With the weather finally rolling into a nice steady warmth, I've been enjoying some cycling and hiking and still find myself looking forward to more time in the woods and on the road. As the temps have been climbing, so has interest in real estate. We have all seen more signs popping up like colorful perennials so the competition is growing as well. If you are skipping down the "selling" road this year (and you want to spend more time hiking and less time selling) here are a few tips to get your home in tip-top shape and your boots up to the Tip Top House!

All of these projects are relatively quick, but provide some pretty good dividends. The first one is simply cleaning up around the yard and exterior of your property. Simple projects like hosing down the siding, painting the garage door or maybe even replacing gutters and down-spouts can do wonders for that "first impression". I ended up RE-raking my whole yard this year because the lingering leaves from last year simply looked terrible. In addition to that, leaves packed up on your lawn cause dead spots (read: yellow grass). Although some of you are cursing the speed at which your lawn is growing, you don't want to have an uneven looking patchwork for the prospective buyers to see.

While chocolate may be the key to my heart, doors are the key to your home. For the benefit of those buyers that are going to be walking through the place, make sure every door is in great shape. The front door needs to be freshly painted or stained with no scuff marks and it will be an added bonus if the doorbell actually works! Interior doors should also be visually spotless and functional. When I say functional that means there is no rubbing on the floor or ceiling when they are opened. The doors should not squeak (like a haunted house) and all of the hardware needs to be functional. Something as simple as a door that "sticks" or needs to be "encouraged" to close all the way are just additional stumbling blocks on the way to the closing table.

Flooring is next and tends to be a little more tricky. It should go without saying that all carpets need to be steam-cleaned and stain-free. If this means hiring a professional: do it. This falls into the "first impressions" category and is something the prospective buyers will be dreading. They'll be annoyed that they have to take care of your nasty carpeted home! (That's right, I said nasty! Clean it up.) The hardwood floors are a little more of an investment if you need to have them refinished due to large scratches and scrapes. I encourage you to get the opinion of a professional here as well. They likely have "spot-check" solutions that can keep you from fixing the entire floor. It is worth the phone call, I promise.

While we're on the subject of blemishes, it is worth a cruise around your home to inspect all of the walls. I think most of us tend to turn a blind eye to the "hiccups" on our walls. We see them every day and tend to block them out a bit. "When you visit a home for the first time, those scrapes and scratches stand out like the proverbial sore thumb," notes Badger Peabody & Smith Realty (formerly Badger Realty) agent, Kevin Killourie. Take a more critical look at the walls and see what you can touch-up with a warm-soapy sponge. Anything more serious than that can likely be touched up with a dab or two of paint. It will allow the eye to scan the whole room without stopping at every little inconsistency and will keep the buyers focused on the important stuff.

This next one is my favorite and honestly the most simple. Just organize your "stuff". If you have ever walked into a nicely organized garage, it is a thing of beauty. Just getting everything off the floor is a big step in the right direction. This allows the eye to see a larger space and, as is always the case with buyers, allows them to imagine filling the garage will all of their own stuff. Adding shelving to the garage (or basement) is the most simple and effective way to accomplish this. It comes with the added bonus of actually being able to FIND what you're looking for!

Along the lines of organizing things, I strongly encourage sellers to ensure that every drawer and cabinet door in the house is functional. Just like anything else the buyers will dread having to fix, ensuring that whichever door or drawer they happen to open is working is going to keep them moving through the home and allow them to focus on the more important things. It also would be a good idea to get those areas tidied up as well. We all have that one "junk" drawer and that one may get a "pass" for the showing. Just make sure most of the others are clean and neat.

Lastly, I strongly encourage you to clean all of your appliances. This is a good idea for the rest of the year as well, but during selling season it is a bit more important. You don't have to run out and buy all new appliances, but just make sure the ones you do have are clean. Even a worn, tired toaster can look presentable if it is not covered in crumbs and peanut butter!

More than anything, I want you to get outside and enjoy this glorious place we have the privilege of calling home. These tips for sellers are intended to get your home ready for sale and then get you outside to play. None of these are costly and none of them take a lot of time. In fact, if you start now, you can be outside by lunch! See you on the trail!