Sunday, February 28, 2010
As competitive as the market is, if you’re thinking of listing your home you better make sure it has great appeal.
In a buyer’s market, inventory levels are higher and competition is stiffer because fewer buyers are competing for an abundance of inventory. So, if you’re thinking of listing your home, what can you do to create the buyer fervor and interest in your property over others in your area?
First, you have to get them in the door. If the outside doesn’t pop you’ll never get them inside. Drive by some of your competition and compare the outside of their homes to the outside of your home. How do you stack up? Some ideas for a crisp, fresh look on the exterior:
- Make sure all weeds and debris are removed from landscaping lawn is cut and manicured and trees are trimmed back from the house.
- If it needs a fresh coat of paint on shutters, front door, trim, banisters, etc., paint it.
- Clean outside windows.
- Make sure front door is painted or stained or replaced if not in good shape. Also, make sure front door lock works well.
- Make sure the mailbox is in good shape.
- Does the roof look old, tattered, worn…if so, you might want to think about replacing it or if it’s not on its last leg then have it cleaned if there’s a fungus on it.
- All gutters should be cleaned.
- Plant some flowers . . . give it some color.
- Make sure your sidewalk, driveway, patio are not torn up and cracking. I’m not telling you to lay a new driveway, patio or sidewalk because I know that can be expensive, however if there’s cracking, can you repair it?
- If you have a fence or deck that’s wood make sure it’s power washed and stained if needed.
- Make sure your garage door looks clean and in good condition; no peeling, chipping, etc...
- If you have siding that looks dirty, power wash it.
- Don’t leave kids toys, bikes laying in the yard.
Once you get them salivating at the “curb appeal” of the home, the interior must continue to sell the sizzle of the property. Here are some tips on creating an appealing interior look for all tastes:
- Neutralize wall color. If you have wallpaper, pull it off and paint. All wall color should be as neutral as possible.
- De-clutter; less is more. You want potential buyers looking at your home, not your stuff. Depersonalize the home with removing family photos, clearing off magnets and photos on the kitchen refrigerator, cleaning all closets so when buyers open them they appear orderly/organized, remove furniture if needed. You want buyers to see room sizes and space.
- Clean all interior windows, appliances and doors.
- If carpet is in good shape, have it cleaned. If not, replace it.
- Make sure interior looks finished; ¼” rounds on baseboards if needed, re-do crown molding if there are gaps, door jams are painted, windows or doors should be caulked if gaps are prevalent, etc...
- CLEAN, CLEAN CLEAN! Everything needs to be cleaned!
- If vacant, think about staging the property. Statistics show staging will get you an offer faster. People have a difficult time visualizing without furniture.
- If you have pets make sure there are no pet odors.
- Don’t smoke inside; you’ll never get rid of the smell.
- If your heating/AC needs maintenance get it done prior to listing the home.
- Have a pest inspection done to make certain there are no termites.
The goal is to get an offer. The more preparation you do prior to listing the property, the faster it will sell. Save all of your receipts on any work done to the home. The more detail you can provide relative to maintenance of your HVAC Systems, pest spraying, repairs, upgrades, etc., the better chance you’ll have of securing an offer. Buyers want to see you’ve taken care of the home.
Joan Tabash-Curbow is a native St. Louisan with more than 20 years business experience. Her business acumen and strong communication skills allowed her to more easily transition into the residential real estate and distressed sales market in 2004. Curbow is co-author of "Should I Short Sale My Home?" Her real estate contact is CurbowGetsItDone.com. E-mail her at joancurbow@kw.com
Comments
Bill (anonymous) says...
One thing that you mention that I'm not sure about is making the interior neutral. You also say that if your home is vacant that it should be staged. Wouldn't that apply to the walls also? As you say people have a difficult time visualizing without furniture, doesn't that also go for the walls as well? I say that because my wife is an excellent decorator, and I'm sure what she does is not everyone's style, but it really brings the life to the room. May be some wallpaper, a border and a character color in paint, nothing crazy. It may not be their style, but at least it has some style not just bland.
Just to have a full disclaimer on my comments, we moved last spring to the east coast for a job and put our house on the market. We spent time tearing down wallpaper and had someone repaint neutral. Well the house never sold and I was offered a position back here so we moved back and maybe I'm just a little burned for doing the work with no results. Hind site...
February 28, 2010 at 7:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jcurbow (anonymous) says...
Good comments. When staging, it means everything from wall hangings, to linens, towels, etc...
Neutral is the way to go relative to wall color but it doesn't have to be white; could be taupe's, shades of green, etc...some color but nothing too steep. From personal experience dealing with hundreds of buyers, less is more relative to color, furniture, wall decor, etc...
February 28, 2010 at 8:23 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
STL_Cornhusker (anonymous) says...
You know, I'm really of two minds about this issue. Before we bought our current house, we toured A LOT of homes. We heard realtors talk about both points of view, either leaving your stuff there for the potential buyer to see what it could look like or stripping it down and making it neutral so they can envision their own stuff. I feel relatively strongly that which one "works" depends entirely upon the buyer. For example, my wife was much more drawn to homes that were empty so she could envision our stuff, how it would fit, etc. Me, I like a house that has all the seller's stuff still in it so I can see what it looks like "lived in."
Bill: I had the same experience when we moved here from Denver. Painted it all neutral, took everything out, didn't sell. After we staged it, it sold relatively quickly. Who knows what works, huh?
February 28, 2010 at 10:43 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kevincottrell (anonymous) says...
Great Post Joan. Study after study supports the fact that staged homes get sold faster and for more money. On a related item, Pricing (and being in the market vs. out) is what gets buyers to the door and viewing the property. Staging gets more money for the seller and more quickly.
We've seen this again in the homes we list and sell in St Louis. More than 80% of the sellers we work with elect to follow our advice and to the preparation for their properties for sale. They too have toured homes which do not show well. Anyone interested can find more information for st louis homeowners looking to prepare their home to sell on www.stlouisrealestatetoday.com/selling/
March 6, 2010 at 9:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )