Topic: Home Selling

More Tips to Help Sell Your Home Faster and Increase Your Sale Price

With all the recent news of a bursting real estate bubble and slower sales, it’s clear that home sellers need an extra edge in today’s market. Real estate agents have used varying techniques for decades to optimize the appearance of a home for potential buyers. Here are a few basic tips to get you started.

• Clean Up Your Yard – First impressions are so important. Prospective buyers often perform “drive-bys” when they hear about a listing. The only way to get them to stop to look further is if the outside of your house is deemed ‘acceptable’. They may or may not have children or pets, but no one wants to see a yard full of broken toys or lawn furniture. A quick clean-up will allow your guests to envision how they would utilize the yard and is more likely to get them to take a closer look.
• Do Some Minor Landscaping – In addition to cleaning up the yard, some light landscaping (freshly cut grass, trimmed and pruned bushes and trees) also make a good impression. Another quick, easy and inexpensive way to make the most of your yard is to weed and add fresh mulch to any flower beds. Small touches like this go a long way.
• Let The Sun Inside – Once you have them in your home, be sure they can see. Be sure the curtains are open and your blinds are raised. No one wants to see a dark or dreary house and nothing makes your home look better than natural sunlight.
• Do Your Windows – It’s as much about what you prospective buyers see as what they don’t see. If your existing windows aren’t exactly a highlight of your house but you don’t have the budget to replace them properly, make sure they are cleaned inside and out. Your buyers may not make a point of remembering how clean your windows were, but if they are dirty, it’s sure to make a poor impression.
• De-Clutter Your Home – Again, the goals are to accentuate the highlights of your house and allow your prospective buyers to envision living there. By eliminating the majority of your clutter and furniture, you allow your buyers to think about how their furniture would look in your house and what potential traffic patterns would be. You just want enough items to give the potential buyer the general feel and flow of living in the home. Clutter will only distract the buyer and take their focus away from your home. Remember, your home is the highlight, not your prized curio collection. You can use a garage for the excess or rent additional storage space as necessary.
• Clean Your Home, Especially the Kitchen & Bathrooms – This seems like common sense advice, but you’d be surprised at how many people simply don’t bother to clean their home. Nothing makes a worse impression than a dirty house, especially dirty kitchens and bathrooms. Sweep/Vacuum the floors. Degrease your stove and countertops, and hide any small appliances and knickknacks. Clean the tub, sinks and toilets. Display fresh, folded towels. And for an add touch, buy a new shower curtain that accentuates the bathroom color scheme and have a vase full of fresh cut flowers displayed.
• Add Color to Any Dull Furniture Using Slipcovers – Now that you’ve cleared out most of your furniture, you may need to “freshen up” or add some color. An easy way to do so is to pick up a slipcover. Be sure to use neutral, matching colors. Your goal isn’t to get the buyer to notice your sofa or chair, but to envision how their furniture would look. Flashy colors or patterns can distract a buyer and you want their focus on your home, not your furniture.
• Make Your Home Warm & Inviting – A few nice touches for buyer visits are fresh, simple flowers displays, a radio on at a low volume, and always leave on a few select lights.
• Paint House / Rooms - If your rooms or house are looking a bit drab, a fresh coat of paint or two can do a lot to improve their looks. Be sure to use neutral colors as now is not the time to be eclectic! If you have siding on your home’s exterior, consider having it power-washed to brighten up its appearance.
• Do What You Can – A lot of the above tips can be achieved with determination and a little elbow grease. Focus your energy and budget toward making any minor repairs that are needed. For those projects that involve writing checks, just remember to spend only what you can afford and that you want a return on any additional investments into your property. Buyers tend to overestimate the cost of repairs so in many cases, it’ in your best interest to take care of anything minor before the issue is brought up as a stipulation in an offer.