10 Tips for Selling your Home
March 22, 2012 By Denise in Maine

1. Curb Appeal. The exterior of your home gives potential buyers the first impression and you want it to look its very best! Start by power washing the exterior of your home to get rid of any cobwebs, dirt, or grime. Clean the driveway & create an inviting entry with a new welcome mat, potted plants, and flowers. If your front porch... light is old and/or broken, update it with a new fixture. Spruce up the landscaping, mow the grass, prune the trees and shrubs, and replace or replant where needed.

2. Inspect the Exterior and Make Necessary Repairs. Repair any peeling exterior paint or damaged siding. Make sure the door hinges and hardware work perfectly, and the doorbell is working. Sliders and doors all need to be oiled and working smoothly including sliding screen doors. You want that smooth transition from room to room and from indoor to outdoor living.

3. Empty the Garage. A garage is typically the “man’s space”, but both Men and Women always want to see if they have room to store their belongings.A clean and empty garage is always attractive to future buyers, so rent a storage unit and take everything in the garage and put it in storage for a month or two. You can also use the storage unit for the decluttering, which is the next step.

4. Clear Out the Clutter. As hard as it may be for any homeowner, it’s very important to declutter and depersonalize the entire house. Buyers need to be able to visualize their furniture in your home and if you have too much of your stuff they won’t be able to do this. Less of your stuff in your house makes the room cleaner and larger and everything seems much calmer. A staged home is a good example of how much of your personalized possessions should be present – which is not much, especially in the main living areas. Less clutter enhances the architectural details or unique accents in your home too.

5. Interior Freshening. Fresh paint on the walls & ceilings using neutral colors is probably the best thing you can do to add appeal to the interior of the house for future buyers. Touch up the baseboards and trim too since dirty trim and scuffed up baseboards make a home look dingy. Clean the whole house including the windows and the carpets to rid the home of dust and odors and keep them fresh and clean until it sells. Hire a professional window washer or carpet cleaner if necessary.

6. Kitchens & Bathrooms sell a house. If you want to give the kitchen & bathroom a fresh look, add new hardware, light fixtures, fresh coat of paint & make them sparkle!

7. Price it Right. This is so important! Resist the urge to overprice your home especially in the current real estate market. Your personal attachment to your home may cause you to list the home for more than it’s worth, but you must be realistic about its true value. The ideal time for an offer is within the first 30 days, so setting the right price is key. If it’s priced too high, the home may not get showings, and you’ll be forced to reduce the price to leave buyers wondering what is wrong with your home.

8. Hire the Right Agent. Find a real estate agent or broker who has experience in your market, who responds to your calls right away and communicates with you in a trustworthy manner. Also, be sure to hire an agent that will market your home by providing the most exposure via the internet, social media & mobile technology. Once you have selected your agent, make sure that he or she is aware of all the selling points of your home. Your agent should also be aware of details about your specific neighborhood, including the schools, parks, and proximity to public services for marketing purposes.

9. Insist on Good Marketing Photos. many real estate agents and brokers underestimate the importance of good photos of a home. Good images will attract more buyers, poor images have the opposite effect. The pictures of your home don’t need to be magazine quality, just bright enough to show off your home at its best. Before hiring an agent, view their website to see the quality of the photos they are taking.

10. Show It Well (No Pets or Bad Odors) Having a pet in the home isn’t always the best idea when showing the house to new buyers since they can be distracting. You want your buyers looking at the home and not worrying if it’s okay if the cat goes outside or if the dog is friendly or not. Pets need to be kept away from the showing, whether you take them on a walk, place them in a room away from buyers, or take them to a friend’s house while your home is on the market. Also be sure your house doesn’t smell like your pets or if you smoke, please refrain from smoking in the house while it’s on the market. Clean surfaces and carpets are important & Fresh flowers on the dining room table or a bowl of fruit in the kitchen make your home’s living spaces feel fresher and more appealing.

Look at your home objectively. Pretend you are seeing it for the first time, through a buyer’s eyes. Contact me for recommendations on how to stage your home for presentation to prospective buyers. That is part of my expertise. I will be happy to walk through your home and help you “set the stage.”