Susan Cooke Cook Books

Save The Money – Sell The House – 10 Inexpensive Things To Help You Sell The Indoors

If you’re ready to put your home on the market, it’s time to look at the inside of your home with a critical eye. The good news is that there are many very simple, inexpensive projects you can do that will greatly improve a buyer’s opinion of your home.

Several popular TV shows now focus on improving the interior appearance of homes in order to increase their market value or appeal. Often, properties showcased on this program undergo amazing visual transformations through very small changes. We can use this attitude – more for less – to improve the appearance of your home as well.

Always remember our motto – more for less. We want to focus on small, inexpensive changes that impact the VISUAL appearance of your home. Wiring the home for high speed internet (things that will not be seen by visiting buyers or only used in situational circumstances) or spending big bucks for major improvements, like adding granite countertops, will surprisingly yield less than you think.

1. Look Down

This is an important factor for many buyers – what type of flooring you have and most importantly, what the condition is. I’ve literally seen buyers walk away from a home simply because the carpet was overly dirty. You can prevent negative appearance or outright rejection by making sure your floors look their best. If you have carpets, rent a steam cleaner for the weekend and put it to use. They are rather inexpensive and can really rejuvenate carpets, especially older carpets. If you have laminate or hardwood, use a floor cleaner and when it dries, a no-slip floor polish. Make sure you do this in advance of any showings or open houses – you don’t want the house to smell like the cleaning isle of your grocery store. Speaking of which…

2. Destroy Offensive Odors

This one’s tough to judge. Often, we get so used to the smell of our own homes, we can’t be objective anymore. Enlist the help of a friend (your REALTOR is a good choice) who you’re sure will give you an honest evaluation. Here are some common sources of home odors and ways to combat them:

Pets: keep the litter box/bird cage/pet areas spotlessly clean. If you have a room that pets frequent, it might be a good candidate for some potpourri or a non-offensive air freshener. Febreeze is a great odor masker – if you have pets (especially dogs) that climb on the couch, chairs or lay on rugs or carpets, give those pieces of furniture a quick spray in advance of your open house.

Food Odors: certain types of cooking can really add strong scents to your home. Make sure you keep your kitchen very clean – get rid of any grease that might have collected on your stove, hood, floors or cabinets (check up top too). Get an oven cleaner and wipe out the inside of your oven. Also, make sure any kitchen trash is disposed of promptly. Finally, if you know visitors are coming soon, refrain from cooking anything with powerful odors – take yourself out as a treat for working so hard to get your home ready for sale.

Musty Smells: Often the harbinger of water problems that should be checked out, a musty smell is a big turn-off for a buyer. Certain places tend to collect this odor – basements, lower bedrooms, rec. rooms off of walk-in basements, attics or sun rooms. You can try to reduce this by using a de-humidifier regularly (if you own one) in the problem location for a few weeks before any showing. Carpets often collect this odor – make sure you steam clean them (see above). Also, this might be a good candidate for a non-offensive air freshener. If you suspect there is a water problem, get it checked out by a professional.

Just a couple tips on air fresheners: less is more. Make sure you don’t overpower your buyers with air fresheners. This often raises their suspicion that something is being covered up even if there is no real reason for them to be suspicious. Try to use non-offensive odors – lavender, chamomile, light citrus – heavy scents like pine, rose or heavy citrus can be a real turn-off. There is also a good option that I’ll discuss in my last tip of this guide.

3. Fix and Touch Up Walls

Just a few minutes with some spackle, a bit of light sanding and a couple dabs of touch-up paint can repair that hole in the wall from when you bumped it moving furniture, those expansion cracks, nail pops or other wall blemishes, even if you have no repair skills. It just has to look decent, not perfect. Stick down any drywall tape that’s peeling with some spackle and touch up – it tends to be rather unsightly and is easy to notice. Oh, and….

