Patch Blog: Getting Your House Ready to Sell

Welcome to the first of what I hope will be many helpful blog posts on how to buy or sell a home in the current market. 

As everyone knows, since the mortgage lending collapse, which began in 2006, real estate switched from a Seller's Market to a Buyer's Market, and that is where it remains today.  That being said, as a seller, it is very important to consider IF it's the right time to sell your house.  If your circumstances or goals put you in a place where you're ready to sell, here are some things you should consider before putting your house on the market.

1. Take the emotion out of selling:  Once you've decided to list your house with an agent, take a step back and look at the house the way a buyer will see it.  You need to remember that while your home is a place that holds many memories for you and your family, a prospective buyer doesn't have the same attachment as you do.  Yes, buyer's get emotional about buying a home, but if you've made yours too personal or you can't be objective about pricing and staging, perhaps you should wait until you're realistic about today's market.

2. Outside appearances: Remember the saying that you can only make one first impression?  With a house, that's even more important.  Take a look at your house from the street and see it the way a prospective buyer will see it.  Does it have curb appeal? Is the paint peeling and faded? Is the lawn dead and the landscaping overgrown?  These are things that will affect what a buyer will offer on your house.  While I don't ever suggest that people spend thousands of dollars to make huge improvements to the exterior of their homes, it is very important to appeal to the buyer's senses, both inside and outside of the house.  Planting some colorful flowers, touching up the exterior paint, powerwashing the outside, and making sure that what a buyer sees when they pull up to the curb is appealing will make a world of difference in getting people in the door.

3. The power of paint:  A fresh coat of paint, especially inside, will make your house look clean and inviting.  When buyer's walk into a house with old paint or peeling wallpaper, they forget that cosmetic improvements are inexpensive and end up "lowballing" their offer accordingly.  Paint is worth the investment!

4. Do your own physical inspection: Once a buyer gets into escrow, they typically have 17 days to complete their inspections of the property.  You may not want to go the extra mile to hire your own inspector and provide a report to prospective buyers, but it would behoove you to take a look at your house room by room and determine what you can do to "fix" the things that are obvious.  Now is the time to catch up on all the "honey do" projects that kept getting put off.  Replace missing grout on bathroom and kitchen sinks, replace broken window glass, clean light fixtures and metal fixtures, polish the hardwood floors, clean the carpet, and fix anything that's broken BEFORE the agents bring buyers in to view the house.  It could make a difference in how much a buyer offers on your property if it appears to be well maintained.

5. Remove the clutter:  We all have our "collections" of things that we consider valuable or emotionally significant.  But buyers don't see those collections the same way.  Take the time to pack away your miniature train set, your baseball awards, the family photos, extra furniture, and anything else that takes up valuable space.  You want to make your house feel open and roomy, so by removing these items you'll be creating a bigger space for prospective buyers.  Also consider packing up books and clearing out closets.  Crowded space does not sell houses!

6. Clean, clean, clean: Once you've de-cluttered, make sure your house sparkles.  Clean the tile or granite countertops, wash the windows to let light in, and pay attention to ceilings and walls where cobwebs could be hiding.  Make your house move-in ready and buyers will be excited about it!

7. Listen to your agent: Most experienced listing agents know what makes houses sell.  Take their advice.  That includes pricing.  While your Aunt Mary may have sold real estate 20 years ago, or your sister's girlfriend took a class on how to buy foreclosures, only a local agent can guide you through the process of getting your house sold.  In this tough market, rely on your agent to give you honest, professional advice.

I hope you have found this information helpful.  In future blogs, I will be writing about buyers, short sales, home improvement, and more.  I welcome your suggestions, feedback or comments.