Change your thinking from “this is my home” to “this is a product to sell” will greatly improve your chances of a faster sale of Raleigh Real Estate. We all have an emotional attachment to our “home”, however, we need to set aside our emotions in order to look at the house objectively.
Focus on each room with the eyes of the buyer in mind. The biggest mistake a seller makes when getting their home ready to sell is seeing it through their own perspective. When we work with buyers as a buyer’s agent and walk into your house with our client, we see it as something to buy. The buyer doesn’t care about what activities your children are involved in or who your grandparents are. They see it as space to fit their furniture and how they would live in it.
De-Personalize the entire house. Because the buyer is trying to imagine their furniture in your living room, help them out by removing anything that says “I live here.” A photo or two of the family is ok because that gives some warmth to the space. Just don’t over-do photos with a wall of your children from birth to college. Buyers do not care.
De-clutter is also a very good idea. Storing seasonal clothing in bins will help to de-clutter closets. We keep so much stuff that we probably don’t need. Go through each room with a box and a trash bag. Whatever you pick up, decide if you need it or not. If you don’t need it, put into the trash bag. However, if you need it, decide if it should stay in the room or can be stored to take to the next house.
Keep in mind, buyers will be looking EVERYWHERE in your house. Make it easy for them to get access to closets and crawlspaces. Don’t clutter those areas or block them. If the storage in your house is limited and you don’t have a garage, consider renting a storage unit.
If you have a garage use it as your storage unit, most buyers don’t care about bins stored there. They just want to see the size of the garage. However, there are some men who really check out the garage but most take a peek inside and that’s all.
Staging the house tells a buyer “this room is used for…”. Think of the message you are sending to a potential buyer with what you have in each room; the furniture, decorations, and “stuff”.
Let’s pretend you are a potential buyer. Go to the curb outside of your home. Take a look at what you see as if you are thinking of buying it. Make notes of what repairs need to be made. Don’t forget to pressure wash the exterior and spruce up the mulch in the flower beds.
Minor repairs will help the buyers feel more confident giving you an offer because they will feel the home is well-cared for. Don’t overlook replacing light bulbs in you’re your house is shown in the evening hours. Please be cautioned as to the extent of the repairs made prior to receiving an offer. Once you have an offer, the buyer will have a home inspection. Each home inspector will pick up on different repairs. Don’t go overboard with repairs because a home inspector gets paid to FIND a problem. Repairs are negotiable. You’d be surprised what the buyer will ask you to fix.
To find out what your Raleigh home is worth based on the repairs needed or not, just ask one of HomeTowne Realty’s Raleigh Real Estate Agent.
Now, let’s go inside the house. Stand at the front door and observe. How does the house feel to you when you walk in? Is the house welcoming or does it need a few repairs, furniture that needs re-arranging, or personalized decorations that need removing?
Make the house sparkle with a good overall house cleaning. Once the house is on the market, keep up with vacuuming and cleaning of bathrooms. Never have any dishes in the sink.
When a house appears “lived in” to a buyer, they quickly walk through the house and leave as fast as possible. It feels like they are invading someone’s personal space and is VERY uncomfortable. Buyers also feel this way when sellers are home during a showing. Your goal as a seller is to get the buyer to imagine their “stuff” in your house. If the buyer can’t wait to leave, you haven’t accomplished your goal with that showing.
Families with small children and toys have the added challenge of living in the house while making it appear that they don’t. Is there a toy box you can hide behind the sofa? When you have a showing, you can quickly put away all the toys. No matter how you live in your house, you must make it appear that no one lives there.
Remember, your house is a product for sale.
HomeTown Realty allows the public to search 5 different MLS’s throughout North Carolina including the coast. www.myhtr.com