Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Lights, Camera, Action

When preparing to sell your home, we feel that staging your home is one of the most important things that you can do to appeal to a variety of buyers. Your Realtor will have many helpful ideas on staging or you may hire a professional stager if you prefer. Either way, you will want to make sure the focus is on the features that your home has to offer while downplaying any shortcomings.

The very first step in staging your home is removing clutter and unnecessary or personal items. Staging may also involve moving or rearranging furniture, redefining a room's purpose, or possibly changing color tones. The purpose is to make your home seem larger and more appealing. Buyers want to walk into a home and imagine it as theirs.

If you choose to stage your home yourself, you should make sure that you at least get some tips and ideas from other people. Sometimes, we become so use to the way our home looks and works for us, that we may not realize what actually needs to change for it to appeal to others.

HGTV's website is a great source with lots of information and ideas. Here is a link for 15 Secrets of Home Staging on their site.


Friday, November 11, 2011

First Impressions and Second Chances

We've all heard the old saying that "You never get a second chance to make a first impression."  and research has shown that it only takes seconds for people to form a set opinion about a person they've just met.  The same goes for your home and property.  Potential buyers will usually form their first impression of your home/property immediately upon driving up.

Curb appeal can make or break the first impression of potential buyers.  It is so important for you to make sure that your yard and outside property is as neat and clean as possible.  If you do not have the time or ability to do this yourself, it will be well worth your while to hire someone to do it for you.  You do not need to have professional landscaping, be extravagant or spend a fortune.  It just needs to be clean and orderly.  If the outside of your property looks a mess and unkept then a potential buyer is gong to think that you did not properly maintain the inside either.

If you're lucky enough to have a potential buyer overlook an unkept yard, then you may be given a second chance to make up for it when they enter your home.  With one strike already against you, your home is going to have to really shine to overcome any negative first impressions already formed by the buyer.  One of the first things buyers may find repulsive are offensive odors.  You will want to make sure your home is free of any pet odors, strong perfume smells or other strong odors (cigarettes, etc.) that might turn away a potential buyer.

Although we live in a society where most people believe in second chances, most will find it very hard to get past or overlook their first impression when looking at homes and properties.  Clean your property up, fix all those small things you've been putting off, and listen to the advice of your Realtor so that your home and property will be sure to make a great first impression.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

I Should Sell My House Myself...

Chances are that if you've ever needed to sell your home, you have probably thought this to yourself.  And while it's true that it can be done, many who have been through the process will likely never do it again if the need arises.  There are many things that can happen along the way that you may not be prepared to handle.  Having an agent there for you to move the transaction along from beginning to end could save you financially and emotionally in the end.

Brandon Cornett has experienced selling a home both ways and sums up those experiences in the following article:
5 Good Reasons To Use An Agent When Selling Your Home