The secret to preparing your home for sale. Is there a secret? What there is, is a cursory, practical approach. Here's a taste.

Put yourself in the headspace of the perspective buyer.

Start with a view from the road. Drive up, walk by. Yes, here on Gabriola, we value our privacy, our seclusion. What makes your property unique?: statues, ponds, paths, water ways, gardens, stepping stones, fences, trees, wooden thicket. We do however; need to be locatable on the street where we live. Is the entrance cleared, house address visible, garbage removed, garden neat and tidy.

From the entrance we see the house, your home where you have lived and loved. A practical walk around the outside is a good start. In the eyes of the perspective buyer, again, what needs fixing, clearing, painting, cleaning?: drainpipes, eves, front stairs, back stairs, locks, doors, siding, roof.

Let's talk about the roof. Talk to a professional in the roofing construction trade. It is well worth it to get an opinion on the state of your roof albeit the repair or replacement. A roof in good repair will go a long way to satisfying a perspective buyer.

Now to the heart of your home, the inside. Same game plan as before with the fixes, and repairs, but this time focus on a general appeal. After repairs, a coat of paint is relatively inexpensive and what a difference to sprucing up the house. Every house has it own uniqueness in architecture, culture or creative pursuits. Bring out this individuality: if it is a splash of vibrant colour, then do it. A music enclave, a painter's studio, a potting shed, a massive window opening to a view, a cozy kitchen, no matter. This is what makes your house a home.

Now's the test. Do you go Ahhhhh!? Chances are they will too. You will have captured their hearts. Your goal to sell, their goal to buy your house, and everyone's happy.