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Steps
to Putting the Most Money in Your Pocket
from the Sale of Your Home
Making
a Good First Impression, or ‘Staging’ Your Home
Over the years,
we’ve seen sellers make some big mistakes in preparing -- or
not preparing -- their home for sale. A mistake we see sellers make
often is failing to do the simple things that cost almost no money,
yet always make homes sell for thousands of dollars more. If your
home is logically a good value, but buyers don't feel warm and emotionally
attracted to the home, you will receive lower offers. That’s
because buying a home is an emotional decision on the part of the
buyer. Often the buyer doesn't even consciously know why they like
one home more than another... they just do. Decisions are made on
a deep subconscious level tied into what makes them feel comfortable,
safe and secure. That's why it's so important to make sure your home
looks, feels and smells its best. Remember that you're competing with
dozens of other resale homes For Sale in your price range, as well
as new construction homes. Since buyers buy on emotion… let’s
look at how your home can be the cleanest, freshest and cheeriest.
This will lead you to a much faster sale… at a higher price.
Here are the most
powerful ‘staging’ factors to help ensure that buyers
experience a good feeling when they see your home:
Make
a Great First Impression
It
is estimated that more than half of all homes are sold before the
buyers even get out of their cars. A visually pleasing and well-cared-for
exterior invites inspection of the interior, since your care of
your front yard reflects the inside condition of your house. This
may be as easy as making certain that trees are trimmed away from
the roof and the grass is mowed and edged. Rake leaves. Plant flowers.
Blow walkways. Clean away debris. Wash windows. Pressure washing
can do wonders for brightening up the appearance of your home, walkways,
and driveway. Remove parked cars. This all adds to curb appeal.
If a buyer doesn't get a warm, welcoming feeling at first glance,
they will be less likely to view the inside in a positive light.
Get
it Sparkling Clean
This
may sound obvious, but it's an easy fix that can be overlooked.
Sellers lose thousands of dollars because they do not adequately
clean. If your house is squeaky clean, you will be able to sell
your home faster and net hundreds, if not thousands of dollars more
because most people are turned off by even the smallest amount of
uncleanliness or odor when buying a home. Scrub stains out of the
carpet, vacuum behind couches and under the bed, wash windows inside
and out. Dust ceiling fans and baseboards, and polish metal surfaces.
Have a friend come over and perform a white glove -- and sniff --
test. You may be so used to your cat's litter box, the diaper pail,
or cigarette smoke in your upholstery that you don't even notice
the smell, but a buyer will.
Conquer
the Clutter
The
less stuff that you have, the more roomy the home will seem, so
go room by room and purge. Take all but the most essential items
from counter tops and shelves to help them appear more spacious.
Remove personal items such as family photos, collections, college
banners, kids' trophies. "You want people to feel like they're
walking into a house that could be theirs" explains Tanya Memme,
host of Sell this House on A&E.
While
now is the perfect time to toss out the 'junk' you are already planning
to get rid of before you move, for the collectibles and other items
you truly can't part with, rent a storage space and visit your Precious
Moments collection there. Don't fill up your closets with boxes
-- buyers will open overstuffed closets and quickly get the impression
that the home doesn't have enough storage space. Reserve drawers
and cabinets for items you use every day like toothbrushes, cookware
and cleaning supplies.
Lots
of furnishings can make a room look much smaller than it actually
is. See if you can pare down to half the furniture in each room.
Think about the visual weight of furniture as well. Big furnishings
can make a room look smaller too; a solid wood table seems larger
than a glass-top table.
Pay
Attention to the Details
Replace burned out light
bulbs, patch holes in the walls, and fix leaky faucets. Put out
fresh new towels and empty the wastebaskets. Organize your kitchen
cabinets, and line up the clothes and shoes in your closet. Play
up the zones in your garage; designate one area for sporting goods,
another for lawn care, and one for seasonal decorations, etc. "Organization
helps sell a home," says Lisa LaPorta, the designer on HGTV's
Designed to Sell.
Cover
Up with Paint
Tasteful
and up-to-date decor is your best investment for getting a greater
return on your money. Paint makes the whole house smell clean and
neat, and can help with odors. Faded walls and worn woodwork detract
from your home's appeal. Choose neutral colors like warm tans, honeys,
taupes and sage. Remember, right now you want your home's decor
to promote its sale, not to show off your favorite colors. You may
love your bright purple walls, but a potential buyer might remember
your house as 'the one with the awful purple family room'.
Don't
tell a buyer how your home can be made to look, show them by making
it look great. A quicker sale at a higher price will result. Generally,
you can expect to receive three to five dollars back for every dollar
you invest in tasteful décor.
Keep
it Light and Bright
For
maximum visual effect while your home is being shown, turn every
light on, even on a sunny day. Light creates a warm, safe feeling.
Open all blinds and curtains, and make sure your windows are spotless.
Let the sun in and keep those lights on. Leaving all your lights
on for two hours costs only about 23 cents, and makes your home
look larger and more spacious.
