Art of Selling You Home! It doesn't have to be hard!

Staging Your Home"  to show and sell your home.

Getting your home ready to show and sell can make the difference between a quick sale and a long market time.  Setting the stage may or may not get you more money but it can reduce the time it takes your home to sell, which does save you money. Setting the stage to show and sell your home is a two phase project. First, the things you need to do before you put your home on the market and secondly the things you need to do before EVERY showing.    

                                       Stop! Before you put your home on the market  Stop!

STEP OUT OF YOURSELF!  STOP BEING THE HOMEOWNER, LOOK AT YOUR HOME WITH A CRITICAL EYE AS IF YOU WERE BUYING IT. …NOW, WOULD YOU?  IF THE ANSWER IS NO!  READ ON!

DE-CLUTTER  Rent a storage unit if you have to, PODS are quick, easy, and convenient.  Look at your home through the eyes of a buyer.  That stack of stuff in the corner that you are so used to looking at needs to be removed.  If your home is small and or crowded consider rearranging or removing furniture The exercise equipment that you never use - Store It!  Accessories are wonderful and should remain in moderation. Go to some model homes and see how they look.  They have accessories, but nothing is overdone. Closets should be uncluttered also. Remove out of season clothes and give all those things you no longer need to charity.  Stack things neatly on shelves -  OR ADD - if your furnishings are sparse, borrow some pictures for the walls, cover the beat up sofa with a throw and bring in a flower arrangement (the right time of the year, you can pick them from the side of the road). Watch shows like  HGTV and DIY, they have a wealth of easy ideas to help you get your home in shape.

 CLEAN EVERYTHING  Your home should sparkle. Don't overlook light fixtures, a clean fixture can make a huge difference in the lighting in a room. While you are cleaning the fixtures replace dim bulbs with bright ones. Make sure your bathrooms are spotless, faucets should be shiny, counters empty except for a few accessories, fixtures cleaned and fresh (get the rust stains out of the toilet etc), mirrors should be clean and streak free. The same goes for the kitchen - sparkling faucet, clean shiny sink, cabinet fronts should be wiped down or cleaned, replace drip pans on the range. Wash all light switches, we don't realize how the fingerprints collect on these.  Go through your home room by room and make sure everything has been cleaned, even the utility room and furnace.  I find some of the best cleaners are simple items found in every home like baking soda, this will not only keep the refrigerator fresh, but a box in a pail of hot water cleans it like a charm!. 

MAKE MINOR REPAIRS  That dripping faucet or toilet that won't quit running may just be a quick 10 minute repair but left alone can become a concern for the buyer.  "Maybe there is a plumbing problem" , "we better offer less"  or "there is too much deferred maintenance in this house"  are typical comments from buyers.   Touch up paint or paint a whole room if needed.  The drawings your kids made on the wall will not be considered art by potential buyers. Touch up woodwork where needed.  The scratches your dog made on the door (or worse chewed the woodwork) should all be fixed and painted. Re-caulk tubs and showers.  This doesn’t have to cost a fortune, often you can get neighborhood teenagers looking to earn a little money to paint a room!  Your neighborhood hardware store can often tell you step by step what to do! 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT  Paint your front door. Sweep away leaves, cobwebs etc.  I can't stress this enough. Potential buyers are already deciding if they like your home while waiting for the REALTOR® or homeowner to unlock the door.  This area MUST be clean and inviting….after all you, want them to come in!

Before Every Showing  Remember to:

Pick up every room. Straighten or remove newspapers, magazines, mail, toys, clothing, sports gear and dishes. Make the beds and plug in the deodorizers or other good smelling stuff and empty all trash cans (make sure empty cans are clean). Right before a potential client arrives, put on your buyers hat again and take a good look around.

Maintain a comfortable temperature winter and summer.  You want the potential buyers to spend time in your home and not hurry through because it is to warm or too cold.  Turning a ceiling fan on even if the air is on gives a feeling of coolness and you can run the air and heat on a lower temperature.

In winter make sure all sidewalks and steps are free of ice and snow (for safety as well as appearance).  In summer keep lawn mowed and sidewalks edged etc.  If you have automatic sprinklers, schedule them for early morning or late evening when there are few showings that way potential buyers have the opportunity to walk around the exterior of the home and check out the yard without getting soaked.  Get in the habit of surveying your yard when you approach your home as I do and you will see every weed as soon as it is visible.

Vacuum all carpets. Especially if you have pets or little ones! Sweep the kitchen floor…the kitchen is one of the most important rooms to homebuyers. Dust if needed.

Make sure there are no dirty dishes in the sink or crumbs on the counter.  Check for fingerprints on the refrigerator.   We are all proud of our children’s paintings and art work so if you want to show it, remove it from the frig, frame it in inexpensive frames and place it on the wall as art.

What’s that smell?  Last but not least, take the cat, cat litter, and or dog out of the home before the showing. I know this is not easy  but it is necessary!  Remove the cat litter if possible (even if you just place it neatly in the yard or on the deck).  If you can’t clean it immediately before you leave or put it in the garage. Keep two litter boxes, one that the cat uses, and on that is ready for showing only.   If you have guinea pigs, hamsters or other small pets make sure the cages are cleaned daily.

Sit back and relax:  When you know all these things have been done, sit back and let me do the rest.  As your realtor, I will make sure potential buyers see all that your home has to offer.  Oh, and it won’t hurt to have a few cookies baking in the oven.  Give that feeling of HOME SWEET HOME!