HINTS FOR SELLERS

55 Success Hints for Selling Your Home

Successful sellers and real estate agents, who have sold properties considered "difficult to sell" have provided the following suggestions. While many will seem small and inconsequential, often buyers need just "one more small reason" to decide to make an offer.

No need to memorize this list. Just ask me how I can help you sell your home that maximizes your net return.

  1. Always look at your home from a buyer's point of view. Be objective and honest with yourself.
  2. Stimulate the buyer's imagination by setting scenes: a warm fire, a chair with a quilt and a book on the table.
  3. Create a spacious feeling in your home. Leave all interior doors wide open.
  4. Post a chart or sheet that identifies and accentuates the positive features of the home. Better yet, use small well-printed signs to accentuate positive features. (Many model homes have these.)
  5. Use folded quilts, bright colored pillows and fresh flowers to draw attention to positive features.
  6. Use props such as a bright colored umbrella on a deck to point to backyard positives.
  7. Disguise unsightly views, but do not use dark, heavy curtains. Instead, hang light sheers and let the breeze blow in and move them. Never apologize for a poor view. Make lemonade out of lemons!
  8. Eliminate bad odors. Get rid of the source. Then use Lysol, potpourri, carpet freshener, deodorized cat litter and cedar blocks or chips inside closets and drawers.
  9. Place 3 or 4 glass shelves inside window frames and decorate with small plants or stuffed animals on the shelves, but leave lots of light streaming through.
  10. Make sure the front door area is immaculate and not cluttered. Pick up a new door mat (avoid cute sayings on the mat). Make sure brass doorknocker is shined. Maybe place potted flowers by the front entry. Use nice pots and bright-colored flowers.
  11. Avoid eccentricities such as beads hanging in doorways, wild posters, black or dark walls, mirrored ceilings, sacred temples, red/gold wallpaper or jars of bugs, spiders and snakes. Make your home appeal to the masses.
  12. Have a garage sale before the home is put on the market, if necessary.
  13. Maintain "comfort" in the home that lies somewhere between clutter and sterility.
  14. Use a "Buyers View box". Simply remove the top of a shoebox and cut a hole about 4" wide and 2" high in the bottom, center of the box. Using the shoebox as a viewer, start slowly through the house looking at every wall, window, ceiling, crack and crevice. Record every imperfection you spot. Once you narrow your focus, you will be amazed at how many small and large problem areas you will find that you have lived with for years and never noticed. When the list is finished, you'll have a good point from which to start repairing the home for sale.
  15. Anytime potential buyers may be viewing the home, make the interior visible from the exterior. Clean windows, open drapes, lights on and soft music playing make a home very inviting.
  16. If there is space, hang a two-person chair swing on the porch. Maybe paint it a bright color and place bright-colored pillows on the seat.
  17. Place photos of the home during different times of the year - Christmas, spring, summer barbecues - throughout the house.
  18. Make sure all doors, electric wall plates and wall corners are clean and free of fingerprints.
  19. Clean out closets. Make them feel spacious. Leave room in the entry closet for potential buyers to hang their coats, if the weather is cool.
  20. Highlight the fireplace or wood-burning stove. If the weather is cool, have a fire going when the home is shown. If it is too warm for a fire, add color with flowers on the mantel and pillows on the hearth. If the fireplace is not being used, place a large plant or flowers in the burning area.
  21. Stand outside the front entry and evaluate the overall "feeling". Is it warm and does it invite you?
  22. Set the dining table. Make it "homey." Use flowers and candles.
  23. Create counter space. No dish racks, cleanser, dish soaps or unused appliances.
  24. Depersonalize rooms. (An example would be to remove a teenager's poster of the latest band from the wall.) Remember, appeal to the masses.
  25. Having fresh flowers in the home gives the feeling of life. However, do not let them get stale and create an offensive odor.
  26. Increase wattage of light bulbs in dark areas of the home, especially in bathrooms, kitchens, closets and laundry areas.
  27. Use color to draw attention to positives. Flowers, pillows or quilts work well.
  28. Make beds appear inviting. Again pillows and quilts will help.
  29. Use bright-colored tablecloths on the outside or patio tables.
  30. Use track lighting to create moods. It is inexpensive and can work wonders.
  31. Use mirrors to make small areas appear larger.
  32. Clean off book and wall shelves and make the wall appear spacious.
  33. Make sure the garage is spotless and there are no cars inside or on the driveway when the home is shown.
  34. Make sure the access through the home is very open and comfortable for at least three people at a time. (You may need to put some things in storage).
  35. Store excessive furniture.
  36. Make sure doors open all they way.
  37. Find some way to highlight exposed beams.
  38. Get rid of video arcades and make sure the television is not the focal point of any room.
  39. Make sure any hanging items - plants, pans in the kitchen, soap racks - are very clean and do not have cobwebs.
  40. Make sure all electrical sockets and switches inside and outside operate properly.
  41. See that hallways are clear, unobstructed and well lit. If they are dark, consider some track lighting.
  42. Create a "master suite" effect in the master bedroom. Make it look like a bed-and-breakfast bedroom. Magazines are a good source of basic decorating.
  43. Make sure staircases are well lit and uncluttered. Also, test that the handrails are secure.
  44. Possibly keep under-bed storage boxes so the home can be tidied up very quickly, if shown on short notice. Keep the beds made.
  45. Make sure that shower curtains and doors are kept clean and unstained. If they are discolored or stained, replace them.
  46. Keep porch, deck and patio furniture clean in case a potential buyer sits down.
  47. Clean all grease and oil stains off the driveway, walkways, parking areas and garage floors.
  48. Trim all bushes away from windows for security as well as to allow the light into the home.
  49. Use props to entice the buyer's imagination. Some examples are:
    • Birdhouse in Bright Colors, Swing on the porch, Flowers, Clean, enticing barbecue
    • Potted plants, Pillows and quilts, Table Cloths, Umbrellas
    • Hammocks, Dishes of potpourri, Books on tables, Glass mirrors and crystals
    • Logs in the fireplace, Special soaps & dish, Large coffee-table books, Knitting basket on rocking chair
    • Chess or checkers set, Set Dinning Table, Basket of pine cones
    • Musical instruments, Fully stocked bar
  50. Light one or two candles in the house to create a mood and nice scent.
  51. Keep pets out of the way during showings.
  52. Leave the showing to the salesperson. The salesperson knows the buyer’s requirements and can best emphasize the features of your home. If possible, leave the house during a showing.
  53. rice, terms, possession and other items concerning the sale. Your agent is qualified to bring negotiations to a favorable conclusion.
  54. Never apologize for appearance, it either distracts or accentuates the problem.
  55. Pack away valuables; store extra furniture and knick-knacks; move guns and medicines to a secure place.