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Tips for Selling Your Home
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- The key to selling your home is effective
presentation. Like a person, first impressions and "curb appeal" are
critical. Curb Appeal. A home should be attractive as soon
as visitors drive up and walk to
the front door. There are ways ways to enhance curb appeal: keep
your lawn cut, trim the edges, plant flowers and shrubs, and
keep the flower
beds weed-free. To make the house itself better looking, wash
the windows, paint the eavestroughs and trim, keep the yard litter
and leaf-free.
If you are out of town while the home is listed, hire a service
to maintain the garden and plants (indoor as well as out).
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- Keep it uncluttered. Inside the home, there
are simple things that enhance a buyer's interest. "Job One" is
keeping it tidy: this makes the house look more spacious and
better-maintained. Clean
the carpets, and wash the light fixtures, ceilings and walls
(especially if you have pets). A fresh paint job will make
the house feel new,
especially in a smoker's home. Store any seasonal items or extra
toys to reduce clutter. If you need help with repairs or renovations,
your
real estate agent can recommend good but affordable professionals
for the tasks.
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Focus on the Bathroom and kitchen. Buyers, especially women, will take a
close look at the bathroom and the kitchen. These are the two rooms where
women at home spend most of the time. Fix up the grout or caulking in the
bathroom beforehand. Consider painting cupboards and re-tiling floors,
counters, and walls in the kitchen.
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- Before the visit. When someone is scheduled to visit your home, turning
on all the lights. Try to keep the home reasonably vacant, so the home
buyer is free to comfortably look around. Bake a loaf of bread or a
cake, light candles, or dab vanilla extract on light fixtures to create
a pleasant scent in your home. Most buyers only take three mnutes to
look at a home. If you make a good first impression, and show a neat
and well-maintained home, your odds for a sale improve dramatically.
While some improvements may cost money up front, they may dramatically
improve your selling price. Your realtor will provide you with recommendations
to help improve your net selling price.
Here are five tried-and-true tactics to give
your home an immediate face-lift. They'll cost you little - except,
perhaps, some time - but are guaranteed to bring
big returns when the FOR SALE sign goes up on the lawn.
1. Tidy it up!
Hold a garage sale to dispose of unwanted and unused furniture and
appliances, odds and ends you've been saving for a rainy day, and
generally anything you haven't used in the last five years.
Weed out every closet mercilessly (you'll thank yourself when you
start packing!) and don't forget the garage. Keep only the things
you use regularly. Your home will look more organized, more spacious
and more inviting.
2. Fix it up!
Take care of all the little maintenance tasks you never seem to have
time for. Go through the house, room by room, and make a list.
Open every door and window, turn on every faucet and check every
lamp.
Repair leaky faucets, oil squeaky hinges, tighten loose doorknobs,
make sure windows and doors open and close smoothly, and change the
burnt light bulbs. Buyers notice.
3. Spruce it up!
It's amazing how much better your home can look with a fresh coat
of paint and how much value it can add, for little cost. You don't
have to repaint everything, but do consider freshening up the rooms
that need it most. Use neutral colours inside.
Outside, a gallon of paint on exterior trim, wooden stairs and banisters
can also do wonders for your home's appearance. Label leftover paint
cans for the new owners.
4. Pretty it up!
Curbside appeal is a big drawing card for home buyers. Not only is
it the first thing they notice when they arrive, it's the face
they'll present to the world if they buy.
Make the most of this opportunity and spend a Saturday tending to
your lawn and garden. Mow the grass, trim the hedges, plant some
flowers and weed the garden. Make sure the driveway and walkways
are clear and obstacle-free. Your efforts won't go unnoticed.
5. Clean it up!
Now that you've been through cupboards and removed all the needless
clutter, get everyone in the family involved and clean the house
from top to bottom.
Make sure everything sparkles and - here's the hard part - vow to
keep it that way! Make sure beds are made and dishes are done before
you leave the house in the morning. Interested buyers might stop
by on short notice.
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