Setting the Stage Sells Your Home

The age-old observation that "you never get a second chance to make a first impression" certainly applies when it comes to attracting buyers to a home that's for sale. Making a good first impression can mean the difference between receiving serious offers for your home or being subjected to months of lookie-loos dropping by but never buying.

How can you ensure that your home will make the best impression possible? Here are some tips for savvy home sellers:

1. Focus on curb appeal. 
The outside of your house can be the source of a very good first impression. 

• Keep the grass well-watered and mowed
• Have your trees trimmed
• Cut back overgrowth, especially those around the windows and doors to provide more light inside and safer accessibility through entrances
• Plant some blooming flowers along a walkway or around a lamp or sign post, or placing attractive flowerpots on the porch
• Store toys, bicycles, roller-skates, gardening equipment and the like out of sight
• Have at least the front of your house and the trim painted, if necessary
• Hang a flag by the front door
• Sweep the porch and the front walkway
• After dark, turn on your front porch light and any other exterior lighting
• Visualize the most scenic route for getting to your house, then tell your real estate agent to always direct buyers along that route. You might even photocopy and highlight a map of that route and hand it to your agent, for use by prospective homebuyers

2. Clear out the clutter. 
Real estate professionals will tell you that buyers won't purchase a home they can't see. What most sellers don't realize is that buyers are not interested in their personal items ... These items will only get in the way of a potential buyer's ability to envision his or her own personal effects in your home.

• Get rid of anything you don't need or use
• Keep kitchen and bathroom countertops clear & uncluttered
• Pack up the knickknacks even those items housed in display hutches and cabinets
• Clean out closets
• Remove various pieces of furniture out of the house to help the potential buyer imagine their own furniture in place of yours 
• Fill up your garage or better yet, rent some off-site storage space 
  

3. Use your nose. 
Many people are oblivious to scents, but others are extremely sensitive to offensive odors. Follow these tips to eliminate bad smells.

• bathe your pets 
• freshen the cat litter box frequently
• shampoo your carpets
• dry clean your drapes
• empty trash cans, recycling bins and ash trays
• Place open boxes of baking soda in smell-prone areas
• refrain from cooking fish or strong-smelling foods
• Introduce pleasing smells by placing flowers or potpourri in your home and using air fresheners. Baking a fresh or frozen pie or some other fragrant treat is another common tactic.
  

4. Make all necessary repairs. 
Buyers expect everything in their new home to operate safely and properly. Picky buyers definitely will notice - and likely magnify - minor maintenance problems you've ignored for months or even years. These repairs may seem small, but left undone they can lead buyers to question whether you've taken good care of your home. Take the time to repair the following:

• Leaky faucets
• Freshen interior walls with an inexpensive new coat of paint
• burned-out light bulbs
• painted-shut or broken windows
• inoperable appliances and the like should be fixed before you put your home on the market. 
  

5. Set the Stage.
Introduce lifestyle accessories and make your home as comfortable and attractive as possible. 

• Make sure the home is constantly kept clean
• Set the dining room table with your best dishes 
• Put out your only-for-company towels 
• Make up the spare bed
• Hang some fresh curtains
• Put some logs in the fireplace 
• Use your imagination
  

6. Get a buyer's-eye view. 
Walk up to your home and pretend you've never seen it before. 

• What do you notice? 
• How do you feel about what you see? 
• Does the home seem inviting? 
• Is it well-maintained? 
• Would you want to buy this home? 

Your answer should be an enthusiastic yes!

7. Write a “Love Letter”
Tell them what made you fall in love with it in the first place, include this letter with the packet of information your real estate agent gives to the buyers.

• Mention special features 
  o (ex. beautifully burnished hardwood floors, the big bay window that allows sunlight to stream into the living room, the white tile, cupboards and countertops that make the kitchen appear so clean and inviting, or the mosaic tile surrounding the wood-burning fireplace.)
• Mention to potential buyers how you and your family used special features of the home 
  o (ex. hosting Fourth of July parties on the redwood deck or watching a family of ducks frolic on the backyard pond) 
• Provide information regarding your home's distance from schools, hospitals, libraries, parks, grocery stores and shopping areas

Selling Real Estate is NOT Rocket Science

Choosing A REALTOR