A Checklist for Maintenance Problems

"Barbara made me add my photo."

Laurie, the crafty woman at Handy Man, Crafty Woman is our guest today. (Applause!) On her creative, fun blog she writes about her adventures as she and her handy hubby Rob (and their son Handy Boy) renovate, repair, and redecorate their New England home.  

They fully renovated their first home, built in the 1830s. Then they moved and did it all over again in their second home, built in the 1850's. They are now working on improving their current home, built in 1994.

Laurie and Rob like to go antique shopping, and collect vintage Fiesta Ware. They blog about the recipes they like, decorating discoveries they make, organizing problems they solve, renovating projects they finish, the tools they use, the crafts Laurie manages to find time for, and everything in between. 

Their method is for Laurie to pick out the paint colors, and then tell Rob what to do. Rob does the painting, and all the heavy lifting.    

I am so happy that she is here to give you her advice on home maintenance issues. Please swing over to Laurie's site, where I am guest posting today, if you want to read my thoughts on how not to remodel.

Hello, I'm Laurie from Handy Man, Crafty Woman. Thanks so much to Barbara for having me guest post today.

Home Staging: Don't Forget the Maintenance!

When you put your home on the market, there are so many things on the to-do list. You know that you must clean thoroughly, and remove excess furniture and clutter. However, you also need to pay attention to maintenance issues.

Your house may pass the "white glove" test, but if you leave any maintenance projects unfinished, potential buyers may think "No way!" in their minds.

Here are some areas you should examine before putting your home on the market:

The yard. The lawn needs to be mowed regularly. Trim bushes, rake leaves, and tidy up the flower beds. Potential buyers will often drive by your home in order to see what the neighborhood looks like. Give them a great first impression.

The entry door. The yard may look good, but the entry door is also very important. Is the paint on your door cracked and peeling? Is the door dirty? Give it a new coat of paint, or a good cleaning.

Interior doors. Do the doors inside your home close? Doors to kitchen cabinets, bedrooms, bathrooms and closets should close properly. Sliding doors should open smoothly. If you have a nice deck, you want the buyers to go outside and have a look.

Outdoor features. If you do have a deck or a pool, be sure that they are clean and maintained. These can be good selling features, and you want them to look their best.

Faucets. In addition to cleaning, fix the sinks and shower faucets so they don't drip.

Tiles. Do you have tiles in your home? Are they in good condition? If you aren't handy enough to chip out broken tiles and replace them yourself, you should hire a handy man to help with this. Broken tiles look shabby.

Lights. This may sound obvious, but do all of your lights work? Home buyers (and real estate agents) will often turn on lights in your home, so they can really see each room. Make sure that any burnt out light bulbs are replaced, and that all light fixtures are in working order.

Unfinished projects. You know what I'm talking about: The trim that is not complete; the new cabinet knobs that haven't been installed, etc. Go around your home and make a list of unfinished projects. Now is the time to finish them!

You can clean and declutter your home when you put it on the market, but don't ignore these basic maintenance issues. Home buyers look at broken and shabby items, and may wonder what else you have been ignoring. Take care of these issues, and let potential buyers imagine themselves moving right into your home.