Real Estate Information

Selling Your Home - Be Sure It Shows Well


Whether you are selling a house, townhouse, condo or apartment, there are universal tips that will help it sell. Primary among those tips are making sure your home "shows well."

First impressions of a home go a long way to determining how quickly it will sell. Here are a few suggestions that will make your home show well.

1. Be sure the approach to your home is clean, tidy and well groomed. Any brass should be polished, paint on the door should be in good condition and the door should be washed clean of fingerprints and paw marks.

2. If your home is a single family house, be sure the grass is cut, leaves raked, plant beds mulched and weeded, etc.

3. If your home is in a multi-family building, be sure the approach and hall to your home is clean even if it is not your job!

4. Be sure your home is tidy and uncluttered. This includes closets, cabinets, garages, and other storage areas. When "stuffed," no amount of storage "shows" as adequate. When really messy, no room looks charming.

5. Make any repairs that are noticeably needed. Door handles and locks should fit well and firmly. Exterior doors should shut and lock solidly. Drains and downspouts should be firmly attached and clear of debris so water flows freely. Attached light fixtures should be firmly attached. All switches should turn on whatever they were designed to turn on -- light, fan, disposal, etc.

6. Conventional wisdom dictates your home should be "neutralized." You can't really go wrong following this advice. You know the drill -- beige or soft gray carpet, beige, gray, or taupe walls, white or off-white woodwork and ceilings. Sometimes a very soft gold or a soft sage green can also "read" as neutral.

7. If you have a sure sense of decorating (you probably do if family and friends frequently ask your advice and you enjoy making decorating decisions), and especially if you plan to leave color coordinated window treatments, you might leave more definite colors in place understanding that a potential buyer with no imagination might be put off by them and not think to request a "redecorating allowance" in a contract offer. Still, beautiful decorating which is not neutral undeniably attracts some buyers.

8. If your carpet is in poor condition, but you cannot afford to replace it, get several neutral samples in a mid-price range from a local carpet store, spread them on the floor, and add a note stating that you will be glad to provide a carpet allowance from the proceeds of settlement.

9. Dark homes show badly. Make sure lamps are on and lampshades are straight with the seams toward a wall. Make sure there is as much natural light as possible; have curtains, shades and blinds open.

Buyers are looking for a home they can see themselves living in. Follow the above tips and you will position your home to sell quickly.

Raynor James is with http://www.fsboamerica.org - providing homes for sale by owner, "FSBO", properties. Are you thinking, "Should I sell my home?" Visit http://www.fsboamerica.org/seller.cfm to sell your home sale for free for one month.


MORE RESOURCES:

CBS News

Police: Ind. gunman who shot himself after releasing hostages from real estate ...
Washington Post
VALPARAISO, Ind. — A gunman looking for someone he believed owed him money shot himself inside an Indiana real estate office several hours after releasing hostages Friday, and he died after being rushed to a hospital, police said.
Shots fired at Ind. real estate officeCBS News
Police: Indiana real estate office gunman taken to hospital with self ...Duluth News Tribune
Gunman holding hostages at Indiana real estate officeUSA TODAY

all 759 news articles »


Commercial real estate services expanding in US
Reuters
By Ilaina Jonas | NEW YORK (Reuters) - New commercial real estate brokerages are launching in the United States, in what may be a sign that the market's recovery is durable. Australia's UGL Ltd (UGL.AX), a huge property manager, plans to expand in the ...
Newmark Knight Frank Devencore Issues Spring/Summer 2012 Toronto Industrial ...Marketwire (press release)

all 5 news articles »


Real Estate News: Fannie Mae CEO Search Down to Two
Wall Street Journal (blog)
By WSJ Staff Fannie CEO Search Now Down to Two: Fannie Mae has narrowed its search for a new chief executive to two finalists and could soon offer the position to Timothy Mayopoulos, the mortgage-finance company's general counsel and lead candidate, ...

and more »


Celebrity Real Estate: 'Hunger Games' star, Oprah, DiCaprio deal
msnbc.com (blog)
By Zillow staff Celebrity real estate heated up this week with some big real estate moves by some big names. Josh Hutcherson of "The Hunger Games" picked up a home rich in Hollywood history, Oprah Winfrey is listing a home she never lived in and ...

and more »


Seattle Real Estate Inventory: 34% Drop Is 4th Biggest in Country, Home Prices ...
Seattle Post Intelligencer (blog)
The inventory of homes for sale has always been a leading factor for home prices in national real estate markets. When inventory contracts to a breaking point and there just aren't enough homes for sale to supply the number of home buyers in the market ...

and more »


Real Estate| Apartment complex proposal to go back before Myrtle Beach City ...
MyrtleBeachOnline.com
Tom Maeser, a real estate analyst with the Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors, said the jump in the foreclosure rate might have to do with the banks realizing it is better to release some of the foreclosures they were holding back, ...

and more »


Real estate figure indicted in mortgage-fraud case
Bizjournals.com
He also allegedly created Cambridge Real Estate Consulting LLC and Chateau Real Estate Investments LLC. Though paperwork filed through the Colorado Secretary of State showed the companies as independent entities, “Capra or his associate, a person with ...

and more »


TMZ.com

Anne Hathaway's Italian ex-boyfriend released from Pa. prison after real ...
Washington Post
An Italian ex-boyfriend of actress Anne Hathaway has been released from a Pennsylvania federal prison following a real-estate scam. Federal Bureau of Prisons spokesman Chris Burke says Raffaello Follieri was released Friday morning from a prison in ...
Anne Hathaway's ex-boyfriend freed from Pa. prisonTheNewsTribune.com

all 159 news articles »


OregonLive.com

How the real estate market is changing: walkability counts a lot more
OregonLive.com
As we enter a three-day weekend when I'll undoubtedly be doing plenty of walking and biking around my close-in Portland neighborhood, this column in The New York Times about changing real estate values caught my eye. Christopher Leinberger, a business ...

and more »


Jupiter FL Waterfront Homes For Sale - Luxury Real Estate - Call 561-339-7003
Sacramento Bee
By Seiss Real Estate JUPITER, Fla., May 25, 2012 -- /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Anton Seiss is the realtor of choice in Jupiter Florida and Palm Beach County Florida when it comes to Waterfront homes and luxury real estate. Residential and commercial sales ...
Jupiter FL Waterfront Homes For Sale – Luxury Real Estate – Call 561-339-7003NEWS.GNOM.ES

all 4 news articles »

Google News

home | site map
© 2006