For
even more advice on staging your home to sell for the highest price,
please view the online videos on our Home
Staging Tips page.
Maximize
Accessibility and Minimize Distractions
Buyers and Realtors are
busy. They're
looking not only at your home, but fitting your home into a schedule
that allows them to look at other properties as well. The more flexible
you are with your showing schedule, the more buyers will look at
your home.
Do
everything you can to minimize distractions for the buyer while
they are viewing your home. Turn the TV and the loud music off.
Leave soft music playing. If at all possible, make arrangements
for the whole family (including children and pets) to be out of
the house during showings. Consider taking a walk around the block
with kids and pets while the prospective buyer views your property,
or simply take them outside.
For
more tips on presenting your home For Sale in its best light, check
out the online videos on our And finally, remember that once you
put a 'For Sale' sign in front of your house, you also need to emotionally
detach from your house. "It's not about how you live or what
your taste is,' says
Lisa LaPorta, the designer on HGTV's Designed to Sell. "It's
about appealing to a wide range of tastes."
Updates
and Repairs
In addition to
‘staging’ your home to give the best impression possible,
there are some updates and repairs that can help you pocket more money
from the sale of your home. Every home is unique, and what appeals
to buyers in each area of the country can be different. However, there
are a few overarching principles to keep in mind in regard to updates
and repairs can give you the best ‘bang for your buck’
Fix
Everything that is broken (or as much as possible)!
While it may
be tempting to sell your home in ‘As-Is’ condition because
you don’t want to have to go through the effort of making
repairs, fixing even minor items can help increase your sale price
by more money than you paid for the repair. Fix squeaky doors, sticky
drawers, the light switch that doesn't work, and the tiny crack
in the bathroom mirror because these can be deal-killers and you'll
never know what turns buyers off.
Remember, you're
not just competing with other resale homes, but brand-new ones as
well. People are willing to pay a higher price for a home that is
in ‘move-in’ condition. If you still feel that selling
your home in ‘As-Is’ condition may be the best for your
situation, discuss this with your Realtor to get guidance on how
to do this most effectively
Update
to the Level of the Neighborhood
If you live
in an older home, you may have appliances, countertops, carpeting,
or décor that was top-of-the line at the time it was new,
but is now behind the times. Even if these items are still in working
order, replacing them with something up-to-date can work wonders
for buyers’ impressions of your home and therefore their willingness
to pay more for it.
Do you need
to get the best of the best to make your home appealing to buyers?
When deciding on what to update and how nice the replacement item
should be, try to keep your updates near the same level as what
other homes in the neighborhood have. This way potential buyers
don’t have any reason to view your house negatively if it
has lower quality or older features, and you don’t overspend
or over improve.
For example,
if your neighbors’ homes have mid-range appliances, formica
countertops and newer carpeting, there is no reason for you to buy
all stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, and the highest
grade of carpet you can find. It’s safe to go just a little
nicer than the norm just to give your home that little edge in the
eyes of prospective buyers.
Fresh
Paint
Dollar for dollar,
a fresh coat of paint gives one of the highest returns on investment
of any improvement you can make on your home. Your home’s
curb appeal can be greatly enhanced by covering up faded or outdated
colors with a new paint job. Similarly, new interior paint will
quickly give rooms a fresh feel.
Make sure that
the paint job is done well, or your efforts may be for naught. If
you don’t feel that you can do a professional looking job
yourself, hire a good painter. Ask your Realtor, painter, or specialist
at the paint store for suggestions on color. Remember, you are painting
your home to appeal to prospective buyers, not to try out all those
unique ideas that you’ve always wanted to do. You can save
those ideas for your next house where you can enjoy them for a long
time!
Landscaping
Take an honest
look at your home’s landscaping, especially your front yard.
How does it compare to the rest of the neighborhood? If it isn’t
as nice as the other homes around you, this is another area where
the money you spend on improving it goes a long way in terms of
return on your investment. This can be as simple as trimming trees
and bushes and filling in the bare spots in your lawn.
Ask your Realtor
for specific landscaping advice on your particular home and neighborhood.
Even if your yard is among the nicer ones on the block, adding a
well-placed splash of color with a potted flowering plant can make
your home look even more welcoming.
Every home and
neighborhood is different. A good Realtor will come to your home and
have a personalized consultation with you to discuss the details how
of these 'bang for the buck' updates, repairs, and 'staging' factors
can be best utilized for your home. He can address specific questions
about your home's condition, and suggest any additional items you
may want to consider to best prepare your home to sell at the highest
price.
Setting
Your Home’s Sale Price
When you set your
price, you make buyers aware of the suggested maximum price they have
to pay for your home. As a seller, you will want to get a selling
price as close to the list price as possible, or even above. If you
start out by pricing too high you run the risk of not being taken
seriously by buyers and their agents and pricing too low can result
in selling for much less than you were hoping for.
