Simple Tips for Better Home Showings

1. Remove clutter and clear off counters. Throw out stacks of newspapers and magazines and stow away most of your small decorative items. Put excess furniture in storage, and remove out-of-season clothing items that are cramping closet space. Don’t forget to clean out the garage, too.
2. Wash your windows and screens. This will help get more light into the interior of the home.

3. Keep everything extra clean. A clean house will make a strong first impression and send a message to buyers that the home has been well-cared for. Wash fingerprints from light switch plates, mop and wax floors, and clean the stove and refrigerator. Polish your doorknobs and address numbers. It’s worth hiring a cleaning service if you can afford it.

4. Get rid of smells. Clean carpeting and drapes to eliminate cooking odors, smoke, and pet smells. Open the windows to air out the house. Potpourri or scented candles will help.

5. Brighten your rooms. Put higher wattage bulbs in light fixtures to brighten up rooms and basements. Replace any burned-out bulbs in closets. Clean the walls, or better yet, brush on a fresh coat of neutral color paint.

6. Don’t disregard minor repairs. Small problems such as sticky doors, torn screens, cracked caulking, or a dripping faucet may seem trivial, but they’ll give buyers the impression that the house isn’t well-maintained.

7. Tidy your yard. Cut the grass, rake the leaves, add new mulch, trim the bushes, edge the walkways, and clean the gutters. For added curb appeal, place a pot of bright flowers near the entryway.

8. Patch holes. Repair any holes in your driveway and reapply sealant, if applicable.

9. Add a touch of color in the living room. A colored afghan or throw on the couch will jazz up a dull room. Buy new accent pillows for the sofa.

10. Buy a flowering plant and put it near a window you pass by frequently.

11. Make centerpieces for your tables. Use brightly colored fruit or flowers.

12. Set the scene. Set the table with fancy dishes and candles, and create other vignettes throughout the home to help buyers picture living there. For example, in the basement you might display a chess game in progress.

13. Replace heavy curtains with sheer ones that let in more light. Show off the view if you have one.

14. Accentuate the fireplace. Lay fresh logs in the fireplace or put a basket of flowers there if it’s not in use.

15. Make the bathrooms feel luxurious. Put away those old towels and toothbrushes. When buyers enter your bathroom, they should feel pampered. Add a new shower curtain, new towels, and fancy guest soaps. Make sure your personal toiletry items are out of sight.

16. Send your pets to a neighbor or take them outside. If that’s not possible, crate them or confine them to one room (ideally in the basement), and let the real estate practitioner know where they’ll be to eliminate surprises.

17. Lock up valuables, jewelry, and money. While a real estate salesperson will be on site during the showing or open house, it’s impossible to watch everyone all the time.

18. Leave the home. It’s usually best if the sellers are not at home. It’s awkward for prospective buyers to look in your closets and express their opinions of your home with you there.

What is Appraised Value?

• Appraisals provide an objective opinion of value, but it’s not an exact science so appraisals may differ.
• For buying and selling purposes, appraisals are usually based on market value — what the property could probably be sold for. Other types of value include insurance value, replacement value, and assessed value for property tax purposes.

• Appraised value is not a constant number. Changes in market conditions can dramatically alter appraised value.

• Appraised value doesn’t take into account special considerations, like the need to sell rapidly.

• Lenders usually use either the appraised value or the sale price, whichever is less, to determine the amount of the mortgage they will offer.

Used with permission from Kim Daugherty, Real Estate Checklists and Systems, www.realestatechecklists.com

5 Things to do Before Putting Your Home on the Market

1. Have a pre-sale home inspection. Be proactive by arranging for a pre-sale home inspection. An inspector will be able to give you a good indication of the trouble areas that will stand out to potential buyers, and you’ll be able to make repairs before open houses begin.

2. Organize and clean. Pare down clutter and pack up your least-used items, such as large blenders and other kitchen tools, out-of-season clothes, toys, and exercise equipment. Store items off-site or in boxes neatly arranged in the garage or basement. Clean the windows, carpets, walls, lighting fixtures, and baseboards to make the house shine.

3. Get replacement estimates. Do you have big-ticket items that are worn our or will need to be replaced soon, such your roof or carpeting? Get estimates on how much it would cost to replace them, even if you don’t plan to do it yourself. The figures will help buyers determine if they can afford the home, and will be handy when negotiations begin.

4. Find your warranties. Gather up the warranties, guarantees, and user manuals for the furnace, washer and dryer, dishwasher, and any other items that will remain with the house.

5. Spruce up the curb appeal. Pretend you’re a buyer and stand outside of your home. As you approach the front door, what is your impression of the property? Do the lawn and bushes look neatly manicured? Is the address clearly visible? Are pretty flowers or plants framing the entrance? Is the walkway free from cracks and impediments?

Warm, Cool, and Neutral Colors

Colors are grouped into the categories of warm, cool, and neutral.  Warm colors include red, red-orange, orange, yellow-orange, and yellow.  Warm colors are considered, positive, active, cozy, and stimulating.  Warm colors can make spaces feel smaller.  If the warm colors are used with too much intensity the colors can make individuals feel irritable.  Cool colors include blue, blue-green, green, violet, and blue-violet.  Cool colors can make you feel relaxed, they are soothing and restful.  Cool colors are recessive and can make the space seem larger.  The downside is cool colored rooms may seem unfriendly and cold and may lack any variety.  Neutral and Neutralized colors.  Technically the only neutral colors are white, black and gray, they are neutral because they lack any color.  Colors that fall between the warm and cool colored groups are considered neutralized colors.  Examples are beige, brown, cream, ivory, taupe, off white and off black.  Neutralized colors are livable, restful, supportive, and tranquil.  But if the neutralized colors are not used effectively they can produce a feeling of boredom and weariness.  When picking paint and accent colors to use in a room think about the space and what feelings you want to invoke.

Vignettes

Vignettes are small scenes set up in a house such as: A chair in the corner of an empty living room with a side table, lamp, pretty throw and a book.  In the kitchen you could add a small table and chairs with a vase of flowers and 2 place settings.  With vignettes you are setting up a scene in the room to help the buyers see the potential of the room.  There are so many ideas to use.  Find a nice shady spot in the back yard add a small table with two chairs.  Then put on the table a glass pitcher of lemonade and two glasses.  Just remember when doing your vignettes not to add too much to one area.  You just want to add enough to make the areas potential stand out. Vignette is pronounced (vin-yet).

Think Like A Buyer

The buyer is looking at your home as potentially their next home.  Help them to visualize it as their home.  Some of the words people use to describe their home might be: safety, comfortable, cozy, welcoming, happy, family, warmth and security.  You want to stage your home to help stimulate as many of these feelings as you can.  You want the new buyers to see this as their next home where they as a family will spend time together and make new and lasting memories.  Think like the buyer and remove anything that the buyer would not want to see.  Remove personal items that will not help the buyer imagine it as their home.  Bring in things that are appealing to everyone, candles, flowers, plants, light, organization and the right amount of color. 

Flowers And Plants

Fresh flowers are a great addition to your home staging plan.  Use an arrangement with just one color.  Instead of bouquet of mixed flowers then you will have more control over the color you are adding to your room.  Change out the flowers as needed you do not want dying or dead flowers when showing your home.  Live plants are a great and inexpensive prop for staging.  Place your plant in a decorative pot to improve a dull lifeless area.  Please remember to water your plant to keep it healthy and alive.