Setting the Stage Sells Your Home
The age-old observation that "you never get a second chance to make a first impression" certainly applies when it comes to attracting buyers to a for-sale home.
Making a good first impression can mean the difference between receiving serious offers for your home or being subjected to months of lookie-loos dropping by but never buying.
How can you ensure that your home will make the best impression possible? Here are six tips for savvy home sellers:
1. Focus on curb appeal. The outside of your house can be the source of a very good first impression. Keep the grass well-watered and mowed. Have your trees trimmed. Cut back overgrowth. Plant some blooming flowers. Store toys, bicycles, roller-skates, gardening equipment and the like out of sight. Have at least the front of your house and the trim painted, if necessary. Sweep the porch and the front walkway. After dark, turn on your front porch light and any other exterior lighting.
2. Clear out the clutter. Real estate agents say buyers won't purchase a home they can't see. If your home has too much furniture, overflowing closets, crowded kitchen and bathroom countertops or lots of family photos or collectibles on display, potential buyers won't be able to see your home. Get rid of anything you don't need or use. Fill up your garage or rent some off-site storage space if that's what it takes to clear out your home.
3. Use your nose. Many people are oblivious to scents, but others are extremely sensitive to offensive odors. To eliminate bad smells, bathe your pets, freshen the cat litter box frequently, shampoo your carpets, dry clean your drapes, and empty trash cans, recycling bins and ash trays. Place open boxes of baking soda in smell-prone areas, and refrain from cooking fish or strong-smelling foods. Introduce pleasing smells by placing flowers or potpourri in your home and using air fresheners. Baking a fresh or frozen pie or some other fragrant treat is another common tactic.
4. Make all necessary repairs. Buyers expect everything in their new home to operate safely and properly. Picky buyers definitely will notice-and likely magnify -- minor maintenance problems you've ignored for months or even years. Leaky faucets, burned-out light bulbs, painted-shut or broken windows, inoperable appliances and the like should be fixed before you put your home on the market. These repairs may seem small, but left undone they can lead buyers to question whether you've taken good care of your home.
5. Introduce lifestyle accessories and make your home as comfortable and attractive as possible. Set the dining room table with your best dishes. Put out your only-for-company towels. Make up the spare bed. Hang some fresh curtains. Put some logs in the fireplace. Use your imagination.
6. Get a buyer's-eye view. Walk up to your home and pretend you've never seen it before. What do you notice? How do you feel about what you see? Does the home seem inviting? Well-maintained? Would you want to buy this home? Your answer should be an enthusiastic yes!
7. Showings and open houses
To prepare your home for viewing, make it as light, cheerful and serene as possible. Your REALTOR® will probably find a tactful way to suggest that you not be present while the house is being shown to prospective buyers. This is done because your presence will inhibit their actions and conversations. They won’t feel free to open closets and cabinets, test out the plumbing, and discuss their observations objectively as they walk through. It goes without saying that your children and pets should not be on the premises either.
If your REALTOR® has scheduled an open house, you may want to notify the neighbors, and assure them that they'll be welcome. They'll jump at the chance to poke around in your house, and sometimes they can turn up a buyer among their friends. In preparing for an open house, you should:
- Pull the drapes back
- Light lamps
- Simmer a few drops of vanilla on the stove
- Light your fireplace
- Set the dining room or kitchen table if you have particularly nice linen or china
- Put fresh towels in the bathroom
- Leave the house so your REALTOR® is free to deal with prospective buyers in a professional manner.
A tiny hand-print on a wall or the slightest door squeak can be quite distracting to some potential buyers. Use this handy checklist to assess what needs to be cleaned, repaired or changed before opening your home to potential buyers:
|
Kitchen and bathrooms:
· Clean all surfaces, including floors.
· Organize countertops
· Ensure all sinks and faucets work properly |
Other rooms:
· Vacuum and dust all areas thoroughly.
· Collect and remove all clutter, including excess furniture.
· Neatly store books, toys and clothes in closets & on shelves.
· Clean all mirrors
· Open drapes and pull up blinds on windows |
|
Floor coverings:
· Remove all dirt and stains.
· Repair any damaged areas
· Restore hardwood floors under old carpeting
· a much desired feature in homes today. |
Walls, ceilings, baseboards:
· Clean any fingerprints or stains.
· Repair any holes, cracks, chipped paint, ripped wallpaper, water damage
· If necessary, repaint in neutral colours |
|
Doors:
· Fix squeaks and any other problems.
· Ensure the handles secure and work properly |
Windows:
· Clean and repair any cracks
· Ensure they open easily |
|
Lighting:
· Check to see there is sufficient light, change bulbs
· Attend to broken switches, exposed wiring |
Pet areas:
These should be clean, organized and odor free |
|
Outside the home:
Ensure all gates open easily
Clean all exterior surfaces, including decks, pools, walkways
and driveways and make them tidy |
Outside the home:
Depending on the time of year, lawns should be mowed, walkways and driveway cleared of snow, leaves removed, trees
pruned, gardens weeded, hedges trimmed |
Take a look at this link for a company that will be happy to stage your home to sell:
http://msbmoran.com/Virtual/Virtual_Staging.html