Spring Preparations

Spring Cleaning for a Spring Market

From a general timing and strategic perspective, no matter what you may hear to the contrary, spring really is the ideal time of year to sell your home.  More urgent than in prior years is the approaching perfect storm: currently there are more qualified buyers than there are homes available to sell them.  These conditions will likely not be the same next year as new home development is projected to skyrocket both nationally on the whole as well as locally in Huntington Beach.  In my search for important information with which to pass on to potential home sellers by way of my blog, I discovered twelve very good points for preparing your home for sale:

1. Talk to me, your local real estate professional and area expert, no matter how ‘early’ or ‘unprepared’ or ‘premature’ you might think it is; experienced agents like myself are able to find a strategy that works even if we can’t necessarily ‘strike while the iron is hot’.  And yes, this is a self-serving point to an extent, but it is an incredibly valid one.

2. Remove glass from light fixtures and take out any little critters that may have found a home over the winter.  Be sure to use glass cleaner on the panes before replacing them in your fixtures.

3. Check your house numbers.  Are they still in good shape and visible from the street?  If not, replace them.

4. Wash down your front door and garage door.  If you find that the previous summer’s sun has faded the paint, consider repainting.  

5. Wash the windows.  If this isn’t your strong suit, hire a professional.

6. Hose down the porch and driveway for a clean, crisp look.

7. Check your roof to make sure no shingles are missing or were damaged during the winter.

8. Remove debris from your gutters and drain spouts.

9. Remove winter displays from your urns.  For a burst of color, plant spring flowers as soon as weather permits. Tidy up your gardens in preparation for planting season.

10. Organize the garage. Put away shovels, snow blowers, toboggans, and any other items that made their way into your garage over the winter.

11. If you don’t use your barbeque year round, it’s time to bring it out.  If it’s a built-in unit that will be staying with the house, be sure to clean the grills and wash down the lid.  If you have a cover for it, replace it if it’s worn.

12. Remove the cover from your swimming pool and clean your pool as soon as your pool service company advises that it’s OK to do so, and bring out your patio furniture and set it up.  You want potential buyers to see your outdoor living space’s potential.

And back to point #1, to reiterate:


Sylvia Harsin
714-612-5373
Sylvia@sylviaharsin.com