Tricks to boost the sale of your home
If you plan to put your house on the market in the near future, there's no need to say that you want to sell it as quick as possible and for top dollar. Set everything right and see the results - fast.
1. Impress with the curb appeal!
This is something repeated often, and for a reason - you don't have a second chance for the first impression. Only one! It is important to make people feel warm, welcome and safe as they approach the house. You can usually get 100% return on the money invested in curb appeal.
Make sure your home is ready for potential buyer by:
power wash siding and walkway
hang easy-to-read house number
plant blooming flowers and fresh greenery
mow lawn, and seed new grass if needed
wash outside windows
repaint or stain the porch as needed
2. Get your house sparkling clean.
Think spring-cleaning! From the baseboards to the ceiling light fixtures, the kitchen appliances to the windows, and the nooks to the crannies, everything should be spotless and gleaming. If it's too much job for you, hire a professional - it's worth every penny. This is actually the cheapest investment with huge WOW effect!
3. Declutter!
This advice is also often repeated, and off course with a reason. It's not easy, and it might need to utilize the off site storage, with this bringing you some expenses, but it's a worthwhile. Clean and clear surfaces, floors, cupboards, and closets are all more space in the buyers' eyes, so purge anything unnecessary or unsightly. Make room in your closets, leaving them at least one-third empty. Store any out-of-season clothing elsewhere. Open your closet doors so potential buyers can see how much space they could have. Be prepared for buyers to look behind closed drawers and doors. Nothing is off limits. It may be your home, but they’re wondering if it can become their own.
4. Always be ready for showing your home!
Your house needs to be ready-to-show all the times. You never know when your buyer is going to walk through the door. You have to be available whenever they want to come to see the place and it has to be in tip-top shape. Don’t leave dishes in the sink, keep the dishwasher cleaned out, the bathrooms sparkling and make sure there is no dust in the corners. It’s a little inconvenient, but it will get your house sold.
5. Depersonalize your home.
One of the most important things to do when selling your house is to de-personalize it. The more personal stuff in your house, the less potential buyers can imagine themselves living there. Get rid of a third of your stuff – put it in storage. This includes family photos, memorabilia collections and personal keepsakes. Consider hiring a home stager to maximize the full potential of your home. Staging simply means arranging your furniture to best showcase the floor plan and maximize the use of space.
6. Conceal your pet.
Off course, you love your dog. But there are people out there that are not so enthusiastic about it. And a pet smell can deter some potential buyers. Buyers don’t want to walk in your home and see a bowl full of dog food, smell the kitty litter box or have tufts of pet hair stuck to their clothes. It will give buyers the impression that your house is not clean. If you’re planning an open house, send the critters to a pet hotel for the day.
7. Light it up.
Maximize the light in your home. After location, good light is the one thing that every buyer cites that they want in a home. Take down the drapes, clean the windows, change the lampshades, increase the wattage of your light bulbs and cut the bushes outside to let in sunshine. Do what you have to do make your house bright and cheery – it will make it more sellable.
8. Pricing it right!
The most important thing to sell your home would be the price. The right one! Find out what your home is worth, then shave 15 to 20 percent off the price. You’ll be stampeded by buyers with multiple bids — even in the worst markets — and they’ll bid up the price over what it’s worth. It takes real courage and most sellers just don’t want to risk it, but it’s the single best strategy to sell a home in today’s market.
How much does the home staging cost?
By now, it’s pretty clear that home staging doesn’t have to break the bank! Some of the most important things you can do to get your home show-ready won’t cost you a cent. But if you’re not comfortable staging your home yourself and want to bring in outside help, you don’t have to look far to find a suitable staging company. A good real estate agent should have multiple recommendations.
The cost can vary from the size of your home, whether it is with or without furniture, etc. - and the best of all - you can set your budget and make arrangement that way. But just for crunching the numbers, let's say it will cost you 1% of your asking price.
According to the National Association of Realtors 2017 Profile of Home Staging, nearly one-third of buyers’ agents believe staging a home increases the offer price a minimum of 1–5%.
So how do those numbers break down for you? On a $5000,000 home, just a 2% increase means an extra $10,000 tacked on to the buyer’s offer. If you handled the staging yourself without any added expenses, that’s $10,000 in extra cash you get to put in the bank. If you paid $5,000 to have your home staged professionally over a three-month contract, that’s $5,000 more in your pocket. If your agent is paying for the staging, you can put the entire $10,000 toward your new home or stash it away in your emergency fund.
Marina Zaric is the real estate professional with North Pacific Properties, that offers to their clients the service of staging, either in the form of joint efforts with the sellers, or by hiring a professional staging company. Sellers can choose from the list of staging companies that best match the seller's taste - and with only one limit - the cost of the staging contract must be less than 1% of the listing price.
With the benefits of staged home, and that is usually the higher offer and less days on the market, plus keeping the 1% to themselves - that's truly a gift to a client! Where your trust is rewarded!!!
Let's chat: +1 (425) 802 - 6774
