Ready, Set, Sell !!!!

GETTING READY TO SELL

I get quite a few calls from homeowners asking me to look at their home and tell them what they should do prior to placing it on the market. I am always glad to get those calls. For one, it’s an opportunity to go to work and earn a living. More important, it’s an opportunity to go to work on marketing a home that is putting its best foot forward. Homeowners that set aside their own perspective have a distinctive leg up on the competition!

SUCCESSFUL SELLERS LEARN TO THINK LIKE BUYERS

A difficult notion for many homeowners to understand is that how their home looks when they are living comfortably in it is probably not how it should look to sell quickly and for the most money. Put another way, once that “for sale” sign goes up, your home—with all of its history and emotional meaning to you—is no longer your home. It’s a product for sale. When it is at its best, it shows up not as your personal domicile, but as a new set of living possibilities for prospective Buyers.

OPEN UP SPACE

The starting point is almost always the removal of your “stuff”. It’s time to de-clutter: less furniture is better; fewer things hanging on the wall is better; less stuff in the garage, basement, yard . . . everywhere. If you’re moving, you need to get rid of stuff anyway. The three year/three month rule is a good starting place: anything you haven’t used in the past 3 years—and cannot imagine a use for in the next 3 months—should go. Give it away, donate it, recycle it or trash it. The main reason, though, is to make your property more of a “blank slate”. You want prospective Buyers to be able to imagine how they will use your space—you don’t want them to be distracted by your possessions. Less stuff makes a home feel larger, also. Very important!

PAINT

There is no single better investment than pre-sale painting. Patch the drywall cracks and nail holes and give your home a fresh coat of paint—certainly inside—and outside if needed. Paint has a way of making a home feel fresh and clean. It cleans up the visual landscape, making the home feel larger, more comfortable. You’ll always get more out of painting than you spend.

CLEAN IT UP

Now is the time for deep cleaning. Carpets, kitchens, bathrooms, plumbing fixtures, windows. Again, a clean home just feels more comfortable, more inviting, larger.

JUST WHAT YOU ALWAYS WANTED

A sad truism in the world of residential real estate is that you get your home just the way you always wanted—just to hand it off to someone else. When I sold our first home, I installed the last couple replacement windows, put on a new roof, put in a new well, moved the water softening equipment out of the crowed utility closet it had occupied, replaced all the carpet, painted throughout and put on a new front deck. It looked great! It hurt to not be able to appreciate it ourselves, but it made for a quick sale and a good return on our investment.

BE SMART

The focus should be on making changes that cost less than what you will gain in sale price. A new kitchen or bath makes sense if yours is clearly obsolete or dysfunctional, but usually major expenses are not necessary or advisable. That’s where we can help. Give us a call before you spend too much.