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How to Get Your Home Ready to Sell by Nikki Willhite Selling a home can be easy or difficult, depending on market conditions. If it is a buyer's market it may be difficult.When there are a lot of homes on the market, and the prices are low, it is a buyer's market. Buyers have a lot of homes to choose from, and sellers not only have to wait longer to sell their homes, but they usually end up taking less money than their asking price. The best chance you have of selling your home quickly and for a good profit is to make it so appealing, that when someone comes and looks at it they start imagining themselves living there and become emotionally attached to it. When your home goes on the market, you are responsible for selling it. There isn't a real estate agent good enough to talk someone into buying a home they don't like in a buyer's market. If you have enough money, you can hire professionals to stage your home, and make it as appealing as possible to buyers. You also have the free advice of your realtor. However, in the end you make the decisions about what you want or need to do to sell your home. As you get ready to sell your home, you must emotionally detach yourself from it. You must look at it through the eye of a buyer. The first thing you need to remember is that sellers and buyers do not look at houses in the same way. That molding that needs just a little paint seems like an easy fix to you. However, the buyer, seeing the same molding, thinks of it as a "project" that will take time away from enjoying life. He doesn't know where the touchup paint is, and he assesses a higher dollar amount to the project. Unless you are selling your home as a fixer-upper, you cannot afford to have any unfinished projects in your home. Your home also needs to be so clean that you can eat off the floor. If you have pets, you should get them out of the home.  Many people won't even enter homes with pets, for various reasons.  Some people think they do too much damage to homes, and other people are just plain afraid of them or are sensitive to pet odors. That is the first step. Next comes making your house appealing. You need to figure out what things about your home a buyer will really like. I believe we sold one of our homes because of the vintage looking stove we had in the kitchen. It was a beautiful piece, with a warming oven and several other features. I still miss that piece. If your kitchen is the best feature of your home, you need to make it even better. Add colorful accessories that take it up a notch, and display homemade baked goods. If you have a view out of any of your windows, be sure that it can be seen. Arrange your furniture so that there is a place to sit and look out the window. Bring in every bit of light possible to your home.  Draw the curtains off the windows and keep shades up as high as possible.  Nothing is more unappealing as a dark home. Fireplaces should stand out, and look warm and inviting. A bare fireplace does not look as inviting as one with wood or candles in it. The mantel should be a focal point in the room. Pull a chair near the fireplace, and place a book and a throw on it, and you have something that is an "emotional pull." An "emotional pull" is when a buyer imagines how they will be happy, comfortable, or proud to live in your home.  Most people buy homes with their hearts, not their heads.  Many buyers lack imagination, so you must visually show them how great life will be living in your home. You need as many "emotional pulls" as you can create in your home to compensate for the things that will not appeal to buyers about your house.  Every buyer has to compromise when they buy a house. You have to make sure that the good things about your house compensate for its flaws or other negative factors. If you house has a fatal flaw, such as being on a busy street, the only compensatory factor is probably going to be the price. Some flaws are so big that you can't compensate for them. Be sure that you take your personality out of all your rooms. Artwork should be neutral. Even things like quilts are taste specific and should be replaced with throws. Remove as much furniture as possible so that your home looks larger. Declutter, with a capital D. Don't just throw your extra items in the garage, either. You want people to think your home has lots of space and storage. If they open the door to your garage and see a bunch of "stuff",  they will immediately know what you have done and then perceive your house as inadequate. Garages are important. People pay a lot of money for their cars. They care about where they park their car. They want the garage as pristine as possible. There will also be buyers who work and do projects in the garage. It is an important area, and it should be treated like the rest of the house. Selling a home is a business. It is your business. Take it seriously, and do not put your home on the market until it is ready to sell. About the Author: Nikki Willhite, mother of 3 and an interior design graduate, has been writing and publishing articles on the topic of frugal living for over a decade. Visit her at www.frugalhappyfamilies.com - where you will find hundreds of frugal living tips and articles. Frugal Happy Families- more than just money!

 

 

 

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