Real Estate Blog

You only get one chance to make a first impression. Make sure it’s a good one. You want your home to be warm and inviting to the buyer. Clean up any clutter lying around. Stack the magazines, throw away old newspapers, and put all your loose papers in a drawer. Give your home a proper cleaning before the viewing. The more at home a buyer feels, the more likely they are to make it their home.

As a seller, you goal is to sell you home for the best price as fast as possible. Help you agent out. When the buyer enters the door, they try to picture themselves living in you home or condo. The better the buyer can see themselves living there, the better chance you have to turn a casual prospect into a seriously interested buyer.

Kitchen: A great looking kitchen can be a selling point in a house. The kitchen of a home for sale should only have the bare necessities. Think “what can I live without” and pack those items up. This will also save you time later in the moving process. The kitchen should have good aromas or no smell at all. Sinks and floors should be clean and dirty dishes out of sight. The cabinets should be wiped down and the appliances free of food and crumbs. Bathrooms: If there is a leaky faucet or toilet, get it fixed. If the tub or sink has a chip in it, get it repaired. Replace worn out or dirty grout. Make the fixtures sparkle and clean the mirrors and vanities. Put out fresh towels and coordinate them in one or two colors. Have a clean shower curtain or doors, with no mildew. Remove any unnecessary items from countertops, tubs, shower stalls and toilet tops. Keep only your most needed cosmetics, brushes, perfumes etc…, in one small group on the counter. “Bathrooms are so important,” Templeton said. “So many times a dirty faucet or dingy toilet can break a deal.” Closets: They look larger when there are fewer items stored in them. Neat, well-organized closets show there is ample space available for the new homeowner and their things. This is a great area to get ahead on packing. Garage and basement: Keep everything neat and uncluttered. Put everything away that is not part of the decor. Oil squeaking door hinges, tighten loose cabinet knobs and fix faulty wall switches. Organize or pack away tools not in use and discard boxes and scrap materials. Small rooms, problem spaces Dealing with small spaces seems to be one of the most common decorating dilemmas, according to Winter. It is not true that small items in a small room will make it appear bigger. In, fact three of four deliberately over scale items in a room will fool the eye into thinking the room is larger than it really is.

Do’s and Don’ts Of Home Showing

Take a step back Let your home speak for itself. It’s s good idea to let your agent show your home to buyers without you or other people around. If you want to be present during viewings, give the buyer some breathing room. Cramping them will only unnerve them. Let your agent do the talking. Buyers will be more at ease if they don’t feel that you’re looking over their shoulder while they view your home.

Let your agent handle it Your agent knows what he’s doing. Let him call the shots. Let you agent handle all the viewings. It you make extra appointments, your agent might not be able to give each buyer the attention they deserve. Showing your house

1. If possible, have all family members out of the house while a potential buyer is looking through it.
2. Leave on certain lights during the day.
3. During showings turn on all lights and lamps and open all drapes and curtains.
4. Have light music on during the day
5. Have light music on during the day for a viewing.
6. Pets and their odors turn off many prospective buyers. If possible arrange for the pets to be out of the house during a showing. A simple solution is to put the animals in a laundry room or garage while the home is being shown.