I have been spending last few weeks trying to get my house ready for sale. This is a house that we’re been renting out for a couple of years. After the tenants moved out, my wife and I decided to sell it in order to capitalize on the tax free exemption.

Due to the drought, the tenant have been cutting back on watering resulting in yellowing of the lawns and plants. I had to first rescue the plants and lawn by increase the frequency and duration of irrigation. Somehow the personal interest overrides the public good of conserving water. Sorry. Then, I got the interior repainted by a professional painter. I also repaired window screen, vent cover and etc. and cleaned miscellaneous things like the dish washer, kitchen wall, and etc. Of course, as part of the local real estate tradition here I had to get the house inspected by a termite company (as expected, we’ve got termites) and a general property inspector for the roof/chimney, appliances and etc. The reports will be a part of the disclosure.

Then we power washed the exterior stucco wall, which resulted in some paint damages. I hand to repaint and touch up some of the exterior wall and the decorative window shutter. This was no small effort due to the difficult in matching the color.

To enhance the aesthetic, we planted lots of fresh, colorful flowers along the front walkway, and the backyard. The bare soil areas got covered with mulches – 15x 2-cubic-ft bags. The flower bouquet next to the front door looked extra appealing. It was both exhilarating and exhausting to “stress” up the house for a quick and hopefully profitable sale.

The last thing we had to do was to hire a professional stage company to stage the house with beautiful furniture and decoration to pique the interest of potential buyers. You can see the end result in this virtual tour.

The open house will happen on 8/23/14 and 8/24/14. I’m hopeful that all our efforts will yield good results.