4. Should I Paint Entire Rooms?

It depends. If you have the time to do it yourself or if things look really bad, painting can be a great enhancement. Plus, if you do it yourself, it can be done fairly cheaply. Try to rent a paint sprayer at your local rental store – you’ll be amazed at how easy it is. Strong colors are often an issue with many buyers. You may love pumpkin orange in the family room, but will they? Neutral colors are the best – remember you’re selling this house – you can paint your new one whatever colors you want, but you have to maximize your home’s appeal to as many buyers as possible. Trust me, stick with neutrals here. If there are sections of your home that you feel could really use a new coat, use your judgment. Just remember – more for less.

5. Remove Personal Touches

You want your buyers to identify with your home – to see themselves living there. One thing that distracts from this is seeing a picture of your family every time they turn around. I know it might be sad to see all the pictures come down, but it needs to happen. Just think of this as part of the packing process. It’s also a good time to take all of the homework, pictures and drawings that your children have done off of the fridge or walls.

6. De-clutter Your Way to a Sale

Keep your home neat and tidy for visitors. This is one of the toughest things about having your home on the market – the feeling that your home always needs to be at its best. Even a little can go a long way here. Make sure toys are picked up and put away, home office spaces are kept neat and tidy, storage is stacked in an orderly fashion, laundry is put away, workshop organized, the kitchen is in order and all of those hundred other things you do when company is coming over. A neat home inspires feelings of peace and order in buyers – both good things.

7. Open up the Home

There are a few easy things you can do and a few more difficult things – the good news is that all of them don’t cost much. One of the biggest transformations that happens on those TV home makeover shows occurs when furniture is rearranged to create the impression of more space. Take a critical look at each room in your house – if you have the time, move the furniture around a bit – see if one position is more spacious than another. If you have a digital camera, take pictures and compare them side-by-side. Another option is remove furniture altogether. This is a great idea because not only will it make the house feel more open, but it will give you a jump on packing. I would suggest moving the furniture completely out of the house – perhaps rent an offsite storage area or if this isn’t possible, store all removed items neatly on one side of the garage. Some buyers don’t even look in the garage and if they do, better to have one room full of stuff than the entire home. The final thing is to leave all of the curtains pulled back – this makes a room look more “breezy” and the additional natural light is always a plus.

8. Clean, Clean, Clean

This is a very useful selling tactic, so you really can’t get away with not doing it. Keep those carpets freshly vacuumed, counters wiped down, kitchen cleaned top to bottom (the kitchen is the most important room to many buyers), bathroom completely spic and span (bathroom is often the second most important room to many buyers) and everything dusted. A few other tips – clean the bugs out of the light fixtures – they are a big “YUCK!” Give any woodwork a once-over with some furniture polish and clean those window sills and panes. Make sure you keep all dishes washed and off the counter – dirty dishes are a big turn off. Also, make sure all your closets are organized and neat – buyers will be looking through them to get an idea of storage space – be prepared!

9. Windows and Doors

Surprisingly, this is fairly high on a buyer’s annoyance factor. A sticky or noisy door will make any buyer stop a second and go “hmmm”. The good news is that this is an easy fix – a can of WD-40 takes care of the creaks and for those sticky doors, buy a bar of paraffin wax (found in the canning area of your grocery store) and rub it a bit on the area of the door that looks worn. For windows, make sure they open easily – start by cleaning the tracks – often you will find lots of dirt and grime that prevent the window from opening cleanly. If this doesn’t do the trick, try some WD-40 or a little paraffin wax here too.

10. Prepare the Home for Showing

Our goal here is to make the home as bright and “homey” as possible. There are a few selling tricks that you can use that will really establish this environment.

- Bake something – cookies are a good option – toll house is fine – just don’t burn them. We’re going for the aromas here. Freshly baked cookie smell is like expensive perfume to home buyers.

- Offer cookies (works out well with the above), or in the summer, cold bottled water. Buyers like these personal touches and they will subconsciously raise their opinions of your home.

- Open all the curtains and turn on all the lights – you want your home to feel breezy, bright and open. Change any bulbs that are out. If it’s winter and you have one, light the fireplace.

- Set the table as if you were going to have a nice meal with company. You want to sell your dining room as an entertaining space and place settings help build this impression.

