Is your home ready to show?
There are many things that I discuss with my clients when I meet them to list their home. The obvious things are pricing and the home itself, but there is so much more.
Let’s face it, we live in our homes. Most people don’t maintain their homes as show homes. If I think about my own home, It’s maintained and clean, but honestly, it can be a little sloppy. Frankly, if I had a surprise visitor come to my door, I’d be embarrassed on most days, to let the person in. It’s not that it isn’t clean, just a bit unkempt. There might be papers laying about for homework, piles of stuff that the kids leave around, bags of stuffed animals sitting in the living room for our charity and plenty of other STUFF.
I have been into thousands of homes over the years and they range from perfect to disaster areas. If you want your home to sell fast, keeping it neat and clean will definitely help. Many people just can’t see beyond a mess.
So, here are a couple basic tips. Enter your home through your front door and try to think of it as if it is the first time you are seeing it. Is there a good flow? Does the furniture layout or junk laying around affect the flow. Would someone walking through think it is well maintained or not. Take a good look at all the walls, ceiling and just everything. A buyer will notice the minor crack in the wall , the scuffed paint and other minor things that you might not pay attention to.
If a home is messy, a buyer will think it hasn’t been maintained and that might cost them more later. So, make sure it isn’t just clean, but tidy. Spend a little time and maybe money to correct minor imperfections. Remove some furniture if it is crowded. Too much furniture makes a room look smaller. There are many other aspects to “Staging” your home for sale, but most are just common sense. Someimes it just takes someone else’s viewpoint to figure it out. During a listing appointment I tell my clients that I may say something they may not like. It isn’t to offend them, but it is to help them better market their home. My goal is to sell the home for them and get them top dollar. Most people understand that constructive criticism is sometimes necessary and in the end they are much happier that the negatives were addressed up front.