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SELLING tips

 

20 Tips for Selling Your Home


As a homeowner, you play an important part in the timely sale of your property. When you take the following steps, you'll help your Realestate Associate sell your home faster, at the best possible price.

The easiest and most reliable way to improve the appeal of your home is to enlist a quality home service professional. The right professional can help do the things that sometimes are overlooked and that can have genuine impact on the presentation of your home - from repainting the kitchen to providing a thorough cleaning.

1. Make the Most of that First Impression
A well-manicured lawn, neatly trimmed shrubs and a clutter-free porch welcome prospects. If it's autumn, rake the leaves. If it's winter, shovel the walkway. The fewer obstacles between prospects and the true appeal of your home, the better.

2. Invest a Few Hours for Future Dividends
Here's your chance to reap rewards in real estate. Tidy the living room, the bathroom, the kitchen. If your woodwork is scuffed or the paint is fading, consider some minor redecoration. Fresh wallpaper adds charm and value to your property. If you're worried about time, hire professional cleaners or painters to get your house ready. Remember, prospects would rather see how great your home really looks rather than simply hear how great it could look "with a little work."

3. Check Faucets and Bulbs
Dripping water rattles nerves, discolours sinks, and suggests faulty or worn-out plumbing. Burned out bulbs or faulty wiring leave prospects in the dark. Don't let little problems detract from what's right with your home.

4. Don't Shut Out a Sale
If cabinets or closet doors stick in your home, you can be sure they will also stick in a prospect's mind. Don't try to explain away situations when you can easily plane them away. A little effort on your part can smooth the path towards a closing.

5. Think Safety
Homeowners learn to live with all kinds of self-set booby traps: roller skates on the stairs, festooned extension cords, slippery throw-rugs and low-hanging overhead lights. Make your residence as non-perilous as possible for uninitiated visitors.

6. Make Room for Space
Remember, potential buyers are looking for more than just comfortable living space. They're looking for storage space, too. Make sure your attic and basement are clean and free of unnecessary items.

7. Consider Your Closets
The better organized a closet is, the larger it appears. Now is the time to package up those unwanted clothes and donate them to charity.

8. Make Your Bathroom Sparkle
Bathrooms sell homes, so let them shine. Check and repair aged or unsightly caulking in the tubs and showers. For added allure, display your best towels, mats, and shower curtains.

9. Create Dream Bedrooms
Wake up prospects to the cozy comforts of your bedrooms. For a spacious look, get rid of excess furniture. Tasteful bedspreads and fresh curtains are a must.

10. Open up in the Daytime
Let the sun shine in! Pull back the curtains and drapes so prospects can see how bright and cheery your home is.

11. Lighten up at Night
Turn on the excitement by turning on all your lights - both inside and outside - when showing your home in the evening. Lights add color and warmth, and make prospects feel welcome. add exterior flood lights to show off exterior of home.

12. Avoid Crowd Scenes
Potential buyers often feel like intruders when they enter a home filled with other people. Rather than giving your house the attention it deserves, they're likely to hurry through. Keep the company presence to a minimum at any given time.  If at all possible step out for the showing.

13. Watch Your Pets
Dogs and cats are great companions, but not when you're showing your home. Pets have a talent for getting underfoot.

14. Think Volume
Rock and roll will never die. But it might kill a real estate transaction. When it's time to show your home, it's time to turn down the stereo or TV.

15. Relax
Be friendly, but don't try to force conversation. Prospects want to view your home with a minimum of distraction.   Be invisible if you can.

16. Don't Apologize
No matter how humble your abode, never apologize for its shortcomings. If a prospect volunteers a derogatory comment about your home's appearance, let your experienced Realtor handle the situation.

17. Keep a Low Profile
Nobody knows your home as well as you do. But the realtor knows their buyers - what they need and what they want.

18. Don't Turn Your Home into a Second-Hand Store
When prospects come to view your home, don't distract them with offers to sell those furnishings & items you no longer need. You may lose the biggest sale of all.

19. Defer to Experience
When prospects want to talk price, terms, or other real estate matters, let them speak to an expert.  Let the Realtors deal with these details for you.

20. Help Your Agent
Your Real Estate Associate will have an easier time selling your home if showings are scheduled. Always be prepared for those last minute showings if it is possible to accomodate.  You'll appreciate the results!