- Turn on some light music – nothing offensive – smooth jazz is a good option. Keep the volume low – in the background.

- This one is vital: remove any small valuables from sight. I’d like to think that all home buyers are always on their best behaviors, but sometimes this isn’t the case – better to be safe than sorry.

- The most important thing you can remove from your home to help it sell is yourselves. Take your family out for the day or out for a few hours during the open house/showing. Usually, when a homeowner is present for an open house, it never goes as well – the buyers always feel like they’re imposing, and that’s not what you want. You want them to spend time in your home.

About the Author

Eric Rogers is a full-time, award-winning REALTOR with Century 21 Pro-Team in Aurora, Illinois. Eric has been recognized as a local
Aurora real estate
expert and also the surrounding
Fox Valley
.

Stowe, VT – (toll house cookie trail) – 03.08.10

Fir Toll Road, Mayfield, 2 bedroom town house to rent £184.00

Toll Bar House, Ryhope Road, SUNDERLAND, Tyne and We… £69,950.00

Old Toll House. Great Yarmouth. £0.99

Alfreton, Old Toll-Barn House, vintage postcard £0.99

Upper CanadaVillage Toll House Plate/ Alfred Meakin/Eng £1.93

HORNBY N8754 THE OLD TOLL HOUSE £12.99

A 1 Twelfth Scale “Toll House ” £29.99

HORNBY N8754 THE OLD TOLL HOUSE LYDDLE END – BRAND NEW £0.99

FACETS OF ENGLAND. FROM TOLL HOUSES TO LYCH GATES SIGNS £4.00

CANAL-OLD TOLL HOUSE TINSLEY SHEFFIELD M&S 2O OR 29?. £0.99

Toll House Museum Great Yarmouth Vintage Postcard 125 £1.99

Hornby Scaledale Old Toll House. (6) £0.99

Dulwich Toll House & Gate, 1940s photo view £8.50

Trewalchmai Toll House, Anglesey, B. Jones print c.1940 £16.95

FREE shipping – NEW HORNBY SKALEDALE – OLD TOLL HOUSE £12.99

HORNBY N Gauge Lyddle End THE OLD TOLL HOUSE N8754 BNIB £8.99

Hampstead, Spaniards, Toll House, 1950s photo view £10.95

The Old Toll House, Upper Minety, Wiltshire, 4 bedro… £475,000.00

1/12th Dolls Toll House Externally Decorated NEW £55.00

Toll Bar House, Ryhope Road, SUNDERLAND, Tyne and We… £109.00

Toll House Mead, Mosborough, Sheffield, 3 bedroom de… £175,000.00

NEW HORNBY LYDDLE END N8754 THE OLD TOLL HOUSE £13.99

NEW HORNBY SKALEDALE R8754 OLD TOLL HOUSE £14.40

AA1706 Yarmouth Old Toll House RPPC £2.99

Wiltshire Toll Houses by Haynes, R New Book £6.66

Toll Bar House, Ryhope Road, Sunderland, 1 bedroom f… £110,000.00

Toll Bar House, Ryhope Road, Sunderland, Tyne and We… £110,000.00

Toll Bar House, Ryhope Road, SUNDERLAND, Tyne and We… £107,000.00

13 Toll House Grove, Tranent, East Lothian EH33 , 3 … £200,000.00

Turnpikes and Toll Houses of Lancashire £9.99

Toll House Mead, Mosborough, Sheffield, 3 bedroom de… £189,950.00

Toll House Road, Durham, 4 bedroom for sale £219,950.00

Hornby Skaledale r8754 Old Toll House OO Gauge £15.50

THE OLD TOLL HOUSE GREAT YARMOUTH NORFOLK 1908 PC £3.00

Toll House Treasure , Dorothy Webb £4.78

The Toll House By Patricia Wendorf £2.74

Toll House Nestle Butterscotch Morsels-311g £3.99

The Toll House, Good Books £2.70

The Toll House, Patricia Wendorf, Good Books £3.06

V2328 Yarmouth. Old Toll House £1.75

Hornby N.8754 N gauge Old Toll House.New £9.95

The Toll House by Wendorf, Patricia £1.25

Hornby Lyddle End N8754 The Old Toll House. NEW(N) £12.30

The Toll House, Patricia Wendorf, Good Books £2.73

The Toll House, Patricia Wendorf, Good Books £2.73

The Toll House, Patricia Wendorf £3.14

Hornby Skaledale Old Toll House R8754 New 00 Gauge £11.95

UK YARMOUTH OLD TOLL HOUSE FRITH POSTCARD £2.50

HORNBY R8754 SKALEDALE THE OLD TOLL HOUSE BRAND NEW £10.80

