Sellers

The single biggest “tip” I can offer a Seller is …  Always remember to think like a Buyer.

Getting Started

Walk through your home and experience it through the eyes of a Buyer. Having walked through hundreds of homes with potential Buyers, I can offer you tips, suggestions and ideas about how a Buyer is likely to view your home.

Below is my list of Must Do’s, these are big and small items that Buyer’s notice. Most of it consists of straight forward household maintenance. If you’re thinking of selling in the next 3 – 6 months, start on this list now and save weeks of selling time while potentially adding thousands of dollars to your pocketbook.

 What’s Next

Yes, as you’re preparing your house for sale, there are dozens of additional steps that you need to be considering. All of these topics are important and before you select your REALTOR® you should spend significant time discussing each area in detail.  These include:

• Determining a Competitive Price
• Marketing your home (spend a lot of time on this topic – not all marketing plans are created equal)
• Attributes of a “quality” Offer (hint: an offer that has little chance of making it through to closing is NOT a quality offer)
• Inspections and Repairs (potentially a place where thousands of dollars of your money may be spent)
• Appraisal process (if a home does not properly appraise a deal may not close)

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Iris’ Must Do’s for Sellers

Cleanliness, Cleanliness, Cleanliness.

Pay particular attention to:

Strong pet and cooking odors (exceptions are made for freshly baked cookies and or bread) strike Buyers the moment they walk in the door and this condition universally results in a “not interested.”

Clutter – stacks of stuff (if you wouldn’t see it displayed in a model home, it’s best to find a temporary home for it somewhere else – preferably in offsite storage). Another hint; serious Buyers do check closets; organizing and reducing the amount of unnecessary “stuff” stashed away works to provide that all important long lasting favorable image.

Paint and carpet are foundational –

The cheapest investment you can make in your home is a can(s) of paint and (several) day(s) of painting. Biggest mistake I see in this category is short cutting this effort by doing a “touch up.” Walls that have been “touched up” often end up looking worse (the splotches stand out) and actually tend to highlight the fact that the home needs to be painted. Talk to me about appropriate colors and a unified theme throughout the house.

Second cheapest investment is to have all the carpets professionally cleaned.

Maintenance and Repairs –

Doors, windows, faucets and other fixtures all need to work as if new. Hiring a handyman for a few days of repairs can work to resolve a long list of maintenance items. These items will often get picked up in the inspection report so taking care of them now works to your advantage.

Staging –

Many times less is more. Removing a piece of furniture can open up a room and provide a feeling spaciousness. Rearranging other pieces can help a Buyer envision an arrangement that will work better for their family. I offer this assistance (sorry you need to do the moving) as part of my total marketing package.

Curb Appeal –

Yards that are well maintained (lawn freshly mowed with no bare spots, trees and hedges trimmed all enhanced with fresh mulch and a few seasonal flowers) works to help create the very important favorable first impression.