Getting it done in 2014 - By Carrie Colby, owner/broker

Are you considering selling your home in 2014? If you are, it would be a good idea to take a good long look at your home, using an unbiased eye to start a checklist for getting your house ready to sell. 

Putting your house on the market? Before the "For Sale" sign goes up, give your property the ultimate spring cleaning. When it comes to showcasing your home for sale, there's no such thing as a house that's too clean. After all, a clean, appealing, well-maintained home has much better odds of selling, selling for more money, and selling faster. 

You get one first impression. I advise clients to rent a storage pod, clean out closets (buyers need to visualize where their stuff will go) and remove everything from the garage (dust and sweep it too). You could de-clutter for cash: Recycling used electronics can earn cash. The bathroom(s) and kitchen must be spotless. Dusty doesn't sell -- at least not for an advantageous price. 

This doesn't mean, however, that you should take on a major renovation project just so that you can sell your property. Remember, there are no guarantees that you would recover the costs of an enormous overhaul.

Getting your House Ready to Sell Checklist. 

Take a conservative approach and have a look at the different cosmetic improvements that can be made for a better overall impression. These can include things such as cleaning, painting, refinishing and similar efforts.

These are the projects that don't require much capital, and yet they make an immeasurable improvement to the overall look of your home. 

Before you consider any fix-up-for-sale projects, take on the mindset that you are sprucing up your home to sell it. Don't think of it as fixing it up for someone else. You're trying to create more of an appealing look than you are a perfect home. 

If you spruce up the house with a certain person in mind, you're limiting your market. Limiting your market will usually mean a slower sale, and a lower selling price. 

So instead of tackling a slew of huge projects create the getting your house ready to sell checklist and focus on making the home attractive, clean, presentable and well maintained. Let the new owners customize it when they move in. 

Carrie Colby is the owner/broker at Premier Properties in Raymond. To contact her, email columnist@TheWindhamEagle.com.