Hornby Lyddle End N gauge N8754 Toll House £12.00

Toll House Real Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels 12oz 340g £3.99

Hornby Lyddle End Old Toll House N8754 New N Gauge £9.25

Hornby N8754 Lyddle End The Old Toll House New & Boxed £6.95

Turnpikes and Toll Houses of Lancashire, Ron Freethy, G £8.67

Turnpikes and Toll Houses of Lancashire, Ron Freethy, V £8.67

Toll House Real Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks 11.5oz 326g £3.99

GREAT YARMOUTH TOLL HOUSE QUAY TOWN HALL NORFOLK c1907 £6.99

GT YARMOUTH (Norfolk): The Toll House £1.50

Pamlin Postcard Paddington Canal Toll House London 1820 £1.69

LILLIPUT MODEL SHELTON TOLL HOUSE BOXED & CERTIFICATE £24.99

Yorks YORK Old Toll House PPC Trams £7.50

SCOTLAND PPC c.1920 RP GRETNA TOLL BAR + FIRST HOUSE £12.00

pa607 – Pamlin – Paddington Canal & Toll House c1820 £2.00

Hornby R8754 Skaledale Toll House New Boxed £13.95

EARLY 1900S ” TOLL GATE HOUSE” £4.00

---

Girls Think of Everything $11.88 Have you ever wondered who invented yummy Toll House cookies? Or who invented Kevlar? They were both women! This book, with multimedia artwork, tells the stories of many women who invented many things that changed people’s lives.

Vincent Price – House on Haunted Hill/Last Man on Earth/The Bat (DVD) $3.99 HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL: Vincent Price has one of his juiciest roles in this haunted-house thriller as millionaire playboy Frederick Loren, who invites five guests out to a genuine haunted house, offering them each $10,000 if they spend the night. Elisha…

House on Haunted Hill (DVD) $12.08 Vincent Price has one of his juiciest roles in this haunted-house thriller as millionaire playboy Frederick Loren, who invites five guests out to a genuine haunted house, offering them each $10,000 if they spend the night. Elisha Cook Jr. plays one o…

Making Concrete Garden Ornaments $12.56 Strong, versatile, and amazingly easy to work with, concrete is the ideal medium for outdoor art and long-lasting garden projects. And it doesn’t cost a lot or require special equipment; everything you need is right at the local home improvement c…

Remodeling a Basement Revised Edition (Paperback) $13.43 Finishing a basement is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to increase living space and the value of a home. This new edition of a classic bestseller is updated to the latest code. The book includes new information about egre…

House on Haunted Hill Film Collection (DVD) $8.93 HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL: Steven Price (a very hammy Geoffrey Rush) is a wealthy amusement-park owner who invites several strangers to his shrewish wife`s birthday party, this year held in the abandoned Vannacutt Institute for the Mentally Insane. There, …

AutoChron Programmable Wall Switch Timer $34.99 The AutoChron wall switch timer will save money by allowing your light and fans to turn on and off automatically. These fully programmable timers can save heating costs, make your house more secure and set sleeper timers.

House of Wax (Blu-ray Disc) $13.85 In this remake of the classic 1953 Andre de Toth film that starred Vincent Price, horrors abound in a creepy wax museum. A group of road-tripping Florida teenagers (Elisha Cuthbert, Chad Michael Murray, Paris Hilton, Robert Ri`chard, Jared Padalecki,…

3 VINCENT PRICE GREATEST HORROR CLASS $3.99 Bonus CD Three spooky Vincent Price features are included on this collection. The titles featured are HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, THE BAT, and LAST MAN ON EARTH. Please see individual titles for synopsis information.

