We are all aware of clutter in our homes but the garage is often forgotten as an area worth cleaning up. The garage may not be the first place potential buyers look at when checking out your home but it is an important part of the overall package.
You’ve taken great care to ensure your home is in beautiful shape when the first buyers walk through the door. Well, except for the garage. That seems to be the catch-all for the house, and not exactly the best room to make a good, first impression. Although your garage certainly won’t have the “wow” factor like other rooms in your home, it nevertheless can impress your potential buyers. Here are a few ways to take your home’s least-attractive room to one that will make buyers stop and stay awhile:
• Unload the clutter – Since you will be moving soon, now is a great time to roll up your sleeves and tackle the junk you’ve been collecting in your garage. Heck, why not have a garage sale while you’re at it? You can make some money and clean house at the same time. Now is also the time to make a pile of charitable contributions, too.
• Dust things off – Just because it’s a garage doesn’t mean it should have dust-filled floors and cob-web filled corners. Sweep it out and clean it up.
• Add hooks – Get your larger garage items, like bicycles and golf bags, up off the floor with heavy-duty garage hooks. They will free up garage space and give buyers plenty of inspiration for extra storage.
• Add more storage – From shelves to cabinetry, adding more storage in your garage will make the space appear larger and more organized. Let the buyers know the shelves and cabinets will stay with the house and get extra bonus points.
• Clean the garage door – You can make your dingy garage door look like new with the help of a pressure washer. Clean the windows to your garage, too, as they likely haven’t had sunlight streaming through them for some time.
• Clean up the floor – If your floors are oil-stained, apply some paint thinner to the spot. If there is any standing oil, pour cat litter or saw dust to the area, allow the oil to be absorbed, and sweep it up. Purchase a concrete cleaning solution at your local home improvement store and, with the help of a stiff-bristled push broom, get all the dirt and grime off your garage floor.
Realtor.com
