Thinking of selling your home? take a few minutes to read my Five Tips for Home Sellers and learn practical ways to maximize the appeal of your property to potential buyers.
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Practical ways to maximize your property's appeal to buyers.
1. Make a Good First Impression
Imagine what response someone might have upon arriving at your home for the first time. Is the front yard neatly groomed, the lawn cut, hedges trimmed? Are walkways swept? Is outdoor clutter removed? Does the front entry convey an inviting, welcome feeling? Curb appeal – the visual interest your home creates from the street – is a key factor in making a good first impression. By creating a beautiful entrance, you will encourage people to look at the house in a positive light from the start.
2. Fix the Little Things
Repair dripping faucets, leaky toilets, replace faulty electrical switches and burned out light bulbs, tighten door knobs, oil squeaky hinges. Hiring someone to fix the little defects or taking the time to do it yourself will be worth it. When prospective buyers view your property, they will be able to focus on its good features instead of on the expense and effort such repairs might take.
3. Brush Up on Your Housekeeping Skills
Keeping the house clean and tidy might be the last thing on your normal daily "To Do" list. But when your property is for sale, think of it as a product to be marketed and shown off. The clutter of your everyday life can distract prospective buyers from picturing themselves living in the house. A shiny kitchen, sparkling bathrooms, vacuumed carpets, clean floors and uncluttered surfaces make a big impact.
4. It Might be Time to Redecorate
If your home's decor is showing its age, it might be time to consider redecorating. Adding a fresh coat of paint in principal rooms, replacing key pieces of furniture or updating them with slipcovers, rearranging the placement of your furnishings – these are some of the ways you might use decor to your advantage.
But be realistic: not everyone has the knack for interior decorating and it might be worth your while to hire the services of a home staging professional. A home staging consultant can provide objective advice and practical suggestions on how to create an appealing product of your home.
5. Consider Having a Home Inspection Done
A home inspection is often arranged after the buyer has made an offer, so they can satisfy themselves that there are no hidden problems – structural or mechanical – with the property. Unfortunately, some buyers then use the home inspection report as a negotiating tool to get a price reduction or other consideration from the seller, on the basis that the inspection discovered something undesirable about the property.
Why not consider hiring a home inspection professional to evaluate your home before putting it on the market? Awareness of any unforeseen problem or deficiency can be a valuable tool for you as a seller. You can opt to correct the deficiency up front, so it is not a detriment to the value of your home. Or you can provide authoritative information about the problem, so the buyer is made aware from the start. In either case, you are less likely to find yourself in the position of having to re-negotiate the price or terms after the fact.
Paul Cleary, B.B.A., Broker, Office: 705-325-1373, Direct: 705-327-6002, Fax: 705-325-4135
RE/MAX orillia realty (1996) ltd., Brokerage, 97 Neywash Street, Orillia, Ontario, Canada L3V 6R9
©copyright 2021 Paul Cleary.
RE/MAX orillia realty (1996) ltd., Brokerage, 97 Neywash Street, Orillia, Ontario, Canada L3V 6R9
©copyright 2021 Paul Cleary.