Dressing Your Home For Success!

When you begin dressing your home for success, simply make it attractive, inviting, and pleasant to prospective buyers. Remember-you are competing with model homes.

A pleasing exterior appearance is essential for that critical first impression and will "show off" your property to its best advantage if this impression is a positive one.

House numbers and the mailbox are the first things prospective buyers will see when they drive down your street looking for your house. A touch of paint will do the trick.

Your yard immediately reflects the condition of the interior of your property. Are shrubs overgrown? . . . Is there oil on the driveway? . . . How does the grass look? . . . Do beds need weeding and mulching? See your house through an individual observer's eye.

We have great spring, summer, and fall climates; therefore, outdoor activities are important-people enjoy their yards. Mow and edge the lawn and keep it green by fertilizing and seeding-even consider sodding if necessary. Be certain that the trees are trimmed so the house can be seen from the street. Add charm with a few well placed blooming flowers-along a walkway, in a pot by the door, or in cheerful window boxes. Weed and mulch beds. Strive for the "yard-of-the-month" look.

Clear the area of toys, bicycles, garden tools, building supplies, unused parked cars, pet droppings, and leaves. If you don't see it in a model home yard, don't have it in your yard.

These things add to the "curb appeal" of your home. Remember-if buyers don't like the outside (from the picture or in viewing the real thing), they will simply pass by and drive elsewhere!

Paint is your best improvement investment for increasing the return on your money! Fresh paint makes the whole house smell clean and look neat. If your house has chips, exposed wood, looks faded, or has outdated colors, it will probably be worthwhile to paint. Choose a neutral color . . . white, cream, light gray . . . with contrasting shutters and door of black, rich brown, medium gray (careful that the gray is not blue-based). Look around at model homes in a neighborhood with homes of a higher value for ideas. At the very least, ALWAYS paint the front door and trim. Every prospective buyer will stand there waiting to enter.

A good pressure wash may suffice for the exterior surface. Replace rusted or torn screens. Remove mildew or moss from walls, sidewalks, and wooden decks with bleach and water or a commercial cleaner. Rid driveway of grease stains with kitty litter or a chemical solvent.

Clean windows-inside and outside.

Top-selling agents will NOT show your home without easy access to the key. The greatest way to have your house available and accessible for showing is to have a key handy in a LOCKBOX attached on or near your front door.

Think of prospective buyers as your guests and prepare your home's interior accordingly.

Probably the first impression of the interior will be the aroma of cleanliness-or lack of it!!! A squeaky clean house will sell faster and net many more dollars. People can be turned off by the slightest unpleasant odor. Pay special attention if you have a dog, a cat, a young child in diapers, or a smoker in the house. You may not notice these smells; but, believe me, your buyers will!

The aroma of baking bread, cookies, or pies is pleasant; but you would want to avoid cooking cabbage, fish, liver, onions, or garlic. Many people associate strong, spicy odors with uncleanliness. Freshen the kitchen by grinding a lemon or apple through your blender and the garbage disposal. Sweeten the refrigerator with a new box of baking soda and scrub the inside with baking soda and water.

The way you live in a home and the way to sell a home are two entirely different propositions. If you are moving, why not get rid of old junk now so that your house will appear larger?? More spacious?? Look carefully room by room and pack up 30 percent of the accessories and consider it advanced packing. Think back to model homes you have visited. Compare their countertops, their coffee tables, end tables with yours. Enough said?

As you pack up these items, box, label, and stack them neatly in your garage-floor to ceiling. Go ahead and pack collections and family photos you have displayed. With your personality in evidence, buyers find it difficult to "mentally move in."

Pack away any items you don't absolutely need from cabinets and closets to create the perception of roominess. Keep only a week's supply of linens and stack them neatly.

Remove out-of-season clothes from closets and pack them for storage in the garage. Arrange everything neatly-for the appearance of roominess.

Take another look. Are the rooms still cluttered? Perhaps removing an extra chair, a side table, or a gigantic sofa would be an option.

Is the carpet or flooring worn, stained, outdated? Would a good cleaning be adequate, or should you consider investing in replacement. A light, neutral color makes rooms look larger and cleaner. A new rough-textured welcome mat will help to keep your floors cleaner during showings.

