For Sellers
Thinking of selling your home?
Selling your home, particularly in the current market conditions, takes
more than just selecting a selling price and good marketing, it also takes
emotional preparation and getting your house in order, literally. I've
prepared some helpful tips for you (below) as you prepare to place your
house on the real estate market. If you have any questions, please don't
hesitate to contact me. I would love the opportunity to present my
marketing plan to you and prepare a home value analysis for you.
Disconnect Your Emotions
When conversing with real estate agents, you will often find that when
they talk to you about buying real estate, they will refer to your
purchase as a "home." Yet if you are selling property, they will often
refer to it as a "house." There is a reason for this. Buying real estate
is often an emotional decision, but when selling real estate you need to
remove emotion from the equation.
You need to think of your house as a marketable commodity. Property. Real
estate. Your goal is to get others to see it as their potential home, not
yours. If you do not consciously make this decision, you can inadvertently
create a situation where it takes longer to sell your property.
The first step in getting your home ready to sell is to "de-personalize"
it. You should remove all photographs and other small items from
table-tops. Buyers should be allowed to imagine their personal possessions
in the home, not look at yours. You should also put away your personal
collections so that buyers don't get so interested in looking at them that
they forget to look at the house.
Create a Mood
* Is there a mood that you could create? If you're near a coast, how about
breezy fabrics and blue-green colors that remind us of the beach? If
you're in the mountains, maybe you could go rustic. Study the house and
brainstorm with friends or family members to come up with ideas.
* Remove heavy drapes that keep out natural light, especially if there's a
great view out the windows.
* Bake bread during showings, or place a fresh loaf in a basket on the
counter.
* Classical music playing softly in the background is nice, but choose
something that enhances the mood you are trying to create.
Make Sure It's Your House They Come Back to for a Second Look
Here's a critical bit of home selling advice: don't even think of putting
your house on the market until you've taken a close look at its condition.
You usually only have one shot at impressing potential home buyers, so
take some time now to prepare the house for showings and you might be
rewarded with a faster sale and a higher offer. In order to do so though,
you must trust your instincts. Ask yourself what changes would make
immediate improvements and what features you want to show off the most.
Evaluate your own home as if you were a first time buyer.
You will find some other various home prep advice tips below.
Outdoor Tasks
* Paint the front door and front entrance. The door is the face of the
house and one of the first things people notice. Make sure front entrance
lights work.
* Keep the lawn and landscaping tidy, even if you have to hire someone to
do it.
* Store or organize items that make the yard look messy.
* Outdoor lighting makes the home inviting in the evenings--when many
buyers do drive-bys of properties.
* Put potted flowers on the front steps. Water them and keep them healthy
looking.
* Fill and repair holes or cracks in the driveway or walkways.
* Sweep the driveway and pressure wash the house or sidewalks if
necessary.
* Repair cracks in cement blocks. Likewise, a ten or twenty-dollar repair
job may be worth $3,000 in a buyer's eyes.
* Paint the shutters. Paint or touch up the trim.
* Clean the outdoor furniture. Paint the rust or toss it.
* Clean the drain gutters.
* Straighten gutters, planters, mailbox, or things that sag or tilt.
* Close the garage door. Hide the garbage cans. Put away toys. Remove
extra cars.
Indoor Tasks
* Remove clutter from the kitchen. Keep the sink clean, free from dishes.
Clean the refrigerator and degrease the oven. Take drastic action to get a
Spartan look.
* Get rid of any odors. Get rid of ashtrays. Use an air freshener if the
house does not smell right. Eliminate the smell of dogs, cats, kids, spicy
food, etc. Odors are hard to explain away and are always noticed. If
necessary, bake cookies or an apple pie - - a good smell for the open
house!
* Put away small kitchen appliances and other items that are sitting on
countertops and tables.
* Organize closets and cabinets so that they do not appear full and
busting at the seams.
* If the house is somewhat vacant, staging antiques appropriately can
create a dramatic emotional statement. There are professional companies
that do just that, usually for more expensive estates.
* Live plants look wonderful with nearly any decor.
* Get rid of any junk. If it has value, take it to a recycle
establishment, have a yard sale or donate it.
* Remove rugs if they hide nice hardwood floors.
* Are the walls in the house dingy? Are the colors dated? Paint them if
possible. Clean curtains and other window coverings. Clean dirt from
overhead fans.
* Tighten and repair loose knobs, sticky doors and windows.
* Replace burnt out bulbs. Repair light switches that do not work.
* Fix cabinet doors that do not work right. Oil hinges. Repair minor
flaws.
* Repair caulking and grout in bathroom. Fix leaky faucets. Equip with
fresh soap and neat towels. Keep the bathroom spotless.
* Skylights should be crystal-clear.
* Replace faded wallpaper.
* Shampoo carpets, polish floors. Consider replacing carpet that is faded,
excessively worn or out of date.
* Repair cracks in the dry wall. What really might be a five-dollar repair
may make a buyer raise an alert flag on a major repair and be worth $2,000
in the buyer's eyes.
* Turn on the lights and open the curtains and let in the light. Obscure
unappealing views. Show all rooms bright. Increase the wattage if
necessary. On overcast days take special care to show it bright. Keep the
room temperature comfortable. Consider mirrors to make a dark room look
larger as well as reflect outdoor light.
* Take extra furniture out so that the room looks larger. That also goes
for pictures on the wall too.
* Vacant homes often blast home buyers with stale or mildew-laden air, and
once buyers smell mildew, they are out the door. During cold months, the
interior of a house without heat always feels colder than it is outside.
Leaving the heat or air conditioning running while a home is on the market
reduces odors and makes the house more inviting.
* Store boxes in an out of the way location or rent a temporary storage
unit so you can de-clutter every part of the house.
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