Tips For Home Sellers

So, You’re Thinking About Selling Your Home?

Selling a home is complicated, whether it’s your first or your fifth home sale. Our market is changing and the qualities buyers value are, too. I wanted to let you know that I’m here for you as you decide whether or not to sell, and how to get the most value from your home if you do.

Does Zillow Know The Real Value Of Your Home?

Pricing a home is part science and part art. Market conditions affect home value, but pricing is also affected by marketing, first impressions on potential buyers, and negotiations. No single calculation can tell you what you get to take home at the end of the day.

Let’s sit down together and review your home’s value using a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA), and I can show you market influences as well as a plan to tackle the human elements of a future home sale.

Home Selling Tip-

Landscaping

Not judging a book by its cover is harder than it sounds. Potential buyers can sometimes latch onto that first impression based on your home’s curb appeal, and I know you want to make a good one!

Here are a few things you could try to give the front of your home a facelift:

• Plant a few extra flowers along the front of the house or along pathways.
• Add subtle lighting to highlight your designs.
• Add retaining walls to give contour to your landscaping and keep your soil happy and healthy.
• Powerwash walkways to make them look brand new.
• If in doubt, bring in a landscaper! No one will judge you for calling in the cavalry to add some professional pizzazz to your front yard.
• Increasing your home’s curb appeal is one of the easiest ways to attract buyers faster and get the return you want on your home. Time to put those green thumbs to use!

Shut The Front Door!

You might be surprised to learn that just the color or decoration around a front door can change the way a potential buyer feels about your whole home, but the way a prospect feels as they cross the threshold for the first time comes with major curb appeal points. These are a few easy changes home sellers can make to score some major points:

• Add a fresh coat of paint. That may sound obvious, but a new vibrant coat of paint goes a long way.
• Place planters of flowers next to the door to add more color. You get bonus points for matching the flowers to your newly painted door!
• Hang a wreath, sign, or decorative door knocker to add more depth or just a little seasonal fun to your entryway.
• Make sure you have good lighting to show off your beautifully decorated front door.

With a few easy steps, you can draw in more prospects and have fun doing it!

Home Selling Tip – A Clean

Exterior is a Happy Exterior!

When getting ready to sell your home, don’t forget the outside of the building. Sometimes, improving the curb appeal of your home and winning that first impression is as simple as cleaning house. Take a look at this checklist of exterior home cleaning tips:

• Pressure wash sidings. Pressure washing can be fun and, of course, rewarding! Clear away the grime and get your home to shine.
• Are the gutters clogging up? Time to hop back on that ladder or hire a team to do the dirty work.
• Apply a fresh coat of paint, if you’re looking for a larger update for greater rewards. Add shutters or flower boxes to your windows for that cozy cottage look.

Whether it’s a fun, large project or a good old fashioned deep clean, every little bit helps to raise that curb appeal.

A Little Repair Goes A

Long Way

Home repairs don’t have to be epic in scale (or cost). Small repairs go a long way in helping improve your home’s value and get it ready for a future sale. Take a look around the house and see if any of these tips can help speed you on your way to a successful sale:

• Replace toilet levers and check bathroom faucets and drains. Replace damaged window screens and screen doors.
• Check your lightbulbs for any burned out lights.
• Look for dents or scratches on walls. You may want to patch things up with a little extra paint.
• Make sure there are no leaks or malfunctions in heating or AC systems.

 

The list goes on! Don’t get overwhelmed: create a plan and a checklist to get the best return on small repairs.

Home Selling Tips- Decluttering

and Depersonalizing

It’s never too early to start streamlining your home interior when prepping for a future home sale. Decluttering is all the rage these days, and it works wonders for making your home more appealing for buyer prospects. I’ve collected a few tips over the years on the best ways to declutter your home and depersonalize to make your home look inviting to future owners:

• Reorganize kitchen cabinets, dressers, and closets. Make your storage spaces look spacious.
• Use storage bins for small items to store under beds or stack in closets, basements, or attics.
• Closer to your home sale, consider renting a storage unit for knick-knacks, personal items, and extra furniture. A more open home with less personalization allows potential buyers to envision their lives in the space.
• Deep clean your house, paying special attention to kitchens, bathrooms, and high traffic areas.

Preparing your home for sale by decluttering and cleaning can be a daunting task, but take a little bit at a time and start well ahead of when you plan to list.

