The purpose of showing your home is to hook a buyer. You want the buyers to come through your house and be impressed - so impressed in fact, that they’re ready to make an offer! You’ll have one chance to make a great first impression on the potential buyers, so make sure to follow these five helpful tips to really make it count!
1. Focus on the outside. Make sure that you don’t neglect the outside of your home. Curb appeal can make or break the odds of someone even bothering to get out of the car to come in. If they pull up and see a home with a lawn that obviously needs edging and has an unkempt flower bed, they’re going to wonder what else hasn’t been cared for properly. You want the outside of your home to be spotless. Clean the siding, the windows, and the doors. Make sure there are no dirt smudges, no cobwebs and that anything that needs painting has been spiffed up.
2. Take yourself out of the house. That means that you want to take out all the personal stuff. Remove the family photos from the wall or tables. You want the home to look neutral so that the potential buyers can look at your house and picture it as themselves living there. Everything should be as neutral as possible in terms of personal items.
3. Remove all the extra clutter you see at first glance. Take this step serious! If you look around, it’ll amaze you at how much stuff you’ve accumulated over the years. Some of it might very well be important, but that doesn’t mean that your potential buyers should see it. When you have a lot of clutter, it shrinks the living space of the house. It makes it look and feel cramped and smaller. Many homeowners get something called house blindness. They’ve lived in the home for so long with the same clutter that they don’t even really see it anymore. But a stranger will always notice. So, clean out your house and make the space as big as possible. Start this step early in the home selling process.
4. If you have a pet, no one that walks through your house should be able to notice it exists. That means no cat litter box, no dog to jump on anyone, no food sitting around in a dish. Your home should not have any pet odors. Having a clean house that’s odor free is a big selling point. You don’t want to lose a possible deal just because they can smell your pet’s presence, or your pet makes a bad impression.
5. Stage your home! You can hire a professional or you can do it yourself. Stage your living areas in a way that shows off your home. You can rent furniture to make your home furnishings look good if you don’t use a stager. Someone who knows how to stage a house knows how to play up the best features of your home and knows what to bring in or get rid of to make the entire house appeal to a buyer.
First impressions are HUGE when showing you home to potential buyers, but by following the simple tips above you will be well on your way to making a great impression and, hopefully, receiving multiple offers! (And if you are at all anxious about this important step, just reach out to a trusted real estate agent in your area who can help guide you through this process!)
Curtis
Don't wait until signing the contract to educate yourself about the intricacies of buying or selling a home. Failing to plan appropriately for one of the most expensive and significant investments you'll ever make can lead to many regrets and problems later on.
First-time buyers are especially vulnerable to making mistakes if they don't educate themselves beforehand. So even if you've purchased or sold one or more homes in the past, it's a good idea to educate yourself all over again to discover changes that have taken place in the real estate market.
Choose the type of mortgage best for you – a VA, FHA, or USDA. There's also the question of whether or not you should apply for an ARM (Adjustable-Rate Mortgage) or a fixed rate. Your real estate agent and lender should be an excellent resource for those answers.
Execute a study of real estate in the neighborhood you like and want to purchase in. Check out whether homes are selling fast or lagging on the market. If the latter is true, find out ...
Your home will have certain features that will interest buyers. Whether you’re selling your home yourself or using the service of a real estate agent, you need to make sure those features are showcased.
You’ll want to start by ensuring that whatever home listing is used draws attention to those features. While an agent automatically knows what to put in the listing, you might not. But some things that are considered special features are what you should highlight. You’ll need to mention where the home is located and what it’s near. For example, some young couples with school-aged children are looking for homes close to good schools, so you’ll want to highlight that. Others are looking for homes close to other perks like shopping, the downtown area, etc.
You’ll want to highlight the amount of square footage that you have. Not only should you or your agent do this in the listing, but you must highlight it in your home. That means removing as much furniture as you can feasibly ...
I know this topic has been addressed by me before, but I thought I would do a quick reminder post. Staying competitive is essential now that prices are starting to go down and buyers are coming back into the market.
1. Not being realistic about market conditions: Pricing the property too high is one of the most common mistakes made by sellers. This can lead to the property sitting on the market for an extended period, resulting in missed opportunities and wasted resources. Instead, sellers should be aware of market conditions and price their property accordingly. Failure to do so can result in a longer time on the market or a lower sale price.
2. Neglecting home repairs and updates: Another common mistake is failing to make necessary repairs or updates to a property before listing it for sale. This can result in a lower sale price or a longer time on the market.
3. Over-personalizing the property: Some sellers may personalize their property too much, making it difficult for buyers to envision ...
