Hey, have you noticed the housing market is a little slow these days? Well, maybe “a little” is a bit of an understatement. If you are in the market to sell your home, you will need every advantage to get your home to stand above others. There are a few simple things you can do on your own to make sure anyone who happens to be looking at your house is seeing it at its best. In today’s market, the details really are everything.
Got Junk - Get Rid Of It
If you are opening your house to the public, you might just be tempted to take all of your clutter and shove it somewhere no one is going to look – like a closet. The thing of it is, most potential buyers are going to look in every single closet, and they will be doing so in order to determine if their things will fit in those spaces. If they get the sense that your closets are full and/or disorganized, you have dramatically reduced the possibility of those people being interested in buying your home.
So, what do you do with all of that extra stuff? Beyond selling or donating things you do not honestly need, find a caring friend with a little garage space and ask for some help moving some things in. You can also make the closets and storage space in your house feel more substantial by adding shelves and drawers, by the way.
Got Pets - Tips To Get Your Home Ready
It might seem strange to you, but some people really do not care for animals. Some prospective buyers suffer from legitimate (and sometimes severe) pet allergies. Maybe you’ve already gone so far as to board your dog or cat at a kennel or friend’s house, but that is not all you have to worry about. In reality, you need to bury any sign that a pet resides in the house. Get rid of the cat food, the bags of litter, the pet bed, the squeaky toys, the leash – everything. If your home is carpeted, get it steam-cleaned before opening the house; any hint of a lingering pet odor or stain can be a deal-breaker for some folks.
Dial In the Right Temperature
It is important to make sure any potential buyer is very comfortable, so take a minute to think about the temperature. Hot day? Turn on the air conditioning or fans. Don’t blast them out of the room, just cool it down enough so no one thinks about it. Snowing outside? Turn a little heat on, but bear in mind that browsers might very well keep their coats on – do not turn the place into a pizza oven. On that note, it might not be a bad idea to have a coat rack right by the door in case they do want to shed a few layers.
Dust Everything - Get an Extra Can of Pledge
All those people poking about your house is going to create more traffic than the place has ever seen, and with people come fingerprints. Your light switches and doorframes, stainless steel appliances and cupboards – these are the sorts of high-profile spots that need to be tended to between viewings.
In many areas of the United States, home selling marketing times are running 5-7 months. It is a long time to keep these things up. To speed up your selling time here is another article on getting started on selling your home.
Article submitted by Craig Cocciola. Craig has been a real estate land developer and real estate internet marketer since 1999. He is the owner of PropertyNut.com, The Internet's Best Real Estate Home Listing and Home Search website.
