Imagine for a moment that you're in the"bed & breakfast" business. How would you change your home's bedrooms to appeal to a paying lodger? Naturally you'd make up the beds with your prettiest sheets and comforters. Maybe you'd add a vase of flowers on the dressing table or a cosy armchair in the corner. Every bedroom in your home should invite prospective buyers to settle right in.

* CREATE A MASTER BEDROOM "SUITE" EFFECT.

Large master bedrooms are particularly popular among today's home buyers. Make your bedroom larger. Paint the room a light color, remove one of the bureaus if the room is crowded, minimize clutter to maximize spaciousness. Aim for a restful, subdued "look."

A private bathroom off the master bedroom is a real sales plus...decorate to coordinate with the color scheme of your bedroom, create the "suite" effect.

* TACKLE YOUR CLOSETS.

Virtually all buyers are looking for a house with plenty of closet space. Try to make what you have appear generous and well planned...

• - clear out all but your current seasonal wardrobe.
• - a clear floor will make a closet seem more spacious.
• - closet shelves should look well organized.
• - when prospective buyers open your closet door, they should be greeted with a whiff of fresh-smelling air.
• - be sure that every closet in your home has a light so that buyers can easily inspect the interiors.

* DEPERSONALIZE TEENAGER'S ROOMS

Take the time to explain your house-selling goals to your children. Encourage them to participate in preparing your home for showing; particularly the principle of appealing to the widest possible market...store those personal posters until your home is sold.

Wise sellers take special pains with preparing their bathroom(s) for scrutiny by strangers. The bathroom is a room, after all, and a very personal one. Potential buyers will inspect yours with eagle eyes, so be sure it is immaculate. Don't forget the medicine cabinet: dispose of those three-year-old prescriptions, and polish the shelves. The same goes for the storage cabinet under the sink. Replace that old caulking around the bathtub.

* CREATE A LOOK.

Decorate and personalize - create a pleasing, individual look. Add plants, shells you collected at the beach last summer in an attractive glass bowl or jar, pictures, magazine rack, display fresh towels that coordinate with paint colors, etc.

* CONSIDER COLOR.

Remember, appeal to a wide range of buyers. Play down that all-pink look with contrasting dove-gray towels and matching bathroom rug. If your bathroom is mostly white or neutral, add a few cheerful accents of color; use towels in the popular shades. Don't hesitate to buy a few new towels and a rug; you'll be taking them with you to your new home.

* INVEST IN A NEW SHOWER CURTAIN.

41. IMPROVE YOUR FLOOR COVERING.

Notice the word "improve" not "replace." Scrub and wax the older floor. Cover the largest area you can with a large scatter rug.

* PUT OUT FRESH TOWELS AND SOAP.

Prospective buyers are very special guests in your home. Give the VIP treatment with fresh smelling towels and new soap in an attractive dish. Splurge on a box of fancy sculptures and perfumed guest soaps.

* GO EASY ON AIR SPRAYS AND ROOM DEODORIZES.

A gentle hint of fragrance in the air is fine, but keep it subtle.

If your home has a full basement, chances are that the "machinery" of your home furnace, water heater, electric circuit breakers, etc. is located there. Since educated buyers will inspect this area, do necessary clean-up and repairs. Spend a Saturday morning cleaning out your basement. Get rid of broken tools, rusted lawn furniture, and other assorted debris that has accumulated over the years. Give your basement a thorough sweeping and take a damp cloth and wipe off any dust and grime from the surface of your water heater and furnace, they'll look newer.

* MAKE IT AS PLEASANT AS POSSIBLE.

A dark damp-smelling basement, will have trouble selling. One whiff of mildew and a prospective buyer may begin conjuring up scenes of wading through your flooded basement in rubber hip boots. Clean up mildew stains, throw out any upholstered basement furniture that retains that musty smell, and check the basement walls for high water marks. Many basements are creepy simply because they are too dark. Increase the wattage of your existing light bulbs, and if necessary, install a few more lights.

* SET IT UP AS A GAME ROOM OR TEEN ROOM.

Set your ping pong table (with balls and paddles as props), hang some bright posters, dust off the old upright, and you've instantly transformed the place into a teen hangout. Your "stage setting" needn't be complete and shouldn't cost a cent - its only meant to be an imagination jogger that suggests further possibilities to buyers.

* HIGHLIGHT A WORKBENCH AREA.

Many men dream of having a home workshop for woodworking projects. Clear off that dusty workbench in your basement and draw some attention to it as a sales feature. Clean the surface, set out a few scraps of wood, a box of nails, and a couple of tools, hang a light over the bench, and you've set a scene for an amateur carpenter. Naturally, if someone in your family is REALLY into woodwork, an honest-to-gosh project in progress will stimulate buyers to imagine themselves working in your pleasant basement.

Copyright © 1997, 1998