Prepare Your Home For The Market in Vancouver

Six Essential Steps

  1. Make cosmetic improvements.
    An attractive, clean and tidy appearance will enhance your home's appeal.

    • Keep the lawn mowed & walks cleared
    • Wash the windows squeeky clean
    • Open the shades and curtains to create a bright, inviting atmosphere
    • Declutter the house, especially the kitchen and bathrooms
    For some great ideas and examples of how a house should look for sale,visit Dekora's gallery of homes before and after.


  2. Pay attention to details.
    Fixing the minor items can go a long way toward improving that important first impression:

    • Repair leaky faucets
    • Tighten loose door knobs
    • Replace damaged screens
    • Replace broken panes of glass - cloudy sealed-pane units can often be replaced inexpensively, and will drastically improve the appearance of a window or patio door.
    • Replace burned-out light bulbs & broken light fixtures
    • Secure loose railings
    • Patch small holes in walls and ceilings and repaint
    • Repair or replace faded or peeling wallpaper
    • Repair and coat the driveway

    Home Renovation

  3. Make maintenance improvements.
    The maintenance improvements listed below are relatively easy and inexpensive to make, yet can substantially improve a home's appearance (value), efficiency and comfort.

    • Trim trees and shrubs
    • Apply new caulking and weatherstripping as needed around windows and doors
    • Clean gutters of debris and leaves, repair or replace cracked or broken gutters, downspouts and extensions to ensure proper drainage
    • Replace bathroom caulk or grout where necessary
    • Ventilate & dehumidify closed basements and crawl spaces
    • Grade soil around the house to prevent ponding of water next to the foundation
    • Replace dirty filters in the heating and ventilating systems
    • Have the heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems professionally serviced
    • Have chimneys professionally cleaned & inspected

  4. Take safety precautions.
    Protect your home and its occupants from danger.
    Good ideas that create a great impression:

    • Install quality smoke detectors
    • Install quality carbon-monoxide detector
    • Ensure adequate outdoor lighting shows off house too
    • 'GFCI' outlets outdoors and in wet locations such a bath & laundry areas
    • Keep the stairwells tidy and free of debris and obstructions including around
    • the electrical panel and furnace
    • Keep flammables and combustibles away from the furnace and other utility areas
    • If you have direct entry from the garage to the interior of the home, consider installing a hydraulic or other form of auto-closure device on the door.
    • Check the tension on garage doors 

  5. Backyard

    Check the major systems.
    A primary concern for home buyer's is the condition of the basic structure and major mechanical systems. Most buyers have great fear of the cost to repair these critical areas:

    • Roof structure and covering
    • Foundation, basement, and/or crawl space
    • Central heating and air conditioning systems
    • Electrical system
    • Plumbing system

  6. Prepare for the buyer's inspection.
    Find the various house records that can be used to answer questions from the purchaser and their inspector:

    • Appliance receipts, service records and warranties
    • Age of major components such as the roof, furnace, air-conditioner, etc.
    • Major component warranties
    • Heating, water and electric bills from at least the past 12 months