to cottonbro studio

Kitchens and bathrooms do help sell houses, although not the main deciding factor, they are strong contenders when buyers consider what property they will now call home. Buyers consider these rooms when they are house hunting because of the difficulty of renovating them and the expense that would be required.

If you have been diligent in the upkeep and upgrades of your home then this blog will be a breeze! However, if you have never updated your home or maintained the repairs in the baths and kitchens, then this could be a pricy section!

The kitchen in this blog was a 1990’s kitchen and the wall was blocking a gorgeous River Valley view in Edmonton, Alberta. So I advised my clients to remove it and open up the view from the kitchen. It was a great choice, as they sold 4 days after listing. 

Truth be told, you will pay to do upgrades in these rooms, either when it comes time to sell and you have to reduce the price to reflect the work needed, or over the years while you live there and have been paying to maintain and upgrade.

Homeowners typically should be spending 1-3% of their market value every year to upgrade and maintain their property in good condition. So if this has not been done, it will need to be.

What types of upgrades can you do?

• Updating Appliances in all the same color, this includes the hood fan, especially if they are more than 10 years old.

• Replace or Repair all damaged tiles or flooring

• Repaint kitchen cabinets (or do touch ups)

• Consider a kitchen update if they are older than 7 years. New kitchens price at $8,000 and up, depending on if you are installing them yourself. This is not recommended for beginners no matter how keen you are!

• Install new countertops

• Update flooring, even a small bathroom looks like a new world with brand new floors

• Update light fixtures, there are many nice affordable and trendy options out there- Ask Jill if you have questions on what to buy

• Paint the ceilings

• Take off old tiles in the bathtub or shower and add a new surround. A simple do it yourself kit can be purchased for around $500.00

• Add under cabinet lighting

• Add new shower faucets and shower rods

• Re-grout your existing tile if it is still in good shape, adding a new grout color can go far

• Fresh paint colors in warm neutrals make a room look 100 x better for a small investment of time and money

• Update faucets to the latest trends

• Tighten all knobs, or replace for a modest cost. Knobs range from $3.00 to over $10.00 per piece, so it is a small investment for a great improvement

• Replace toilet seats, especially if they are cracked, wooden or themed ( yes I said themed! Bye Bye dolphins and fish)

• Add new blinds or window coverings (these often stay as included in the offer, so take this into consideration)

• New sinks, curtain rods and towel bars also make a great first impression

Remember…

You are giving the buyers every reason to buy your house

So carefully consider the first impression and ask yourself what do you look for when you are the buyer?

How do you compare houses when you are the buyer?

Then create a property that will attract buyers. It’s as simple as that.

Jill Turgeon 

The Staging Agent 

One Percent Realty 780-218-7444

Main Photo credit Meruyert Gonullu

Renovation after photo owned by Simply Irresistible Interiors Inc.

Your financial needs do not dictate your asking price.

Recently, in my staging business, we have had 3 properties that have been overpriced and staged, against professional advice. As I have been so clear on this point with my clients, I still cannot force their choices on what they think their home is worth.

Despite their Realtors telling them the correct pricing, they insisted on “trying it higher”. They all had their financial needs/ issues driving these choices.

There are multiple problems with this scenario, first being that they are shooting themselves in the foot and second they are assuming they know the market better than a professional Agent. Their refusal to take solid sound advice has worked against them.

The Result?

Well, instead of selling in record time (our average Staged days on market is 9-18 compared to 56 in the Edmonton Real Estate Board) they sat for months and months, Paying double mortgage payments and double carrying costs in some cases.

As well, they were behind the 8 ball trying to chase the market, while qualified buyers viewed their homes and SAW they were overpriced and moved on to buy other properties. They lost the summer markets and paid for staging rentals for more months than was necessary.

Then, guess what? All 3 Sellers opted to take out their staged rental package. Big mistake, because now, the Agents have called me and told me of the new challenges they face in trying to sell these now stale listings.

Agent #1 called and said that the home that did look like a show home, was now just another empty box and that his open houses were met with disappointment when the buyers came expecting to see the staged home (as the gorgeous MLS photos displayed). Buyers commented with questions like “where is all the furniture?” “Wasn’t this home staged? We came to see it because of the pictures.”

This Agent was put in an awkward position in having to answer these questions and it makes the Seller look bad too. It’s essentially false advertising. This home went through multiple price reductions to finally reach the actual value and took over 7 months to sell when it shouldn’t have. The other mistake I truly believed stalled this sale was that the Seller tried to sell it themselves before staging or calling an Agent, but that’s another BLOG!

Agent #2, had 2 staged listings, and this situation happened to her twice. She also called me after the staging was removed, but with a bit of a different story. She said that now her showings were being booked and then during and after them, Real Estate agents who showed the home called her and were upset that she had staged photos up in a non-Staged home. I totally see their points. This happened to her 4 x between the 2 homes.

Those agents, bringing buyers, are putting staged homes at the top of the list because they show SPECTACULAR. And this sets the bar for all the rest of the showings, ultimately resulting in a Staged home getting sold faster than every other house.

However, these Agents and buyers were met with empty rooms. Both properties also being overpriced and having had 2 price reductions, are still for sale, and now empty.

In one of these cases the Seller’s FRIENDS are telling him how much its worth and none of them are in Real Estate. It always boggles my mind when people deem themselves to be experts in a field they have never worked in.

All the staging money and rentals were lost at this house too, because now the seller needs to have empty room photos re-posted so that he can honestly present what the home looks like today- EMPTY.

Sellers who invest in Staging and Rentals need to take the advice of professionals. This is not a game, it’s the REAL ESTATE market and buyers aren’t uneducated, they won’t overpay for homes and they want to view property that is presented well. Staging allows for emotional connection and buyers will pay a premium for that.

It is totally within a Seller’s right to get the highest price for their home, but overpricing is not the means to that end. It is serious business this real estate thing and as much as I understand that Seller’s have financial issues and are trying to pay off all debts in the sales of their homes, I have said it before and I will say it again, ” Your financial needs do not dictate asking price!” You are only hurting yourself when you overprice.

Jill Turgeon 

The Staging Agent 

One Percent Realty 780-218-7444

Photo credit to Pixabay

Welcome to our Real Estate Blog! Here you can find timely updates of my latest properties, open houses, just solds and much more.

Whether you are interested in buying or selling real estate, I am here to help guide you every step of the way.

If you have any questions about real estate from home evaluations to mortgages to searching for properties in your area, don't hesitate to contact me today!

Jill Turgeon 

The Staging Agent 

One Percent Realty 780-218-7444

Photo owned by Simply Irresistible Interiors Inc.