You have decided to list your home, now it is time to get it ready to be listed.  You live there, you love it as it is but the prospective buyers may not.  What turns buyers off in a home?  You need to create a neutral environment, a blank canvas where they can paint themselves and their belongs into the home.  Some things that may seem small to you could keep the buyers from wanting to buy your home!Here is a list of some of the more common problems found in homes:

• Poor curb appeal.  The first impression is the most impression.  If the buyers pull up to a lawn that is not mowed, snow that is not shoveled, overgrown bushes or paint chipping off the house these are signs of a poorly cared for home.  If the outside is that bad, what is the inside like?  You want your house and property to shine!
• Greeting the buyers at the door.  The last people buyers want to see at a showing are the actual homeowners.  Buyers want to feel free to explore your home, talk freely about it and not feel watched and monitored.  Walk down the block or sit in your car parked down the block if you have to but DO NOT be home.
• Odors.  Maybe you just made a fabulous dinner, the house is filled with the smell of food, the cat box needs cleaning or there is a strong fresh paint smell – bad!  You want the house to have a neutral, clean smell.  You don’t know what foods the buyers like, maybe they are opposed to garlic or meat, dislike pets or can’t handle fresh paint.  Open the windows, use air freshener, do what you can to rid the house of odors.  Do not over use the air freshener, however, as that makes the buyers wonder what you are covering up.
• Dirt.  Would you want to buy a house where the carpet is all stained, there are black smudges on the doors and handles and there is toothpaste in the sink?  Get rid of the dirt, buyers want a fresh clean house where they can make their own dirt if they so choose.
• Get rid of your stuff!  Your home should appear spacious, it should not be a health hazard to open a closet.  Don’t just stash your stuff in the closets and the garage.  Take your extra items to a storage facility or rent a storage pod, load it and send it off.  A fairly empty home appears larger and is much more buyer friendly.
• Depersonalize.  Take down your family photos, religious and political items.  No matter what race, religion or belief the buyers are you want them to feel at home in your home.  Once your home is sold you can put things back but while it is on the market you don’t want to offend any of the potential buyers.
• Take down the wallpaper.  If your home is wrapped in wallpaper, take it down and paint everything a neutral color.  Right now wallpaper is out and buyers feel that it makes a home very dated and they see it as a big project they will have to take on if they purchase your home.

These are just a few items that are fairly easy to tackle that will make your home more appealing to buyers.