Building Kitchen Cabinets $13.43 Building instead of buying cabinets means not only cost savings but also better materials and a truly custom kitchen. This book

Girls Think of Everything $7.91 Have you ever wondered who invented yummy Toll House cookies? Or who invented Kevlar? They were both women! This book, with multimedia artwork, tells the stories of many women who invented many things that changed people’s lives.

Do It Gorgeously (Paperback) $13.45 The best-selling author of Gorgeously Green explains how to be green, smart and thrifty by reusing old household items and using low-cost materials to make nearly all the things you would otherwise buy, including common condiments and foods, be…

The Woodburner`s Companion (Paperback) $10.76 With grave predictions about higher fuel prices, peak oil and climate change, we are all looking for greener alternatives to heat our homes and cook our food. The wood burner is now the heater of choice for many and the new generation of stoves is…

500 Bungalows $10.26 Popularity meets affordability as America`s favorite house style (according to a 2005 survey on About/Architecture.com) comes at a price point that every bungalow fan can afford. There is perennial interest in all things bungalow related. Every year th…

Earth-sheltered Houses $18.27 Roy (co-founder of the Earthwood Building School) details his knowledge and techniques for constructing energy-efficient earth-sheltered houses, accenting low to moderate cost methods that can be learned and practiced by the owner-builder. Illustrating…

NinDS – The Price Is Right (2008) $14.9 The Price is Right video game is based on the longest running game show in television history. Like the contestants on the game show, players will be able to bid on products, play the famous pricing games, and spin the Big Wheel for the chance to win p…

House Of The Dead And Poor Folk $7.09 The House of the Dead and Poor Folk, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new …

The House of the Seven Gables $7.87 The House of the Seven Gables, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, includin…

Touch (Paperback) $10.53 Suddenly manifesting an ability to heal people with his hands, family physician Dr. Alan Bulmer reluctantly accepts his power and travels the world when the ensuing attention takes a toll on his marriage and practice, a journey during which he receives…

Breadline USA (Hardcover) $16.13 Trapped in a triangle of the housing market collapse, rising energy costs, and an increasingly dysfunctional healthcare system, America`s working poor are now battling an even more formidable enemy: hunger. This time, the battle is taking place well ou…

---

Toll House Tried and True Recipes $9.98 Authentic recipes from the famous Massachusetts restaurant: popovers, veal and ham loaf, Toll House baked beans, chocolate cake, crumb pudding, much more. Nearly 700 recipes, including famous Toll House cookie recipe, many impossible to find elsewhere.

Road User Charging and Electronic Toll Collection $123.98 Road User Charging and Electronic Toll Collection by Andrew T. W. Pickford, and Philip T. Blythe Published in 2006 by Artech House Publishers

Toll And Toll-Like Receptors: $78.92 Buy and sell [Toll And Toll-Like Receptors:] at great prices.

Tell It for a Toll, Toll It for a Tale $10.48 Tell It for a Toll, Toll It for a Tale by Betty Judd-Leisten Published in 2005 by E-Booktime, LLC

Toll and Toll-Like Receptors $99 We know that 'higher' immune responses are actually underpinned by an elegantly hewn system of innate immune surveillance. Discovered first by developmental biologists, again by immunologists, and even by sociologists, Toll receptors have revolutionized our understanding of innate immunology.

Toll For The Brave $2.26 Buy and sell [Toll For The Brave] at great prices.

The Toll-Gate $6.16 Buy and sell [The Toll-Gate] at great prices.

No Bells To Toll $19.91 Buy and sell [No Bells To Toll] at great prices.

The Toll Gate $10.65 Buy and sell [The Toll Gate] at great prices.

Toll The Hounds $7.95 Buy and sell [Toll The Hounds] at great prices.

Terror Toll $17.97 Buy and sell [Terror Toll] at great prices.

Toll Road $9.03 Buy and sell [Toll Road] at great prices.