Fresh paint represents a modest investment in time and money and will add dollars to your final selling price. Choose light, neutral colors for greatest appeal-flat latex paint for walls except kitchen and baths where you will need semi-gloss. Wood trim would also need semi-gloss.

Launch a "clean kitchen and bath" campaign. Everything should sparkle-sink free of dirty dishes, appliances wiped clean inside and outside, counter tops clean and uncluttered, floors and baseboards cleaned, fixtures in bath sparkle, designer towels on display. A litter box in the shower will make that area mentally "off limits" to non-cat lovers. Imagine that you are competing for the GOOD HOUSEKEEPING SEAL.

If you have an attic, you may consider emptying it to display the full value of this much appreciated but often neglected storage space. Clean and brighten the basement with light paint and large wattage light bulbs.

Cleaning oil stains from the floor and applying a coat of paint will make a great difference. As you

return things to the area, pack everything that you won't absolutely need. Stack these boxes and those you have packed from the house so that everything looks neat and organized. In the process, dispose of any of the things you no longer use and don't intend to move with you.

The old adage that the most important consideration in real estate is Location, Location, and Location applies equally when it comes to renovations to property you plan to sell. A poor location diminishes the value of nearly every improvement-the more undesirable the location, the less likely that improvements will benefit the sale.

One renovator spent $25,000 gutting and rebuilding a rundown home in an older part of the city. Normally, that's a fine idea; but the house happens to be on one of the busiest north-south streets in the city-and the only renovation for several miles in either direction. After six months the renovator's ads took on a distinctly desperate tone. When he eventually sold, he indeed lost money. Follow a general rule of avoiding renovations which make your house the most expensive in your area. You or your tenants will reap the benefits, but the price you receive when you sell will likely be dragged down by the neighborhood

. . . it won't reflect your added investment.

Bathroom. Improving and modernizing an existing bathroom or adding an additional one will be a wise investment. It is easy and inexpensive to change the wall paper and add trendy plumbing and lighting fixtures. Recaulk the tub and shower and repair leaky faucets.

Kitchen. Modernizing cabinet and counter space to accommodate paraphernalia of the 90's will certainly boost marketability.

Light. Openness and light get top billing from brokers and professional renovators. Skylights, sliding patio doors, and enlarged windows enormously increase salability. "We get as much space as possible out of a home," stresses one successful renovator whose sole business is buying then gutting, rebuilding, and reselling older homes.

Fireplace. This also gets top marks. Those in older homes may need to be rebuilt or reopened.

Attics. Opening unused attic space to create either a loft-type study or a high ceiling on the second floor is an option in some homes.

Extra bedroom. This is important, particularly in a two-bedroom home. It is likely to raise the market value of your home above the cost of making the addition.

Other choices might include adding a garage, cleaning the sooty brick facade, adding a vaulted ceiling upstairs. Whatever you decide about renovations, consider carefully if your sole objective is to increase marketability-value of property and also salability. If this is the case, determine whether the cost will justify this end.

When an appointment has been made to show your house, "set the stage" with these hints.

During the day, leave all curtains and blinds open as well as have lamps on if the day is cloudy. In the evening, close blinds, curtains, and drapes and have lamps on. Dimmer switches are very effective lighting tools. A house that is light and bright has great appeal. Temperature should be comfortably warm in winter and cool in summer.

TVs off-put on soft background music.

Add special accents that make your house appear comfortable and inviting. An open cookbook on the counter, flowers in a vase.

Now that you have "set the stage," plan to be away when your realtor has an appointment to show your house-take children and pets with you. Prospective buyers are usually more comfortable probing into closets and storage spaces when the owner is not present. Be sure that all doors are unlocked-you have nothing to hide.

Don't be overwhelmed by all of these pointers. Choose those which will be most helpful to your particular situation. If your realtor offers advice, don't be offended because the suggestions are given to expedite the sale of your house and to increase the profit to you.

Avoid the stress of selling your home, while trying to buy another home! Get pre-qualified for your next home - BEFORE you sell your current home!