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VERY BEST CONTRACTORS HOMEOWNER INFO YOUR HOME'S VALUE TESTIMONIALS HOUSING STATISTICS |
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Anne Paulus, Realtor
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STAGING YOUR HOME One of the most important things you can do to sell your home quickly and for the highest possible price is to “stage” it. A huge number of buyers want to buy a home that is in "move-in" condition. They don't want to have to paint, replace carpet or clean a dirty oven before they move in. Because 80% or more of buyers look for their next home online, it's important to have your home staged so not only does it look great in the photographs, but also during appointments. View some examples >> Many sellers panic when they think about staging their homes – DON’T. Ask a friend, relative or neighbor to give you an objective opinion about your home. Or call me. It would be my pleasure to meet with you and give you suggestions or recommend a staging professional. Within the last year, two of my listings sold for the highest prices in their neighborhoods last year. All of the neighbors told my sellers they were crazy and they would never get their price. Guess what? They did, because their homes looked like model homes. Three subsequent sellers in the same neighborhoods tried asking the same or higher sales prices without staging their homes first and they didn't have any success. All of them eventually withdrew their homes from the market. Exterior: Start here with “curb appeal.” Basics: Mow the lawn and trim shrubs (plant shrubs if you don’t have any). Wind up garden hoses, remove lawn tools, dog houses, and toys from the yard. Make sure your shutters and gutters are hung straight. Clean, or even paint, the front door. Put up seasonal door decorations. Plant flowers. Painting: A fresh coat of paint in a neutral color is the absolute best thing you can do to make your home more appealing to potential buyers. Your home will immediately seem brighter, cleaner and cheerier. If you have wallpaper, chances are it won't match the furniture potential buyers have, so bite the bullet now and strip it and paint the area in a warm neutral color. Cleaning: A deep cleaning where every surface, every window, every nook and cranny sparkle and shines. You should clean your windows, ceiling fans, curtains and blinds, lampshades, carpet, molding and trim…in short, everything! You’ll be amazed at how great your house looks… Kitchen: Many buyers judge the house by the way the oven and stove are kept. Appliances should be spotless and in perfect working condition. Repair or replace anything that sticks, squeaks, or drips. Keep counter, cooking, storage, and eating spaces uncluttered, but not bare. Put away most of your countertop appliances. Clean butcher block. Make sure you can eat off the floor. Getting Rid of Clutter: You're going to be moving shortly anyway so it’s in your best interest to go ahead and start getting rid of the things you'll never need again and boxing up the things you can live without for a couple of months. Every house is allowed one "junk room" so take all the boxes you've packed up and store them in one room. Too much furniture is always a problem and you should clear out enough furniture that the rooms look open and inviting. Ask a friend or relative if you can store extra furniture with them or rent a small storage place. Depersonalizing: Remove most, but not all, of your family photographs and personal collections. Buyers are trying to envision themselves living in every home they tour and it’s very hard for them to do that when faced with the your personal items. Leaving personal collections for the buyer to see gives the buyer a chance to focus on your stuff instead of your house. Decorating and Accessorizing: There are many improvements you can make that won’t cost a lot of money that will bring you a much higher sales price. Don't be afraid to move furniture from one room to another. Take out all the leaves in your dining room table and remove any extra chairs. New window treatments, green plants (not fresh flowers) and pretty accessories all pack a punch without breaking the wallet. Maintaining: You must commit to keeping your home spotless as long as it’s on the market. The very day someone leaves a dirty towel on the bathroom floor will be the day a prospective buyer walks through. Granted, it’s not easy to keep a home spotlessly clean while living there, but the payoff will be a quicker sale at a higher price. If you can’t keep the lawn mowed, hire someone to do it. Trash cans should be kept out of sight. A nice potted plant, a clean doormat, and a front door wreath make the home seem inviting.
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 321 Main Street Reisterstown, MD 410.833.5400 |
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