There are several strategies you can use to impress real estate agents and home buyers alike. Maximize your profits with simple tricks at very little expense by selling your home in a shorter amount of time.
Curb Appeal Is Your First Opportunity
As a buyer and agent see your home for the first time, they should see a well kept lawn and trimmed bushes. Mowing your grass and keeping it weed free is fairly easy and inexpensive if done on a regular basis. Trimming your bushes not only adds attractiveness, it allows more light in your windows. Homes that are bright inside whether with natural or man-made light will show more favorably. Lastly, look at your driveway. If it is cracked or severely broken consult with a repair company for an estimate.
The Entrance Of Your Home
If you despise the blue floral wallpaper in the entry to your home, so will most home buyers. Although there are wallpapers today that add flair to a dining room or living room, most wallpapers in homes are found in entry ways, kitchens and bathrooms and have been on the walls for decades. Buyers see a wallpaper as a time consuming, sometimes wall damaging project they prefer to avoid. Remove your wallpaper and be sure your entry is well lit with an updated fixture or lamps on a entry table.
De-personalize Every Room
A family wants to be able to visualize themselves living in your home. This becomes challenging when family photos adorn walls, shelves and bookcases in every room. Not only do the photos need to be packed away, your treasured collection of tea cups or anything similar also needs to find its way to a box.
De-clutter Every Room
The difference between de-personalizing and de-cluttering is simple. Your photos and collections are all packed away, but what about knick knacks, old floral arrangements, books, toys, clothes, shoes and bathroom accessories. When selling your home, less is more. Not only will your rooms appear larger, the visualization the buyer needs is obtained easily when their eyes aren’t distracted by your belongings. Keep in mind, when your home sells, it all needs to be packed anyway! Give yourselves a head start in more ways than one.
Paint Color
Yes, paint color is singular. Choose a neutral warm tan and use it throughout the entire home. For many home sellers, the thought of painting over the forest green that matches the sofa in their family room is not necessary. Keep in mind, it may match your taste, but once again, most buyers will see it as another project they need to take on when they move in . Steer clear of white walls. Most shades of neutral tans will give your home an appealing warmth. Consult your local hardware or paint store for suggestions.
Home Selling Advantage
Consider strongly doing these things before even one buyer walks through your front door. Your home may go on the market a little later than you had originally planned, but the pay off is more money in your pocket when it sells faster. Don’t make the mistake of deciding to make improvements after 90 days have past, and you have already taken $10, 000-$20,000 off your asking price. You may have already missed that one buyer who chose the home down the street instead of yours.
Dawn Gretz - I've been a Midwesterner all my life and currently live in Indiana with my family. My background includes a career in catalog retail with ...