Toll Call $4.35 Buy and sell [Toll Call] at great prices.

Human Toll $6.47 Buy and sell [Human Toll] at great prices.

Death Toll $6.63 Buy and sell [Death Toll] at great prices.

Toll Collector $13.73 Buy and sell [Toll Collector] at great prices.

When Eight Bells Toll $4.93 When Eight Bells Toll

Blood Toll $4.5 Tensions are at an all-time high when Chinese and American fighter jets engage each other over the island of Taiwan. As diplomats point fingers, the situation behind the scenes grows dire. Intelligence reports indicate a terrorist group–backed by highranking offi cials in the Chinese government–has established itself on U.S. soil. Using hi-tech jammers, the terrorists have blocked all communication with the outside world. With the city of Honolulu under siege and the death toll climbing, there’s only one man who can take the enemy down. Going in alone, Mack Bolan infiltrates the terror cell. Another Pearl Harbor is at stake. This time China may have started the war, but the Executioner is determined to end it.

Toll the Hounds $20.98 In Darujhistan, the city of blue fire, it is said that love and death shall arrive dancing. It is summer and the heat is oppressive, but for the small round man in the faded red waistcoat, discomfiture is not just because of the sun. All is not well. Dire portents plague his nights and haunt the city streets like fiends of shadow. Assassins skulk in alleyways, but the quarry has turned and the hunters become the hunted. Hidden hands pluck the strings of tyranny like a fell chorus. While the bards sing their tragic tales, somewhere in the distance can be heard the baying of Hounds…And in the distant city of Black Coral, where rules Anomander Rake, Son of Darkness, ancient crimes awaken, intent on revenge. It seems Love and Death are indeed about to arrive…hand in hand, dancing. A thrilling, harrowing novel of war, intrigue and dark, uncontrollable magic, Toll the Hounds is the new chapter in Erikson’s monumental series – epic fantasy at its most imaginative and storytelling at its most exciting.

Captain’s Toll-Gate $17.26 Buy and sell [Captain's Toll-Gate] at great prices.

The First Toll Roads $79.95 Buy and sell [The First Toll Roads] at great prices.

The Captain’s Toll-Gate $8.1 Buy and sell [The Captain's Toll-Gate] at great prices.

Toll-Free Services $50.95 Buy and sell [Toll-Free Services] at great prices.

The Toll-Bridge Troll $4.16 Buy and sell [The Toll-Bridge Troll] at great prices.

The Captain’s Toll Gate $15.58 Buy and sell [The Captain's Toll Gate] at great prices.

The Deep Sea’s Toll $24.05 Buy and sell [The Deep Sea's Toll] at great prices.

Toll-Like Receptors $55.63 Buy and sell [Toll-Like Receptors] at great prices.

Zoll Ist Toll $12.29 Buy and sell [Zoll Ist Toll] at great prices.

Privatizing Toll Roads $163.95 Buy and sell [Privatizing Toll Roads] at great prices.

Drafts 1-38, Toll $10.37 Buy and sell [Drafts 1-38, Toll] at great prices.

Wiltshire Toll Houses $8.2 Buy and sell [Wiltshire Toll Houses] at great prices.

Death Toll – Blutgeld $12.05 Buy and sell [Death Toll - Blutgeld] at great prices.

No Bells to Toll $37.48 "A masterly combination of ethnographic reporting with personal empathy and rare poetic insight." — Eric Wolf "The most thorough picture of all levels of society in modern Peru that I have ever read." — John Hemming, Director, Royal Geographic Society

Toll for the Brave $24.48 Surviving a helicopter crash, Ellis Jackson is taken prisoner in Vietnam and placed in a special camp designed for brainwashing. His beautiful captor, Madame Ny, seduces him into confusion, but fellow prisoner Brigadier General James Maxwell St. Clair, provides him his only link to sanity and his only link to escape. What happens 20 years later brings him full circle.

Toll-Like Receptors In Inflammation $156.95 Buy and sell [Toll-Like Receptors In Inflammation] at great prices.

---

Powered By WP Footer