Here are some simple tips for preparing your property for sale. With Spring around the corner now is the time to get ready to market.

Disassociate Your self With the property.

Make the mental decision to "let go" of the emotional attachment and focus on the fact that the property will no longer be yours. Look toward the future.

De-Personalise.

Pack up those personal photographs and family heirlooms. Buyers can't see past personal effects, and you don't want them to be distracted. You want buy- ers to imagine their own photos on the walls, and they can't do that if yours are there! You want buyers to say, "I can see myself living here."

De-Clutter!

People collect an amazing quantity of items. Consider this: if you haven't used it in over a year, you probably don't need it. If you don't need it, why not donate it or throw it away? Remove clutter from your home, the shed and the property.

• Remove all books from bookcases.
• Clean off everything on kitchen benches.
• Put essential items used daily in a small box that can be stored in a cupboard when not in use.
• Think of this process as a head-start on the packing you will eventually need to do any-way.
• Rearrange Bedroom wardrobes and Kitchen cupboards.
• Buyers love to snoop and will open wardrobe and cupboard doors. Think of the message it sends if items fall out! Now imagine what a buyer believes about you if they see every-thing is organised. It says you probably take good care of the rest of the house as well.
• Rent a Storage Unit.
• Almost every property shows better with less furniture and clutter in sheds and on the farm. Remove pieces of furniture that block or hamper paths and walkways and put them in storage. Remove extra leaves from your dining room table to make the room appear larger. Leave just enough furniture in each room to showcase the room's purpose and plenty of room to move around. You don't want buyers scratching their heads and saying, "What is this room used for?"
• If you want to take window coverings, built-in appliances or fixtures with you, remove them now. If the chandelier in the dining room once belonged to your great grandmother, take it down. If a buyer never sees it, they will expect it to be included in the sale.
• Make Minor Repairs.
• Replace cracked floor or kitchen tiles.
• Patch holes in walls.
• Fix leaky taps.
• Fix doors that don't close properly and kitchen drawers that jam.
• Consider painting your walls neutral colours, especially if you hMake the House Sparkle!ave grown accus-tomed to purple or pink walls.
• (Don't give buyers any reason to remember your home as "the house with the orange bathroom.")
• Replace burned-out light bulbs.
• If you've considered replacing a worn bedspread, do so now!
• Make the House Sparkle!
• Wash windows inside and out.
• Rent a pressure washer and spray down paving and exterior.
• Clean out cobwebs.
• Re-caulk bath tubs, showers and sinks.
• Polish chrome taps and mirrors.
• Clean out the refrigerator.
• Vacuum daily.
• Dust furniture, ceiling fan blades and light fixtures.
• Bleach dingy grout.
• Replace worn rugs.
• Hang up fresh towels.
• Bathroom towels look great fastened with ribbon and bows.
• Clean and air out any musty smelling areas. Odours are a no-no.
• Go outside and open your front door. Stand there. Do you want to go inside?Does the house welcome you?
• Linger in the doorway of every single room and imagine how your house will look to a buyer.
• Examine carefully how furniture is arranged and move pieces around until it makes sense.
• Make sure window coverings hang level.
• Tune in to the room's statement and its emotional pull. Does it have impact?
• Does it look like nobody lives in this house? You're almost finished.
• Check street Appeal.
• If a buyer won't get out of their car because they doesn't like the exterior of your home and the property, you'll never get them to inspect inside.
• Keep the paved areas cleared.
• Mow the lawn.
• Paint faded window trim.
• Plant yellow flowers or group flower pots together. Yellow evokes a buying emo-tion. Marigolds are inexpensive.
• Trim your bushes.
• Make sure visitors can clearly read your house number