My New Blog

Have you decided to sell your home?  Have you not yet decided to sell, but it's a possiblity?  Either way, it's time to address what the place looks like.  We have a tendency to become creatures of habit.  Redundant, I know.  But think about it, routine....habit....it becomes so that we don't even see certain things anymore.  Like the hall table (a.k.a. TV tray) where you drop your keys everyday.  Or the line of crayon your two year old drew on the wall going up the stairs.  The little stain on the carpet where you tripped and some of your coffee sloshed out.  All of the cable wires hanging out from behind the TV.....you know where I'm going with this.  These are all things I've seen recently while shopping with some buyers.  To fresh eyes, it pops out.  I'm willing to bet the homeowners have no idea.  AND they're wondering why they can't get top dollar for the place.  It's because people are looking at this as their BRAND NEW home.  If it looks like they're going to have to put work into it (besides their own decorating touches), they are going to deduct from the price for it.  If they even consider it.   Because, believe me, they are looking at EVERYTHING that fits their criteria in that price range and whether we like to admit it or not....it's all about aesthetics (eye candy).  So here are a couple of tips when preparing to sell:

1.    Get ready mentally.  It sounds basic, but you really have to DE-tach yourself from your home.  People are not going to love it like you do.  They are going to change it.  And it's going to hurt....

2.    Look at everything through fresh eyes.  Focus on that TV tray/hall table.  Does it look good?  Start with the front door and really look at everything.  Then fix or get rid of those eyesores.

3.    Know that buyers will look EVERYWHERE and notice EVERYTHING.  Seriously, from where you put the dog leash to the stuff in your medicine cabinet to the dishes that may be dirty in the dishwasher.  There is no such thing as privacy when your home is on the market.

4.    Check the smell.  There's a fine line here.....too much air freshener and the prospective buyer thinks you're trying to hide something, and not addressing the air could be bad.  Especially if you have recently cooked fish, are a smoker, or have a pet.  (I have been driven out of houses by all of the aforementioned.)  Freshen up.....but just a little.

5.    Leave....  The only thing that drives prospective buyers out faster than smell is when you're there.  Even if you step outside.  Buyers feel that they can't speak their concerns freely.  They are so distracted by the fact that you're there that honestly, they walk out and can't even remember what the place looked like.  They can't picture the home as their own with you staring them in face and asking them if they have questions.  They won't have any questions because they aren't even focusing on what they're looking at.

6.    ...and take your family photos with you.  I'm guilty of it myself and I've looked at tons of properties.  If there are photos of your family everywhere, we will look at them.  And, yes, we think the kids and pets are cute.  But we are supposed to be looking at the home. 

7.    Don't forget the outside.  Again, sounds basic but you have to know that the buyer has pretty much made up their minds if your property is in the running when they pull up front.  If you keep your garbage cans in front, your yard is full of dandelions (only kids think they're pretty), or siding is aching for a paint job, you had better be priced pretty well (as in well below the cute cottage for sale down the street).