5 Things
You Must Do To Sell Your Home
So it’s time to sell your property and you have
the welcome mat out – but, are you really ready? We were once in a real
estate market where it seemed
like all you needed was a sign and the buyers were knocking the door down but
that’s just not the case today. Today you need to market the home
correctly and marketing is not just a color ad in the local paper.
Consider the following five things you must do to sell your property.
Step 1: Prepare The House:
Most people think, “call the Realtor and toss a for sale sign in the yard”, but
that’s simply not the correct way and by correct, I mean it is not the way
that’s going to get you the most money. Look at it this way, you need to
sell your car but you just got back from a 2-week road trip with you, your
spouse and the lovely kids who of course would never eat fast food and spill soda all over the back seat right? Now do you simply park the car out
front in the driveway with a for sale sign OR do you wash it, wax it, change
the oil and vacuum up the interior? You clean it of course and your home
is no different.
Step 2: Pretend You’re the Buyer:
This is actually a tough one and may require the help of a friend who is
brutally honest. Go to the street turn around and look at your property
through the buyer’s eyes, walk up to the property and go inside all while being
the buyer. This step is crucial because if done with an open mind will
allow you to see what the buyer sees. When we look at our own homes we
see the kids memories, our memories, our holidays spent there and all the
upgrades we did to make it ours – the buyer sees the condition, curb appeal or lack
there of, the number of beds and baths, square footage and work it may need.
If you can see it as a buyer would and not as your emotions do this will put
you miles above the competition because you can address the issues now and not
let them be tested on a buyer you will lose to another home for sale in the
neighborhood.
Step 3: Tackle That “Honey-Do” List:
We all have them, the dreaded to-do list, you know…paint the front door; fix
the squeak on the stair and so on. By this time you have completed step
one and two so combine that with your honey do list already stuck to the
refrigerator and get these items done so your home does not become the one
known as “the dirty house” or “the one that needed x” home. We go out
with home buyers all the time and trust me; they label homes with such terms.
Step 4: Declutter & Stage:
Declutter and stage do NOT mean strip the home of all personal items and
paint the walls white. A home that shows well will feel comfortable and
warm but not overwhelming. You want to show as much floor, wall and
ceiling as possible but you also need to ensure the home does not feel cold so
it’s a fine line. Look at it this way, you should have furniture in each
room as the room was designed – in other words, your spare bedroom should not be
the home office if possible so stage it for its intended purpose. The
best color for the walls is not white but it's also not teal blue or bright
yellow, neutral warm colors are typically best. Here are some simple tips
to get you going on the right path:
- Add
fresh welcome mats at the door and entry way
- Keep
some nice fresh flowers with color on the kitchen table
- Stage
each room for its intended use – so a bedroom should be a bedroom and not
an office
- Freshen
up the paint to warm neutral colors
- Add some
color with use of towels and small nick knacks in areas like bathrooms
- Replace
that shower curtain with a new one
- Add
fresh mulch around the house
- Stain
the deck so its fresh and stage your patio furniture out nicely (if in
season)
- Remove
all the pictures, homework papers and magnets from the door of the
refrigerator
- Clean,
clean and clean
- Do NOT
overwhelm the house with things I like to call “smelly cover up’s” these
are items like fragrance plug-ins, candles and so on – they only make
buyers wonder what smell you’re trying to mask
Step 5: Ready To Show The World:
The headline says it all. Many sellers prepare the home but then when
it’s on want to do things like not allow showings for 24 to 48 hours after
being requested or not allowing showings on weekends. This is not a good
idea UNLESS it's really necessary. Now I am not suggesting letting buyers
run all over you and request showings and expect you to be out in 10 minutes;
however, more often than not you will have several hours notice and you really
don’t want to tell buyers “no” in this market. You did all the work above
to prepare your home so make sure you are ready and have it available.
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