How to Sell Your Maui Home

If you are considering putting your Maui home on the market, we have a few tips that will help to increase its appeal to potential buyers.

1. Be objective. You may have emotional perceptions of your home based on the time you have spent there. It's a good idea to detach yourself from the property and look at it as a sellable item. You will want to remove any items that are personal to you, such as family photographs. This helps prospective buyers imagine themselves making a home there, instead of being curious about the type of people that live there now.

2. Revitalize the outside. Whether it's yardwork or a fresh coat of paint on the front door, you want to increase your home's "curbside appeal". Everything should look fresh and nice. Consider planting some new flowers or sweeping any cobwebs off the eaves. Is the driveway clean? Get rid of any oil stains and make sure the garbage cans are out of the way. Is the color of your house neutral and appealing? A lime green home is not likely to entice a potential buyer out of the car. Make sure the walkway to the front door is a clear path.

3. Get rid of clutter. For a potential buyer to really see the inside of your home, there can't be too much in it. So be sure to remove all but the necessary items. Set the dining table with your nicest place settings and make up the spare bed. Remove everything from the kitchen counter except maybe the coffee maker. You may even want to rent storage space to remove all the things you have accumulated but plan to keep. Consider it a head start on packing. You may also want to donate or throw out anything you haven't used in a year. No nick-nacks should be anywhere in sight. If you need to use certain items on a daily basis, store them in a small box and stow it away.  Don't forget the closets. You want them looking as nice and neat as the rest of the house. Rearrange your furniture in a way that maximizes open space, or at least appears to. Every area that gets a lot of traffic should be as clear as possible.

4. Repair. Make all the necessary repairs to your home. Whether it's a leaky faucet or a tempermental garbage disposal, get it taken care of. Repace light bulbs. If there is a fixture that you want to keep when you go, such as a chandelier, take it down and replace it before you show the house. The potential buyers may want it, and if they can't have it, you may put them off the sale entirely.

5. Clean. Hire professionals if necessary, because you want your home to be spotless and shining. If the carpets are permanently stained, consider replacing them altogether. Focus especially on the kitchen and bathrooms. They must look as fresh and pristine as possible. Mold and grime will instantly put off most buyers. Dust everything from the furniture to the light fixtures, polish faucets, wax floors, replace old rugs, and don't forget the windows. You may even want to clean out the refrigerator.

6. Remove odors. Hunt around your home for the faintest odor and remove it and its source. Chances are you are used to the way your home smells, but others are not, and some people have very sensitive noses. Make sure your entire house smells fresh, clean and inviting.

7. Take a step back. Now you will want to analyse your island property with a detached perspective and pretend you are considering purchasing it yourself. Take it all in and see how it makes you feel. What do you think about it? What does it need? Make the adjustments that you find necessary.

If you need any professional advise on selling or buying a property on Maui, please contact Jim Sanders Real Estate, Inc. Our wonderful Maui real estate agents are here to help you with all your real estate needs, and our handy search tool will allow you to browse over a thousand properties available for sale.