Getting Your Boca Raton Luxury Home Ready for the Holiday Season

Palm Beach County Home Detailing Just in Time for the Holidays

The Thanksgiving Holiday proves kicks off the rest of the season. In places such as Boca Raton, events such as tree lighting help to remind us it’s time to get our homes ready for decorating. But, before you break out the boxes of home décor, take a look around and be sure your luxury condo or country club home is ready to receive guests and be in top-notch condition for entertaining. In this week’s article, we give the viewers and homeowners a few friendly tips to help them detail the houses and get ready for the festivities with ease.

Get Your Home Cleaned Before Your Company Arrives

The doorbell rings alerting you to the household of guests that will shortly fill your home after you let them inside. As you’re passing through your estate, you happen to swipe your hand across the balcony on your way to greet your friends only to find a coating of dust is now covering your hand. As you can imagine the embarrassment may exceed what you’re thinking in this case. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. Like many of the seasonal residents such as our snowbirds, they’ve found helpful companies who keep their homes looking pristine even when they first arrive into Palm Beach County. Let’s face the facts, your property needs to have a thorough cleaning, and there’s plenty of companies out there who can help you get prepared.

Do Your Due Diligence Prior to Housekeeper’s First Visit

If you’ve been thinking about having your house sparkle for the holiday season, be sure to check out Angie’s List or the Better Business Bureau before hiring strangers. While many of these companies are bonded and ensure their employees have gone through background checks, its good policy to ask for the credentials. Businesses like Maid Pro offers every service imaginable including window cleaning and has a 5-star rating on Yelp. While there are plenty of maid and home cleaners on Craigslist, chances are, they don’t come with the additional credentials. Since many of you have valuable belongings, it’s safe to guess you would want the most reliable and respectful individuals to enter your home or condominium.

Make Your Expectations Clear to Avoid Additional Charges or Poor Performances

When visiting these companies’ website, be sure to read the ‘Services’ section. You will get a full understanding of what they are doing to your estate and should be clear with the representative of your expectations. While most companies offer standard services such as vacuuming and cleaning bathrooms, they may not wipe down things like floorboards. It’s up to you to find the company that will offer you a floor to ceiling checklist that includes all your most essential needs.

Cleaning Products Can Affect Allergies and Pets

Other than the types of cleaning and tasks, if you are commonly allergic or have pets, be sure to ask in advance what they use as far as a type of house cleaning products and solutions. If you have allergies or you’re concerned about your dog or cat, it’s imperative to ask for green-friendly or natural cleaning solutions to be used rather than harsh chemicals. Safe and effective tools are available and are typically gentler to use on valuable surfaces, such as marble or imported wood.

Post-Holiday Pick Up is Another Good Idea

Besides safety with materials, you may be thinking of hiring these professionals after the holiday season to pick up after tree needles and left-over tinsel? If that’s the case, be sure to ask if there are additional fees for these types of services. In most cases, you’ll need to specify there’s further work. Get your pricing up front for any extras they list on the company’s website.

Rare and Unusual Surfaces and Items Need Special Care

In addition to the extra type of cleaning you’ll want for your home, be sure to discuss with management any rare or unusual belongings. Most housekeepers know they can't treat all household products the same. The correct theory is essential when it comes to artwork or collectible items. Materials such as onyx or stone bathtubs have unique needs when it comes to their care and maintenance. In the event, you’re looking to looking to have someone assist you in cleaning these surfaces, be sure to find someone who specializes rather than your average company. The last thing you want is to have your investment left with stains or chips because someone was unfamiliar with the care of an item.

Beachfront, Waterfront and Coastal Properties Have Specific Needs

In addition to finding the right home cleaner to prep for the holidays, if you live in oceanfront or coastal properties you’ll want to work with someone who is familiar with the salt water and sand. While we all love visiting the beach on the Atlantic Ocean, we don’t always realize the damage these natural elements can cause. When you have guests, this becomes ten-fold because most people aren’t thinking about the consequences. To prevent carrying in the other outdoor particles, be sure to rinse thoroughly before dragging the tiny specs inside where they can often damage your furnishings. Furthermore, broken ornamental bulbs, pine cones, or needles from Christmas trees can destroy flooring and other delicate material. Therefore, if you’ll be doing some post-holiday cleanup, be sure to be on the lookout for this type of nuisance.

Inconspicuous Places Found Throughout the Home, Need Attention

Besides, don’t forget to detail your home before showing or listings. In some cases, it's common to overlook some interior or exterior, when it comes to selling your property. High spots such as vaulted ceilings or fireplaces, might become neglected. Many people enjoy placing greenery or decorations in these areas but forget the remnants once the holiday has passed. If you’re selling the home, you’ll want to have your housekeeper pay attention to detail in these not so conspicuous places too. Imaging the next homeowner's bid once they take off the white glove. Sometimes it’s the small things that make a difference when it comes to selling real estate.

Make Time to Celebrate and Enjoy the Holiday Season

Finally, remember to detail your boat too! Like many of us in the Boca Raton area, we have ships and yachts where we’ll be continuing with our celebrations. It’s a good idea to get the crew or someone to dust and clean before hitting the water. You never know how messy things can get on a boat when there's no cover and the vessel face the elements daily.

While your estate, mansion or penthouse is getting prepared for the holiday season, we hope you take plenty of time to relax and enjoy. After the house is made to be spotless, you’ll feel more like celebrating. In the meantime, if you have questions on selling your Boca Raton property, be sure to give our specialists a call.