Home Selling Tips- Kitchen

Makeovers

Kitchens are often the focal point for potential homebuyers. It’s the place where homeowners spend gobs of time and form strong memories. And if the kitchen doesn’t speak to potential buyers, you may miss out on a good opportunity. Here are a few common practices you could use to update your kitchen as you think about your future home sale:

• Clear your countertops of knick-knacks and containers. Place everything neatly in cabinets or store them out of sight to make your counters look spacious.
• Replace or add tile backsplash to give any kitchen a modern feel.
• Don’t forget the simple things like fixing leaking fixtures and deep-cleaning the sink and stove areas.
• Make sure your kitchen outlets are up to code, and consider adding USB-charging outlets for more modern devices.
• If you’re feeling ambitious, consider making larger updates to your appliances or cabinetry.

Consider how much you have budgeted for home improvements before your home sale, but investing in kitchen updates will almost always pay off!

Home Selling Tips- Fresh

Coat of Pain

Adding a fresh coat of paint to the interior of your home can cover up wear and tear, bring a different feel to different rooms, and generally make your home more appealing to potential buyers. Neutral tones are great for bathrooms and kitchens, and warm colors make living spaces feel cozy and inviting. Whether you’re repainting whole rooms or just making a few brush-ups, here are some tips on making the job easier:

• If you’re using latex paint, you can skip washing out your brushes and rollers. Wrap them up and throw them in the fridge. The cold temperature keeps the paint from drying out.
• When painting full walls and not just doing touch-ups, keep a “wet edge” by overlapping your roller over your previous stroke and you’ll avoid a streaky end product.
• Modify your paint stirrer by drilling a few holes in it to stir thoroughly and easily.
• Cotton drop cloths, as opposed to plastic, is heavy enough that you don’t need tape and all paint spills stay on the canvas rather than tracked on your shoes across the rest of your home.

So, who’s ready to break out the coveralls and work boots and start painting?

Home Selling Tips- The

Notorious Bathroom Deep Clean

Plenty of people avoid this topic like the plague, and I don’t blame them, because bathrooms can get pretty germy! There are some easy tips and life hacks that can get your bathroom sparkling in no time, however, and instantly add value to your home without major repairs:

• Fill a plastic bag with white vinegar and secure it over your shower head. Leave it soaking overnight, then rinse by running water through the shower. The vinegar works wonders on breaking down buildup in the nozzles.
• Remove the toilet seat completely to clean the basin, seat, and bolts thoroughly Use a damp dryer sheet to remove soap scum from shower walls and glass doors. A dabbed mixture of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda work wonders on tough stains. Leave the mixture for at least an hour before wiping clean.
• Scrub grout with a grout brush dipped in undiluted bleach. (Don’t forget to ventilate the bathroom!) You may want to consider sealing grout if it’s been over six months since the last sealing.

No one loves deep cleaning a bathroom (I think), but hopefully these few tips can make it as easy as possible!

Know Thy Market

The real estate market changes on a daily basis. Closer to your home sale, you’ll want to have a high level understanding of the conditions so you can optimize your return.

Pricing Trends

Don’t trust everything you see on the internet. Pricing trends can change rapidly and depend a lot on homes being sold around you, as well as on how your home is marketed to potential buyers while it’s listed. I can help you decide on a listing price and timing for your listing.

Market Temperature

The market temperature will influence how we price your home. We can take a look together at the depth of inventory in your market and figure out a strategy that takes into account a buyer’s versus a seller’s market. You don’t want to leave your home

lingering on the market too long, but you don’t want to undersell the value of your home either.

Mortgage Rates

Don’t overlook the current mortgage rates! When rates increase to curb inflation or decrease to stimulate the real estate economy, you could see an effect on how quickly and at what price you can sell your home.

The housing market is a fickle beast! My goal is always to make sure you get the most return from your home sale and we can close a transaction quickly and seamlessly. I would love to help make sure your next home sale goes as smoothly as possible for you.

Your Home, Your Life,

Your Agent

I want you to have the best possible experience when preparing for selling and selling your home. Deciding to sell your home is a huge decision with plenty of little decisions along the way, and I want you to know that I will be here for you every step of the way, whether you’re deciding on when to list or deciding which flowers to plant in the front yard for the best curb appeal. As your agent, know that I will use all of my energy, expertise, and market knowledge to provide you with a great home sale return and even better experience.

Let’s set up a time to start strategizing!