Stage Your Home
Making that first impression could mean the difference between receiving serious interest and potentially an offer or being subjected to many months of lookie-loos dropping by but never showing enough interest to buy. Here are some tips that will ensure that your home will make the best impression possible.
Curb Appeal Is Vital: The outside of your home can be a source of a good impression. Keep your yard well watered and mowed. The trees and shrubbery should trimmed and manicured. Plant some colorful and blooming flowers that will catch the eye of the buyer. Keep personal items ( toys, garden equipment) out of sight. Clean the front porch and have the front of your house painted. After hours, turn on your front porch light and any other exterior lighting that will create that warm inviting look.
No More Clutter: Buyers want to be able to envision themselves in the home. Buyers won't purchase a home they can't see. if your home has an over abundance of furniture, overstuffed closets or family photos on display can take away the nice features your home offers. The best advise is get rid of anything that you don't need or use. You can find affordable off site storage facilities.
Unbearable Scents: Most buyers are very selective and will dissect your home with a fine-tooth comb. Many people are very sensitive to offensive odors. Eliminate those unpleasant smells, bathe your pets, clean the litter box, shampoo your carpet and clean your drapes. Place open boxes of baking soda in high odor areas to help alleviate those scents that will certainly be a turnoff for that hard to please buyer. Introduce pleasing smells by placing potpourri in your home and using air fresheners in every room. Baking a fresh pie is another common tactic.
Make Necessary Repairs: Everything in your home should be in working order. Buyers expect nothing less and those defects will be magnified and noticed by those picky buyers. Broken windows, leaky faucets and inoperable appliances should be fixed before you put your home on the market. Those minor repairs may seem trivial to the seller but can lead a buyer to question whether you've taken good care of your home.
Through The Buyers Eyes: Walk up to your home and pretend you are the buyer. What do you notice? How do you feel about what you see? Does the home seem inviting, is it well maintained? Have friends and family critique your home or give an honest opinion of the condition. Dress your home as if it were being photographed for a magazine. Use your imagination.