Having Thorough and Accurate Data on Which to Base Your Price
Talking with
Neighbors and doing some research on your own can give you a general
idea of what homes are selling for in your neighborhood. Also a
trip to City Hall can provide you with home sale information in
its public records, for most communities. A better way would be
to access your city or county government’s site on the internet
and look up the past sales in your area through the county tax office.
However, this will not give you the most recent sales since there
is usually a time delay in how quickly sales information gets into
the public records.
The most thorough way to get a clear picture of your home’s
value is through having a Realtor come take a look at your home’s
features, condition, and location and put together a CMA (Current
Market Analysis) on your home. Realtors have access to a more extensive
database of home sales through the MLS (Multiple Listing Service)
that include up-to-date information on homes that are currently
on the market, those that are ‘sale pending’, and homes
that have already sold. He/she will put this information in an easily
readable format to give you an accurate snapshot of your home’s
value.
Benefits
of Proper Pricing
When your home
sells faster, you save carrying costs, mortgage payments and other
ownership costs. A quicker sale creates less inconvenience for you.
If you've moved before, you know the energy it takes to prepare
for showings: keeping the home clean, making childcare arrangements,
and altering your lifestyle. Proper pricing reduces these demands
on you by helping your home sell faster. At market value your home
will gain exposure to more prospects that can afford the price.
Sellers who list at a high price are looking for that one buyer
who will pay it, often not realizing that they have discouraged
many potential buyers who could have afforded the home. The final
sales price is probably one that will be affordable by more purchasers.
This is because sellers many times accept a much lower price at
a much later date since that one buyer willing to pay the higher
price never comes.
When salespeople
are excited about a home and its price, they make special efforts
to contact all of their potential buyers. Knowing that it is priced
properly for its market, they expect it to sell soon and encourage
their prospects to act quickly. Their excitement is contagious!
Ad calls and
sign calls to REALTORS turn into showings when price is not a deterrent.
Most serious prospects are well educated about asking prices in
the areas they are seeking. They will not waste their time on a
home they consider overpriced.
Buyers fear
they might lose out on a good home when it is priced right. They
are less likely to make "low ball offers." Better pricing
attracts multiple offers!
Even in a market
where homes sell very quickly due to high demand, proper pricing
is important. Pricing your home too high will still drive off some
prospective buyers who may have otherwise been interested in your
home. Even if your home goes under contract for a ‘too high’
price, if the home does not appraise for the sales price, it is
highly likely that you will need to drop the sales price down so
that the buyer’s mortgage will go through, or your sale will
fall through.
Bottom line, if a home is priced right, the excitement of the market
produces higher sale prices. You will net more both in terms of
actual sale price and in less carrying costs.
If you would like a free market analysis on your home and feedback
on how to choose the list price, please let us know, we would be
happy to assist you.
It's
Better With More Prospects
However, there
is one, final, most important factor to consider… and that
is your competition. People don’t look at just one house and
then buy. They look at 15, 25 or 50 homes before making their decision.
How does your home stack up against the competition?
When you maximize
your home's marketability, you will most likely attract more prospective
buyers. It is much better to have several buyers because they will
compete with each other; a single buyer will end up competing with
you.
Don’t
Reveal the Reasons You are Selling to Potential Buyers
The reason(s)
you are selling your home could affect the way the sale is negotiated.
By not talking about your reasons for selling with prospective buyers,
you don't provide ammunition for their reasoning to pay less for your
home. For example, should they learn that you must move quickly, you
could be placed at a disadvantage in the negotiation process. When
asked, simply say that your housing needs have changed.
Have
a Professional to Guide You Through the Sales Process
An experienced
Realtor has been through the home selling process hundreds of times.
He will have much more to bring to the table to save you time and
money than just knowing how to most optimally price your home and
negotiate on your behalf. A Realtor knows what to expect, is familiar
with the potential problems, hang-ups, and pitfalls of the process,
so is therefore more able to ‘think ahead of the game’
to get you through the ‘turbulence’ of the transaction
much more smoothly, easily, and cheaply.
He will also be
familiar with the normal pricing structures for title charges and
other fees for selling a home, and can prevent you from being unknowingly
overcharged. A good Realtor will have a list of qualified professionals
such as handymen, roofers, painters, and other vendors whom he or
his clients have used successfully in the past. This will save you
time, energy, and money finding assistance in making quality, cost
effective upgrades and repairs to prepare your home for sale.
Communicating
Your Goals and Desires Clearly with Your Realtor
Letting your Realtor
know your reasons for selling will help him understand your situation
and goals, and will enable him to help you more effectively. Your
Realtor is required to keep your reasons for selling in confidence
unless you tell him otherwise, and to negotiate in your best interest
to get you the best possible price and terms for your home sale.
Any
Questions?
If
you have any questions about this article, or would like to set
up a time to speak with Len Hardison or David Gallup, please email
us or call our office at 800.458.6863 x353. We'd be glad to help
you.
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