Last weekend, my husband and I hosted a party for his teaching staff at our home. He’s been wanting to do it for five years, and this year I finally relented. But I had a couple requests- new flooring and fresh paint. With two boys and three animals, our nine year old carpet had seen better days, and my walls had been tormented by light saber wars and bouncing balls. It took me three weeks to get the new flooring ordered and installed, the walls painted, new trim installed, and the dust explosion cleaned up.

It was a lot of work! And on top of the inside needing some improvements, the outside needed some attention, too. Landscaping is my hobby, but this summer I’ve been so busy with work that I hadn’t been able to weed as aggressively as usual. Bushes needed trimmed, plants needed pruned, and weeds pulled. I spent two days outside working on just that. For about ten minutes before the party, my house was absolute perfection. It was the best it had ever been, and the best it will ever be again. I looked at my husband and said, “If we ever want to sell this house, now is the time. This is what a house needs to look like to get the highest dollar.”

This weekend, I scheduled showings for three buyers. I showed twelve houses in one day. Guess how many of those houses were show ready? Three. And I’m not talking about houses that are $20,000 and need TLC. I’m talking about lakefront homes and homes on large tracts of land. So what does a show-ready home look like? Here’s a list: Continue Reading →