1. Pricing it Right- This Should be no secret considering how soft the markets have been lately. Ensuring that your home is priced right will attract attention and bring buyers out to take a look and want to make an offer on your home. Pricing your home too high can lead to inactivity and essentially increasing your D.O.M. (Days on market). After sitting for too long on market people may start to think there is something wrong with your home. Even if nothing is. This opens up to door for low ball offers to come in and try to beat you down on your price. Ideally you want your home under contract and sold as quickly as possible for the most amount of money possible. Some Sellers might think well hey if i start high they can always negotiate lower right? Well in a perfect world this would work, but in reality you gotta put yourself in the Buyers shoes and think if I saw a home that was priced too high would I even care to look or make an offer? Price is a key factor in everyones mind when it comes to buying or selling realestate.
2. Half empty closets- Make sure you keep your closet space decluttered and not crammed full of items you are trying to hide from your initial floor space. You want the buyers to visualize the amount of potential closet space they will get in their new home. Keep them clean and tidy and get more positive feedback from your buyers.
3. Light it up- You want to ensure your home is bright and inviting. Buyers much prefer a well lit home as apposed to a dark dungeon. This gives them a better feel when they walk through your home. I know I ensure to open all window blinds and have all lights turned on for my clients at all my showings. You can also clean window sills and increase the wattage in your bulbs to maximize your brightness for showings.
4. Play the agent field- Ensure that you have a qualified agent who studies the MLS and knows what homes in your area are listed for and have sold for. If you can find one such as myself who is tech savvy and utilizes proper marketing tools such as a.i. and social media to help increase exposure of your home then you are on the right track.
5. Conceal the critters- Not all Buyers are in the pet friendly frame of mind. This was a hard one for me to wrap my head around being an animal lover myself. However some people just dont want to see pet food bowls laying around dogs in crates which could whine or bark and especially smell any cat litter boxes when viewing a home. Its best to have your pets out for showing ensure there is no animal hair or toys laying around that could hinder potential buyers. Address any animal odors right away and make sure your buyer enjoys walking through your home.
6. Don't over upgrade- Doing renovations to your home can obviously make it more modern and appealing to a buyer. However you dont want to do a huge reno project before listing your home as you might not get the full intended value out of it. Small things like fresh paint, fixing leaky faucets, clean or new curtains, cleaning the grout, replacing door handles and ensuring closet doors are on their tracks are all great ways to do minor improvements and get better showing results. Saving huge renovation costs can benefit you, especially if you are planning on moving to a new home where you will most likely want to spend money on changing things there.
7. Take the home out of your house- Depersonalize your home. This can include removing family photos, memorabilia collections and personal keepsakes. Buyers want to visualize their home when they look at buying yours. They will most likely have different tastes and personal items they already have in their own home. It will be hard for them to visualize their own space in your home if its all currently your space when they view it. You can always put your stuff in a storage locker for a bit until the home sells.
8. The Kitchen comes first- You're selling your kitchen not your home. Having an updated kitchen helps the appeal towards buyers as it looks more clean and user friendly. Having new counter tops can cost you a few thousand, but can save a buyer trying to reduce their asking price by 10k because the kitchen looks dated. paint your cabinets with a neutral color so buyers can envision how they would like to see the kitchen. Avoid bold colours at all costs. It can scare away potential buyers from even wanting to view the home. Having a stainless steel appliance can also give your kitchen a more expensive look to it and ease buyer skepticism about the rest of the kitchen.
9. Always be ready to show- Buyers have different schedules and showing times that they request. Always make sure your home is clean, decluttered and ready for anyone to walk in the door to see it at any time. No dirty dishes in the sink, no dirty laundry laying around, beds made and bathrooms should be sparkling clean. Theres no bigger turnoff to a potential buyer thasn a messy home. It gives them a negative unclean feeling when they walk through. The idea is to sell them on the space and make them feel like your home is magnificient.
10. The first impression is the only impression- Buyers have already determined how good your home is before they've even walked through it. First impressions are essential, so make sure you give them no reason not to like your home. Adding curb appeal with flowers, inexpensive shrubs, clean and clear yards with a mowed lawn can help any buyer feel like they are making the right choice when wanting to purchase your home. You want buyers to feel warm and safe when they approach the home as they will be doing this on a regular basis when they buy it. You only get one shot with your first impression so make it a good one!
Here is a link to the article which helped me with this blog post. Take a look and see what you think!
https://www.hgtv.com/design/decorating/design-101/10-best-kept-secrets-for-selling-your-home