Darkness Deters

home buyers from even being interested in your home. When you have darkening window treatments that do not let lots of outside light into your home, you lose. Why? Home buyers want to be able to see what they are considering buying very clearly. If they find your home to be dark and uninviting, buyers will go to the next home and not even consider writing an offer to purchase your home. Your home will be on the reject list. You, as the home seller, along with your real estate professional do not even have the chance to make a counter offer or to accept the contract as they have offered it, because your home was not well lit and looked uninviting to potential home buyers. Probably the only exception would be with investors who want a bargain when buying a home for investment purposes and they will offer a correspondingly very low price for your home.

To avoid only receiving offers from investors, the seller must make sure the inside of their home has excellent lighting in every room and especiallly in the entryway, kitchen, bathrooms, living room, family room, hallways, and dining room. If you own blinds, roman shades, curtains, or any other window treatments, take them down right away (preferably within a day of listing your home for sale) along with their hardware and fill in the holes where the nails were and paint over them if that room has been painted then clean them and pack them away by hanging them in a closet. Light rooms sell and dark rooms do not sell, so get busy and take down those window treatments today.

Written, copyrighted and all rights reserved 2007 by Sherrie Hartzell, licensed real estate salesperson in Virginia with Keller Williams Preferred Realty-Stafford, VA.

Replace

switch covers for light switches and outlets that are rusted or cracked by purchasing new, neutral colors at your local home store. Why bother? A buyer might translate a lack of minor repairs into a question as to whether the seller has done any needed major repairs on your home. This lack of attention can be enough to send buyers out your door to other homes in your neighborhood listed for sale. At this other home, the sellers paid less than $100 to replace worn out light switch and outlet covers, so buyers would realize their attention to detail as homeowners. Buyers have numerous choices in the real estate marketplace, so do some simple things to increase the likelihood that buyers will want to buy your home instead of a competitor’s home.
Written, copyrighted and all rights reserved 2007 by Sherrie Hartzell, licensed real estate salesperson in Virginia with Keller Williams Preferred Realty-Stafford, VA.

No pictures allowed…

Do you know why pictures of family and friends are not a good idea to keep on your walls when you want to sell your home?  Think about how difficult it will be for future owners to visualize their family and friends on your walls if all they see are the current occupants circle of friends and family.  What you want to create is an atmosphere that welcomes buyers to visualize their furniture, pictures, electronics, and other belongings as well as family members and friends inside your home that happens to be for sale right now. Written, copyrighted and all rights reserved 2007 by Sherrie Hartzell, licensed real estate salesperson in Virginia with Keller Williams Preferred Realty-Stafford, VA.

Tidy up

The moment I walk up and into a home, I can tell you how well-maintained the home is by looking at the carpeting, front and backside of the entryway door, and stairs (inside and outside).  These areas all leave signs of whether they are clean and in good working order just by their lack of dust, dirt, fingerprints, and smell.  Sellers need to watch these areas for signs of uncleanliness and keep a cleaning company or two on speed-dial during the home is for sale process.  Your home needs to be ready to show to buyers with maybe as little as 10 minutes notice, so keeping your home on a regular cleaning regimen (such as weekly or bi-weekly) with a professional cleaning company is a must if you want your home to get noticed by buyers.  Competition is fierce for educated home buyers and lack of cleanliness will send these buyers to other homes that look tidier than your home. Written, copyrighted and all rights reserved 2007 by Sherrie Hartzell, licensed real estate salesperson in Virginia with Keller Williams Preferred Realty-Stafford, VA.