First impressions count. More than 50% of the buying decision is made upon seeing the curb appeal. If you have limited energy spend it
here.
Make your property look brand new. Fresh exterior paints, especially the front door and entry. Pressure wash sidewalks and driveways. Edge walks, fertilize the lawn and weed.
Flowers go a long way.
Interior
Make sure that all the rooms of your home are bright, clean and appealing. Painting the interior is a small investment that pays significant dividends in making
your property look fresh and new. Don't forget to discard damaged furniture and badly frayed rugs.
Kitchen
Sparkling clean of course. Commonly missed items are stains
inside the dishwasher and range exhaust hood. Increase appearance of roominess by storing all but necessary countertop appliances.
Bathrooms
Lenders will require bathrooms to be completely functional and
no repairs needed. Repairs should be completed before the buyer makes an offering price. Remove soap residue from tub surrounds and shower doors and railings. Chlorine will often
clean grout stains and naval jelly will remove those annoying rust stains.
Pet Odor
Your home should not reveal that pets live with you. If steam cleaning will not remove odor you may need to re-carpet.
Yard
Your front yard immediately reflects the inside condition of your home to the buyer. Apartment dwellers may be yearning for their own back yard. Help them visualize their family
enjoying your clean lawn furniture, clean sidewalks and patio. Trim foliage, fertilize grass, edge, and paint decks. Remove all debris and yard clutter.
Miscellaneous Inside
Drapery should be clean and rods need to be secure and operable. If you are replacing broken vinyl flooring, for visual continuity one pattern should never abut a different pattern.
Miscellaneous
Your windows should be crack free and clean inside and out. Repair screens or remove them. Hedges should be trimmed back from windows to bring maximum light to the inside of the
home. Those pesky patio covers need to be cleaned.
Closets, garage and storage
Buyers are likely looking for more room and storage is often high on that list. You can visually enlarge your closets and
garage and other storage areas by removing clutter. You may want to consider renting a mini-warehouse for storage.
Mechanical
Your doorbell must work properly and be clean. Your locks
need to work perfectly. Furnace and hot water tank areas should be as clean as your kitchen. Repair plumbing leaks and restore to original condition.
Roof
Lenders typically require five years remaining roof life. Clean or replace gutters. If needed, replace roof before it's age plays a role in time on the market and the buyers offering price.
Selling Your Property
The three main factors to consider in selling your home are location, condition and price...and they are all related.
Location**(set as graphic)**Your home's location and setting influence its value. A home inside a quiet subdivision sells for more than the identical home on a busy street. Remote areas
typically sell for less than closed-in areas. Views, streams and trees usually enhance value. You obviously have no control over location.
Condition
New homes enjoy a marketing edge over resale homes because
they are shiny and clean. Also, builders enhance their appeal by offering model homes (clean, bright, decorated in current colors and amenities) for buyers to examine.
Our goal is to make your home as close to a model home as possible... being sensitive to costs. You have nearly complete control over condition and you increase value and decrease
marketing time by being sure your property is in the best possible condition.
Most people are turned off by even the smallest amount of uncleanness or odor when buying a home. Sellers lose
thousands of dollars because they do not adequately clean their home. If your house is squeaky clean, you will be able to sell your home faster and net hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars more.
Pricing
Most people know that there will be some negotiation involved in the asking price of a home. However, there are some important things to keep in mind.
Realistically pricing your home
Chances are that your home will sell at its fair market value. Pricing it realistically at the outset simply increases the likelihood of a timely sale with less inconvenience and greater monetary return.
When it comes to price...
The best chance for selling your property is within the first seven weeks. Studies show that the longer a property stays on the market, the less the property will sell for.
The market is so competitive that even over-pricing by a few thousand dollars could mean that your house would not sell.
Interestingly, your first offer is usually your best offer.
Here are reasons for pricing your property at the market value right from the start..
An overpriced home:
- Minimizes offers
- Lowers agent response
- Limits qualified buyers
- Attracts the wrong type of buyers
- Lowers the prospects by lowering the number of showings
- Less response from advertising & sign calls
- Wastes advertising & marketing dollars
- Limits exposure
- Limits financing
- Increases complications in the transaction
- The property becomes shopworn
- Nets less for the seller
