Whether you list with an agent or sell on your own, you can ensure a quick sale by proactively preparing your house to be a highly marketable and attractive commodity.

Paradigm Shift

Don’t wait for sold sign to get started with packing. Packing away items that are used infrequently has multiple benefits: It’s a head start for you when you do have house sold; It removes clutter that might impact negatively on prospective buyers; and It creates a more spacious atmosphere making rooms appear larger.

Be Buyer

To determine what improvements should be tackled first, view your house as though you were buyer. If you have a difficult time with objectivity, ask a friend, neighbour or relative to help.

Exterior View

Begin with driving or walking on your street. Does your house stand out as less attractive than those around it? Does your landscaping match up? If not: Make sure your lawn is well trimmed and free of any bald or brown spots. Plant mature bushes and flowers to add volume and colour. Avoid any plants or trees that will take time to mature. You are going for immediate appeal, over long-term results. Clear away any lawn furniture that mainly provided function over aesthetic appeal (i.e. resin chairs). Clear away kids bikes and toys from lawn and driveway. The path from your curb to door should be unobstructed and clean. Rent a power washer and clean walkway, if needed. Tighten any loose banisters or steps that lead to your door. If you have personalized items on door and mailbox remove them. Add a clean mat at door (this is a purchase that can be taken with you when you move). If your doorknob, street number, mailbox, or light fixtures are dull or rusty, polish or replace them. Clean Doors and windows at front entrance.

The Entry Way

You’ve made it past curb and are in door. When you enter house, first thing that will grab you is not going to be visual. If your house does not have a pleasant odor, it probably won’t matter how beautiful it is visually. Avoid sprays that cover up odor. Although it is better than an initial unpleasant scent, Buyers will pick up on it and feel tricked. Instead, try ‘lightly’ scented candles, potpourri, or a pot on stove with vanilla and water. If you are very ambitious, bake a pie.

Remove odor at source:

Smoke - For those who have smokers in family, it would be wise to restrict smoking to outdoors until house sells. Purchase an ozone spray which eliminates odor rather than covering it up Pets – Clean kitty litter daily and add baking soda. Keep dogs outdoors as much as possible and make use of carpet freshener on a frequent basis. Cooking – Use overhead exhaust while cooking and clean up immediately after you are finished. Lingering food odors are not noticeable while you are in house but are very apparent when stepping in from outdoors.

Interior

The most expensive renovations are kitchen and bathroom. If these rooms are not appealing to a Buyer, it might be very difficult to sell your property’s other assets.

Kitchen and Bathroom

The FX Market Structure

The foreign exchange market is generic term for worldwide institutions that exist to exchange or trade currencies. Foreign exchange is often referred to as "forex" or "FX." The foreign exchange market is an 'over counter' (OTC) market, that means that there is no central exchange and clearing house where orders are matched. FX dealers and market makers around world are linked to each other around-the-clock via telephone, computer, and fax, creating one cohesive market. Since there is no centralized exchange, competition between market makers prohibits monopolistic pricing strategies. If one market maker attempts to drastically skew price, then traders simply have option to find another market maker. Moreover, spreads are closely watched to ensure market makers are not whimsically altering cost of trade. Many equity markets, on other hand, operate in a completely different fashion; New York Stock Exchange, for instance, is sole place where companies listed on NYSE can have their stocks traded. Centralized markets are operated by what are referred to as specialists; market makers, on other hand, is term used in reference to decentralized marketplaces. Since NYSE is a centralized market, a stock traded on NYSE can only have 1 bid-ask quote at all times. Decentralized markets, such as foreign exchange, can have multiple market makers - all of whom have right to quote different prices.

Centralized Markets By their very nature, centralized markets tend to be monopolistic: with a single specialist controlling market, prices can easily be skewed to accommodate interests of specialist, not those of traders. If, for example, market is filled with sellers from whom specialists must buy from but no prospective buyers on other side, specialist will be forced to buy from sellers in be in a situation where they cannot sell a commodity that is being sold off and hence falling in value. In such a situation, specialist may simply widen spread, thereby increasing cost of trade and preventing additional participants from entering market. Or, specialists can simply drastically alter quotes they are offering, thus manipulating price to accommodate their own needs.