You will find that most advice about preparing your Sapphire house for sale features a couple of indispensable terms: de-clutter, clean, and de-clutter. That’s not a typo: you can’t say ‘de-clutter’ often enough. It has to be emphasized that “clutter” doesn’t necessarily refer to shabby or threadbare items—it means literally everything that doesn’t advance the look and feel of a spacious, ready-to-move-into dwelling.

That’s why this specialized definition of “clutter” might include a good-looking leather ottoman that perfectly matches its recliner (but which leaves too little space for walking from the den into the kitchen) … or the wide-shaded authentic Tiffany standing lamp with the stunning dragonfly motif that doesn’t match anything else in the house…or the chest in the hall that holds all the winter stuff. Even if Sapphire’s winter hadn’t ended last Sunday, that chest and the winter gear ought to find a temporary home in a less obtrusive housing.

In other words, when you have a house for sale in Sapphire, clearing away non-essentials to emphasize spaciousness is a high priority—even if it might mean sacrificing some degree of livability. Yes, you DO have to continue to live in your house, so the de-cluttering has to be within reason. Likewise, the cleaning.

Now; about the cleaning.

There is cleaning—the kind we do all the time—but then there is also “deep cleaning.” Like “de-cluttering,” “deep cleaning” is a real estate watchword invoked by everyone writing about preparing a house for sale. The phrase would seem to be clear, but it needs to be pointed out that professionals usually do a better job of it than we civilians can. They simply see dirt that normal householders don’t (and also somehow manage to get rid of it a lot quicker than we can).

The finer points of deep cleaning include being in possession of an assortment cleaning tools and substances that aren’t found in every closet. But in addition to those, it takes a dirt detective’s eye to recognize the many areas that are easily overlooked:

Light bulbs. Trash cans. Drawer organizers. Bed skirts. Dishwasher and washing machine seals. Undersides of cushions. Ceiling fan blades (all right; you probably knew they were dusty, but keep putting off figuring out how to get the vacuum up a stepladder to do anything about it). Beneath the range, beneath the refrigerator, behind the toilet…etc.

You get the best results when your Sapphire house for sale is presented in a way that invites prospective buyers to easily envision living there. Open spaces that are uncluttered and clean invite them to do just that. I’m here, too, to help with ideas and suggestions that will have proved to make the entire process as easy as possible. Why not give me a call?

If you had to characterize the way future homeowners approach how they find their next home for sale, you’d likely say that they fall into a couple of major categories. Both approaches work: which is better is really about the way you tend to tackle any problem. But if I had to choose, there is one approach I’d have to say is superior.

The first approach is to dig right into it. You call up the Sapphire Realtor® to discuss the state of the market, lay out your goals and ideas, and listen to what is proposed as the next step. If what you hear sounds good, you give the thumbs-up, and—voila!—it’s underway! Taking this approach, you let the pro ask the questions that her or his experience dictates. Fine points not covered initially will come up as the process narrows.

This is an approach that certainly makes sense—after all, who knows better what details are most important as you begin your house hunt? Most people find themselves searching for a home for sale only once in a blue moon. The real estate pros are at it daily. Plus, we know the current local inventory: homes that are currently on the market (and often, some that will be coming on before long). If there is a Sapphire home for sale that fits your criteria but which is likely to be gone soon, a showing can be arranged at once. Especially for those whose time is at a premium, this approach is efficient.

The other approach is for those who naturally gravitate to a more ‘hands-on’ plan of attack. This is automatically adopted by people who are more comfortable after they’ve prepared as much as possible. They want to familiarize themselves with the state of the market and everything that’s currently affecting it. They will almost certainly have been online for a while, have examined the listing details for relevant current homes for sale in Sapphire, and possibly even dropped in on some weekend open houses. When they do contact their Sapphire Realtor, they know pretty much the direction their house hunting project should be pointing toward.

Which approach is better? Which one is more likely to find your dream house? (I bet you know that’s a rhetorical question.)

The safe answer is that the best approach is a level-headed combination of the two.

For people in the first group, taking a look at the online listings to get a feel for the homes for sale in Sapphire is an incredibly effortless and efficient way to get an instant overview of what’s out there (and at what cost). For the second group, likewise: it’s no longer necessary to spend hours or days preparing a detailed wish list of must-have and nearly must-have and would-be-nice property feature alternatives. Point your agent at an MLS listing or two for any Sapphire homes for sale that seem interesting, and you’ll receive back a list of serious candidate properties to take a look at—followed by a proposed in-person home tour agenda.

Well—at least that’s what will happen if ‘your’ agent happens to be me…so let’s have a chat!