Real Estate Blog

Friday, 12 February 2010

PREPARING AND STAGING YOUR CLAY COUNTY HOUSE TO SELL

It’s probably stating the obvious to say that it's a tricky, challenging real estate market in Clay County, and, if you’re currently selling your Fleming Island, Middleburg, or Orange Park house, you can use any kind of competitive edge. A home stager can help you get it. Part interior decorator, part closet organizer, and part magician, they offer advice on upping the value of your home by sprucing up your interiors—all without any major renovations or shelling out of major cash. Basically, a home stager's job is to maximize your space, making rooms appear larger and feel more inviting (and desirable) with just a few clever design tweaks.

With the way the housing market is today in Fleming Island community, the name of the game is to get your house sold, and sold quickly. At Perkins Realty we are here to help you get the job done. Outlined are a few key essential tricks to do just that:

De-personalize: Hide anything (family photos, awards, trophies, your collection of antique teacup) that might interfere with a buyer feeling like your home could be theirs. People get really distracted when they’re surrounded by someone else’s personal belongings. Make your bathroom look like a hotel’s - no one wants to see your soggy loofah and half used bar of soap. Put all your beauty products in a shower caddy, so they can easily be stowed under the sink when you have a showing.

De-clutter: Most people have too much stuff, whether it’s tchochkes or paperwork or furniture. The goal is to create a sense of space in a room—and in all your closets. Fight the urge to shove all your stuff in your closets, since you have to be prepared for prospective buyers to open every last cabinet. An organized closet can send the message that as an owner, you’re the kind of person who doesn’t slack on any aspect (a leaky roof, a busted water heater) of maintaining your home.

Clean: No one wants to walk into a dirty house. Bathrooms and kitchens in particular should be sparkling. Don’t just do a surface clean - pay attention to hidden corners like the nook behind a toilet or the inside of your refrigerator. You never know where people are going to look. Use Febreeze, reed diffusers, or packaged air fresheners attached to your HVAC filter to remove any odors. Air fresheners attached to your HVAC filter ensures that the scent is throughout the house. These air fresheners can be found in the area where air filters are located. Then, invite a neighbor over to make sure there are no leftover scents, since living there may make you immune to the smell. Only about a third of Americans live with pets, so to be sure you’re not alienating the other two thirds of the population, remove all traces (leashes, litter boxes, dog beds, etc.) of animals.

Lighten and Brighten: You want to have as much light as possible filtering through your space. Start by cleaning the windows. Ditch the screens, which just add one more darkening layer. During an open house, make sure your shades are up. Check to see if all your bulbs are working, and replace low-watt bulbs with high-watt ones to ensure the place feels bright.

Paint: Walls are the bones of your home, and it’s super important to make sure they look fresh. Painting is relatively inexpensive if you do it yourself, and can have a huge impact on the way a place looks. Avoid non-neutral colors like red, purple, or loud yellow, since they won’t appeal to the majority of people. White can feel stark and cold, which doesn’t do anything to add to the appeal of a room. Try warm beige tones.

Sometimes an outside eye is what you need to help in getting your house in order. We at Perkins Realty are here to help and advise you in staging your Fleming Island, Middleburg, or Orange Park house to sell!

POSTED BY: AT 12:00 am | Permalink | 0 Comments | E-mail this

Wednesday, 10 February 2010

MARKETING TIPS TO SELL YOUR HOUSE

With this down market we all must figure out new and creative ways to get the sell. With so many homes inundating the market via foreclosures and short sales how can we make our homes more appealing to a buyer? What can we do to bring them to our door?

The most important tip is in pricing your home. If your home is not competitive then you will be out of the loop no matter how appealing your home might be. Be sure to price your home according to other existing homes in your area. Find a few comparables and list accordingly. Many sellers are offering incentives to purchasing their property. You might offer to pay the buyers closing costs, install landscaping or a deck, an elegant dinner out for the purchaser or pay the bill for the buyers moving company. In going this route, be sure that your “offer” is included in all marketing ads. Most sellers are going the extra mile for Open House as well. Consider having your showing catered. Play soft music and offer a token such as a rose as they come inside.

Do the same for your “Broker” walk-through. Most brokers have so many homes to view that it might be impossible to take the necessary time with your home. Offer incentives for them as well such as hosting a lunch out on the veranda or deck or catered hors d’oeuvres and champagne. It is all about enticing in this market.

Curb appeal is just an absolute. If the home is not attractive from the curb then no matter how you entice it will not get the attention that you need from brokers or buyers. Plant flowers, pull weeds, trim trees, pressure wash driveways, and walkways. Paint and add a new front door if you need to. Do not forget to install some yard lighting as many buyers are out after dark to view the inventory out there.

Consider having your home “staged” by a professional Home Stager. Home staging is just part of good marketing. Your home must show professionally both inside and out; home staging is the way to go. It does not cost a fortune to have this done and you will get a higher appraisal value in doing so. Keep in mind that the home stager is trained to design your home to appeal to mass buyers and it is a proven fact that the staged home sells quicker than homes that are not prepared for showing.

While it is true that it is difficult to compete in this market we hope that we have offered some valuable tools to help you get the sell. For more information and tips on selling your home contact us at PerkinsRealty.com

POSTED BY: AT 09:45 am | Permalink | 0 Comments | E-mail this