MY WAR

Regardless of if you are selling your home yourself or selling it with the help of a professional broker or sales agent, there are some steps you must take to impress potential buyers and get top market value. It may seem common sense, but only a few sellers understand.

Picture Perfect

Start by photographing your home from the street and comparing it to pictures of other homes for sale in your area that you will be competing with. Be sure to include images of homes that have recently sold. They are the best gauge of the market since whatever they did obviously worked. With an objective eye, note what you can do to make your place look better in a picture with stained glass accents. The first time a prospective purchaser sees your home may be in the view you place on a website or in an ad or poster.

A clean and uncluttered yard is best, with the sun shining on the front of the house. Snow on the roof is not good if you can avoid it. Get rid of the derelict vehicles or anything else you do not need to have in the yard. If you sell your home, you will eventually have to move everything, so start now. It makes a big difference to potential buyers, who will assume that if the yard is a cluttered mess, so is the inside. That can be enough to make them pass on taking a closer look – especially in a competitive market. 'Curb appeal' is a real and important factor.

The front steps and the front door are two key elements of the presentation. Put time and effort into making sure they are in very good shape. Rickety steps are bad, a newly painted door is good – and a bold color is best. It will show up well in a photograph and gives the place a bit of style. Make sure the grass is cut too. No laundry on the line. No dog tied to the porch.

When you take the picture, try as many angles as you can. If you are across the street to take a picture, ensure no cars are parked on the road or in your driveway. You want to stay in the house itself. Remember to have the light behind you when you take the photo. Make sure your focus is sharp and your hand steady. Blurry is bad.

When you compare your pictures to those of the other homes in your neighborhood that are for sale or sold, look again at the prices to see that your home fits in with the others that are priced similarly. That is exactly what the buyers do before they take a closer look. Never underestimate the power of that photograph.

Staging

In the real estate world, "staging" is a short way of saying "presenting your home at its very best to attract a buyer." It is much easier said than done, and even some professional agents and brokers are reluctant to give some home sellers the advice they need.

You had better be prepared to move when you decide to sell your home, either yourself or through a broker. Look around at all the stuff you own. You have to pack it all up and move it. Your place has to be empty when you leave. In fact, it should also be clean, with nothing broken or damaged. If you have that mindset, home staging is something you can do yourself – and it will make your home far easier to sell.

Prospective Buyer's Perspective

From a home buyer's perspective – a perspective that you should get used to – a spotless and sparsely furnished home signals a serious seller. It also makes it easy for the buyers to envision their stuff in those empty places, and they can easily size things up and feel more comfortable when there is less of your stuff there. Making buyers feel comfortable is a good thing.

Being objective is the most difficult part of staging your house, but if you bear in mind that the fewer personal items in your home, the better, it may become easier. If you have 14 photos of the family on the mantel, you have 12 too many. If you have 12 chairs around the room and only 3 people to sit in them, consider removing 9 chairs. If you only use that credenza to store the things you use once a year – remove it. Your priority is making space for your buyers by removing your items. You have to move them anyway. Do it now when it can do you the best.

Experience Moving – The Sooner, the Better

If you have a place to move to, start moving your things there before your house goes on the market. If you don't, rent a storage space (or two) and gently pack up as much as you can live without. Ideally, each room will only have enough to show what function the room had or could have. That is the idea behind staging in the theatrical sense – a few props in space to suggest to the audience what kind of room it is. Ideally, that is what you should strive for – within reason. You still want to leave some warmth and a feeling that the home is indeed a home.

With the absence of many furnishings, the next steps become much easier. Consider a new coat of ceiling paint and a good scrubbing and/or polishing of the flooring. Any missing moldings, cracked glass, or crayon marks on the woodwork can be remedied. Your home will look its best, and prospective buyers will enjoy its openness. There is room for them in that house.

Splash for Cash?

The final touches for home staging are the fun parts. That involves a bit of creativity – and some fluff. A brand new boldly colored welcome mat, hall runner, or oversized vase in the entry filled with some dramatic floral arrangements are typical decorating tricks that give a place style. A particularly bright or white tablecloth draped over the right table can look classy, and color coordination can go a long way toward making the place look nice. Now it will be easy to get great interior photographs that will help you market your home anywhere. You have set the stage for a buyer.

First Impression Impress

When buyers first come in that front door – the one that you have cleaned and painted and oiled the hinges on – they have four senses that they will use – perhaps even subconsciously – to decide if they like the place. The smell is one of the first things that hits people when they enter a home, and it can stop some buyers right in their tracks. The smell of mold, for example, can end a showing before it even starts. It signals dampness and can be a health risk. Sophisticated buyers will recognize it as a warning sign right away.

Home Scents

Living in a house, you may not know what it smells like to someone who has just come in from the outdoors. To find out, a trusted friend or neighbor can help. The next time they come to the door, ask them, 'What is that smell?" Do not ask them if they smell something. They may just be too polite to say anything. Ask them what they smell. They are more apt to give honest and helpful answers. You can prompt them by suggesting it is the litter box, the cabbage you just cooked, or the shoes lined up by the door. You may then get them to agree or come up with something else. When you know, you can work to fix it for the next showing. When you next come home from a day outdoors...take a good objective sniff.

Bear in mind that when showing a home, you have to expend extra effort and alter your lifestyle to keep a buyer interested. Although they should realize that the smell of a fried fish dinner does not affect the home's structural integrity or perfect location, they are influenced by odor. There is no shortage of ways to eliminate odors, from a thorough cleaning to dehumidifiers. Do whatever is necessary – including timing the showing of the home, so it does not coincide with the cooking of curry or the bathing of the dogs. Instead, perhaps a scented candle and plenty of open windows should precede a visit from prospective buyers. You can even time the unloading of the dryer with an imminent showing. The warm and comforting aroma of clean laundry has an unmistakable appeal to most people.

When so many homes are on the market, and so few buyers are looking at them, it is important to do the extra things that may make a difference. If you are selling it yourself or with the help of a professional broker, having your home ready to show is a key factor in getting it sold.