As the end of summer approaches, things are starting to look a bit shabby around our homes and yards.  The scorching heat has really taken its toll by this time of year – punishing the colorful flowers, lush lawns, and let’s face it – our motivation to keep the rest of the house perfectly appealing for a quick sale.

For those in the process of trying to sell a home quickly and for maximum value, consider these 5 quick steps to improve appeal and just sell faster.

Water the lawn.  If the water is readily available in your area and you have any grass at all left living in your lawn after a brutal summer heat wave, get it growing green and lush again with good long late evening soakings.  Your yard is one of the first noticeable aspects of the property from the street after all.  And curb appeal is selling appeal.

Wash the house.  Rent a pressure washer or reward yourself for all the work you’re doing and go ahead and buy yourself one.  Clean up the sidewalks, driveway, decks, patios, fences, and so on.  Do use caution around painted surfaces, as it’s entirely possible to zap the finish right off.  After awhile, you’ll find it’s actually fun to blast away the exterior grime with this always favorite tool, plus the sparkle you create will be irresistible to the perfect buyer.

Freshen up the paint.  Exterior paint does begin to look shabby after a couple of years of standing up to the elements.  If it’s been awhile since you’ve painted, now’s the time to tackle the project.  I know it’s not much fun to work on a house you’re in the process of selling, but the clean new look will speed up the sale and probably surprise you financially too – in a good way!

Plant autumn flowers.  Sticking with the “curb appeal sells homes theme,” it’s just about time to weed out the suffering summer flowers and replace them with fresh and vivid fall foliage for the next couple of months.  If you’re not willing to go quite this far, do make sure and summer flowers are well manicured and looking their very best.

Clean the carpets.  Moving inside, the first thing prospective buyers are likely to notice as a flaw when touring a home is any carpets that are stained, dirty, faded, or otherwise tainted by pets or just plain old wear and tear.  Clean them and make sure they’re both spot and smell free.  If your carpets are beyond the point of no return, consider replacing them or exposing any desirable flooring underneath.  It will definitely be worth your while!

So, if you’re selling your home as summer nears its end, remember, just because you might have skipped the spring cleaning, doesn’t mean it’s too late to tidy things up a bit now.  Actually, it’s quite the opposite.  Go ahead and freshen your home up now and you might just begin to see more and more offers as the leaves begin to drop.  Improving appeal does have a tendency to help homes sell quickly after all!