Serious about selling a home this spring?
Put away the pictures. Nix the knickknacks. Toss the toaster.
"The owner needs to be prepared to let the house go. It is a product," said Bill Cameron of
John Newlove Real Estate. "You want potential buyers looking at the house like it could be their
house, not someone else’s. You’re selling a product now. There’s a difference between house and
home."
Deb Shaffer with Welles Bowen Realtors said prospective buyers want to come into a house and see the
possibilities of it being their home – not be reminded that someone else lives there.
"The biggest thing, which most of us are guilty of, is dejunking," Shaffer said of getting a
house ready to sell. "You have to make room for the potential buyer, for them to imagine it being
their house. It almost needs to be a blank canvas."
Once the house is clean and clutter-free, sellers should pull out all the stops when they know a
potential buyer is stopping by, said Tim Westhoven of A.A. Green Realty.
"Place some fresh baked cookies on the kitchen counter with a note: ‘Thanks for visiting our home.’
Little touches like that, they go a long way to an offer to purchase," he said. "You have to
roll out the red carpet."
Don’t be wary of putting a house up for sale, said Keri Buff of Newlove Realty. Buyers are plentiful in
spring, with the weather breaking and kids finishing up school. They want to be prepared to move in the
summer, she said.
"There are not many houses in Bowling Green for sale. Once a house goes up, we’re finding that
they’re going quickly," she said. "And right now is the perfect time to put your house
up."
Here are some of the Realtors’ tips to sell that house:
Inside
Boring is beautiful — at least it is to someone looking to buy a home.
Shaffer preaches painting in neutral colors to her home sellers.
“The truth is wallpaper is no longer popular. So unfortunately if you have a little bit of wallpaper, it
should come down,” she said.
Bright colors or wallpaper on the walls, along with dingy or bold-color carpet — “people will look at it
and say ‘that’s work,’” Shaffer said.
“Buyers don’t want to inherit a honey-do list,” Westhoven agreed. “They have enough to do with moving.”

He said sellers should regard the rooms in their home with a critical eye.
“Every room needs to look the way it was purposed. A den should look like a den. A dining room should
look like a dining room and not a kids’ toy room,” he said.
Hoist the blinds, open the curtains and make the rooms as bright as possible, Westhoven said. Dark rooms
should be given a splash of light by a little lamp.
Stash photos and trip souvenirs.
“Humans are animals and they mark their territory. Remove all those clues that identify this as your
house,” Westhoven said. “An overabundance of personal photos or knickknacks you’ve picked up on vacation
have meaning to the owner, but not the buyer.”
Counter clutter is a no-no, Cameron said.
He recommends putting away everything in the kitchen — including toasters, sugar bowls and flour
canisters.
“It’s best to open up all that space,” he said.
Buff said some TLC is OK to share.
“There are a lot of houses in Bowling Green that people have renovated and made look new, and brighter
colors look good,” she said. “Everyone wants a house that’s been loved.”
And cleaned.
Buff recommended touching up paint and steam-cleaning carpets before putting a house on the market.
Outside
First impressions are everything when selling a house. It’s called curb appeal.
“If you don’t have curb appeal, people aren’t even interested,” Cameron said.
“A real easy thing on the outside for spring is mulch, mulch, mulch. That’s a real cheap thing to get the
house ready and make it look fresh.”
The wicked winter may have wreaked havoc on the outside of the home. Cameron said downspouts may need to
be reconnected, hoses put back on the reel and shingles replaced. Yard gnomes, windchimes and other
“trinkets” should be packed away.
“It makes your house a home, but it doesn’t make your home a house for sale,” he said of lawn
decorations.
Shaffer suggested trimming bushes back and making sure that house stands out as soon as a buyer pulls
into the driveway.
“Curb appeal is a great thing. If you can create curb appeal, people are going to want to get in.” She
added, “And, again, decluttering: you don’t want the kids’ bikes in the front yard.”
Westhoven said most people looking for a home have already done a lot of research. They’ve narrowed their
search to your home and probably a few others. As a seller, you’ve only got one chance to grab that
buyer — literally at the front door.
“They feel that your home could be their home. Therefore you have to stage it,” he said.
So that front door should be freshly painted and cobwebs brushed away.
Westhoven recommends changing the outdoor lightbulbs to make sure they’re fresh, bright and working.