Kara C’s Top Three: Top Three Things to do to Get Your House Ready to List!

Sell-ability, what is that all about?  Sell-ability is the appeal of your home to other home buyers.  What is going to “set the hook”?  Setting the hook is about how your home presents itself to prospective buyers.  You need to not only have it looking its best, you need to make sure it photographs well!  Give it the “umph” it needs!  Here is how to work with what you have to get your house ready to list!  The following is a list of my top three:

1.  Cleanliness. Cleanliness is so important.  Spending a little money (or elbow grease) on cleaning has a huge impact on the overall presentation of your home.  First impressions are so important.  When the buyers walk up to your front door for a showing, what are they going to see?  An ash tray by the front door?  Cobwebs in the corners?  Filthy siding?  All of these things demonstrate the age of the home and your level of upkeep.  For some, the amount of dirt can really send up a red flag.  We recently sold a listing and the buyers remarked that the perfectly vacuumed rugs demonstrated the level of care and pride the sellers had in their home.  Our sellers vacuumed their way out of the house before most of the showings.  This really struck a positive note with the buyers.  In this market you need to set your home apart from the others.  Show those buyers that you have been taking care of your home by keeping it as clean as possible.  If you keep to a schedule and keep up with the cleaning on a daily basis you won’t have to scramble (as much) when you get the last minute call for a showing.

On that note, please keep in mind that you should avoid postponing or canceling a showing if at all possible!  If you are afraid that your home is not in tip top shape, simply explain to the showing service or other agent that due to extenuating circumstances, your home is not as clean as you would like it to be.  You can even have your agent make a phone call to the buyer’s agent to explain the situation.  People can be understanding, especially if you have made the effort to relay this information.  The toothbrush on the counter can be overlooked.

Often overlooked areas to clean include:

Gutters

Powerwash siding, driveway, porch, deck and walkway.

Trash should not be on front lawn or in the landscaping.

Dust cobwebs from chandeliers and crown molding.

Wipe down cabinets in kitchen and bathrooms.

Wipe down baseboards, casing, and doors.  Keep an eye out for those dirty fingerprints!

2.  Staging. Staging is another important aspect to selling your home.  Your house could have beautiful furniture, paint colors and upgraded features but if your decor and furniture is hiding these features, sellers may overlook them!  Open spaces need to feel that way.  When Margie Kiss, Pat Cozier, and I list a home, we take a spin through with the homeowners and let them know what they need to do to make their home appeal to buyers.  Working with what you have is important.  The last thing you want to do is invest money to get your house ready.  Sometimes, however, it is necessary.  The great thing about our company is that since I am a General Contractor, we can work with my sub-contractors to make necessary changes if needed—and at great prices!

Here are some staging tips to maximize you sell ability:

Make small rooms feel bigger by keeping the furniture in that room to scale.  Don’t overcrowd it with big bulky pieces.

In the family room, think about more than just setting up the furniture for maximum TV viewing.  Set your furniture up for conversation and focus on the fireplace instead of the TV.

Cramming furniture pieces in the corners of the room does not make the room feel bigger.  Try pulling the pieces out from the corner and “float” them.  If you have the choice for new furniture, try to avoid the big, bulky over-sized pieces!

Symmetry is a beautiful thing.  Provide balance by placing matching lamps on either side of the bed in the master bedroom or matching vases on either side of a picture over the fireplace.

Paint color is an important part of making your home look its best.  Whether you have chosen warm or cool colors, color should help showcase your home’s best features.  Molding pops and a room feels decorated with a little paint on the walls!  Here is an example of a great paint color that made this home feel totally different!

Notice how you barely saw the chair rail and crown molding before the paint color change?

3. Curb appeal. Curb appeal is extremely important.  The photo of the front of your house is the first thing a buyer sees when searching on the internet.  Cleaning up the outside (as mentioned above) is a great start.  Keep all cars (if possible) in the garage and put your garbage cans away once the trash has been picked up.  Fresh mulch or pine straw makes the home looked cared for and vibrant.  A splash of color with some planted annuals or hanging potted plants adds a warm and inviting look to your home.  Consider placing a properly proportioned potted plant on either side of your front door.  Pay the little extra and buy the plants that are already a significant size.  You’ll want the colors to show up right away in the photos your agent takes of your home.  Trim back all unruly shrubs.  Keep creepers contained in the beds.  A clean line around the walkway and a well manicured lawn demonstrates a level of pride and care in your home.  Buyers don’t want the house that looks abandoned.

Here are a couple of photos of homes that look well-cared for:

Now that you have put all of this effort into your home, make sure you have great photos and internet presence. With so many home buyers searching the internet for homes for weeks before buying and the abundance of competition, great photos are very important.  As a prospective buyer attempts to weed through the 100 listings in your price point they will automatically delete a few just based on the lack of photos or the poor showcasing of your home.  Home buyers don’t want to see pictures of your furniture, they want to see pictures of your home.  Staging plays a big part in this as well as the angle from which the photo is taken.  Generally it helps to stand in a corner of the room (as far against the wall as possible) and take the picture.  A wide angle lens is helpful to capture more of the space.  The only downfall to the wide angle is the occasional distortion when it comes to taking photos of rooms with columns.  I recommend switching lenses for those rooms.  Here are some examples of great angles.

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