The adage you never get a second chance to make a first impression is as applicable to preparing your home for sale as it is to selecting clothes for a job interview. Home shoppers are forming opinions and making up their minds the moment they view your Property.
Is your Home ready? Take the Quiz;
1. To achieve a sense of order ...
a. Put all photographs on one table to keep them centralized
b. Pack up photos to eliminate clutter
c. Minimize the amount of furniture in each room
d. B and C
2. Most people ...
a. Love very modern styles
b. Can't see beyond clutter
c. Don't have as much taste as you do
d. A and C
3. If you're on a limited budget, concentrate on ...
a. Cleaning up, and opening the windows
b. Cutting down any trees in the yard
c. Updating the hardware
d. A and C
4. Features that should be shown off include ...
a. Fireplaces and wood floors
b. Good rooflines
c. Beautiful furniture and decorating style
5. When arranging your furniture, don't ...
a. Push all pieces up against the walls
b. Place like-colored pieces together
c. Put as few pieces as necessary in each room
6. Of the following, the most important to many buyers is ...
a. Curb appeal
b. Kitchen
c. Bathrooms
d. Basement
7. As you walk into the house, the first space you see ...
a. Should be painted white to welcome people
b. Should be in the best shape it can be
c. Will not be a focus; people will exit it quickly on their way to other rooms
8. A staged home can ...
a. Get you tens of thousands of dollars more from the buyer
b. Take longer to sell
c. Make a difference only about a third of the time lease visit again and a
The cost of staging is less than the first price reduction.
ANSWER KEY
1. D. Pack up personal effects and store extra furniture. Don't stop clearing, Hazard says, until two people can walk side by side without bumping into anything.
2. B. Tastes differ, but everyone hates clutter. Hazard suggests asking your real estate agent for a profile of the typical buyer in your neighborhood: You wouldn't appeal to empty nesters the same way you would newlyweds.
3. D. A spotless, odorless, light-filled home sells faster and doesn't cost much to create. Changing hardware -- what LaPorta calls "jewelry" -- is another inexpensive way to update. Paint cabinet handles with a nickel finish, for example, or replace them with untarnished $3 knobs.
4. A. Fireplaces and wood floors are very desirable and should be highlighted. "I've moved many a sofa from in front of the fireplace," Hazard says. "To stage it, I put a nice stack of logs inside and candles on the mantel." Show off wood floors, LaPorta says, by picking up rugs, which can make a space feel cluttered and small.
5. A. "People always push furniture against the walls or into one part of the room but in larger spaces you should float the furniture in the center -- it'll make a space look larger."
6. A. Curb appeal -- a manicured lawn, nice landscaping, no stray bicycles or lawn tools -- is very important, because it's the first thing people see. "If house hunters don't like the place when they first drive up, they may not come in," LaPorta says. Kitchens and bathrooms also have to be clean and clutter-free. A fresh coat of paint for cabinets, and even appliances, can make a world of difference for not much money.
7. B. The first room people lay eyes on will color their opinion. Make sure it's an attractive, clean, clutter-free space, even if it's just a hallway.
8. A. "Even if staging a home doesn't drive up the price by tens of thousands," LaPorta says, "it'll help you sell faster." Hazard points out that agents like to show staged homes more than fixer-uppers, thus increasing your chances of a salegain.
Set the Stage for a Quicker Sale
The process of showing and selling your home can go much more smoothly if you get everything ready. Our ideas will help you get the top price for your home.
Preparing your home for sale is a bit like designing a stage for a play. Everything is in just the right place, perfectly arranged, and comfortably set.
You need to keep in mind that you're not going to make the changes to live in your home. Your only goal is to show your home at its very best to potential buyers. Without being distracted by clutter and dirt, they'll be able to picture themselves in the home you're trying to sell. They will find it hard to resist making an offer. "Look through the eyes of the buyer".
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