Selling Your Home - Part 3

Where No Buyer Has Gone Before

In the last post we looked at the importance of curb appeal to peak the buyer's interest in your home. Now we are going to address the things you can do to the interior of your home to get the buyer closer to making the offer.

The inside of the house is where the potential buyer is going to pick your house apart. Fair or not, they will be looking, with very critical eyes, to make every case they can to not buy your home. However, here's the rub. The more interest the buyer has in purchasing your home, the more critical they will be. In other words, they are not making a judgement of you, they are simply trying to talk themselves out of buying the house.  Your mission is to reduce the chances of criticism by making your home their first choice. As the saying goes: "First impressions are lasting impressions".  Let's dive in and go over the things that you can and, in most cases, should do to make your home stand out to the potential buyer.

Decor

A cluttered look is probably the biggest detractor when a potential buyer walks through
the front door. As we grow into our homes we accumulate stuff, furniture, collectibles, design pieces and pictures to name a few. It becomes invisible to us because we live with it every day. It won't be invisible to the buyer. So here are a few tips to make the invisible really invisible:

1. Probably the best way to get the home in showing condition is to have a professional designer or home staging service do it for you. There is a cost to this, but the results will be well worth the expense. There is some data that professional staged homes bring higher and more qualified offers than not. It is amazing the difference a few changes make in your decor when a professional is involved.
2. Many of us can't afford Joanna Gaines to come in a do the "Fixer Upper" magic on our homes. But, you do have an alternative. The Internet. Time to hit Pinterest. Create a home decor board and start searching for ideas and suggestions. You will be surprised (maybe not) of the amount of info, and help, you can get from the Internet. The key is to keep it simple. Don't get overwhelmed and don't try to make your home look "perfect" as they do in the pictures.
3. Closer to home, do you have anyone in your circle of friends that has a knack for decorating? If so, ask them to help with getting the house in order. You will be surprised that they will probably jump at the chance to try their design talents. You may even want to get a few of the "girls" together for wine and cheese and talk about design ideas.

The bottom line is to get the interior decor and flow of the home, especially in the living areas, a place that feels like home to the buyer.

Flooring & Carpets

When you are rearranging and removing clutter, now would be a good time to look at your walls. Could they use some attention, like a fresh coat of paint? Remember that all your stains, cracks, nail holes, etc that are invisible to you is going to noticed by the buyer. So lets get the walls fixed and painted. Selecting the color of paint is critical. Your best bet is to use a neutral color that accents your color scheme of your decor. If you are the DIY type, plan a painting project for a weekend. Get the family, and/or friends, involved. Just take your time and make sure the jobs is done right. Patience and planning goes along way.

After you have looked at the walls, now it is time to look down at the floor. Whether you have hardwood or carpet or both, take a critical look at them.

Carpet should be clean, spot and wear free. One of the best solutions for cleaning carpet is hiring a professional service. Get a list of reputable companies, then get bids and select the company. This is also a good time to check for any areas of carpeting that need stretching. The cleaning company should be able to fix these areas as part of the service.

The best time to deal with the carpet would be after any painting and before any rearranging of furniture. In fact, since you have to move the furniture in order to clean the floors, it will make it easier for you or the designer to place the furniture after the cleaning.

Hardwood floors should be cleaned well, also. You don't have to go as far as refinishing, but there are many good products on market today that will clean and refresh hardwood floors. Area rugs and runners are also a good addition to hardwood floors (check out your Pinterest board for ideas).

The Kitchen

The kitchen is where the buyer (especially the wife) will probably be most critical. It is absolutely imperative that the kitchen is in as pristine shape as possible. Counter tops should be spotless. Sinks, appliance and cabinet doors should also be shining clean. Put all small appliances, mixers, cans, jars, etc. that are out on the counters into storage or inside the cabinets (neatly). Keep out some of your necessities, but uncluttered counter tops will give your kitchen the feeling of space, especially if you have a small kitchen. This would also be a good time to straighten and organize the pantry. You want the buyer to get a feeling of space.

Bedrooms

So guess what I'm going to tell you do? That's right, get your kids to make their beds and keep their rooms clean and in order. This goes for the Master Bedroom as well. Pretty obvious, but you would be surprised at how many homes I have shown with the bedrooms looking like a tornado just went through. Bottom line, use your common sense and get the bedrooms in the same condition as the rest of the house. Just like the living areas, keep it simple and get rid of the "clutter".

Bathrooms

Like the kitchen, the baths will be intensely scrutinized. Clean, clean, clean. Mirrors should be spotless. Vanities clean and free of bottles, toothpaste, razors, you name it. Check the grout lines in the tile (floor and shower). You can get cleaning materials that will clean the grout lines and you will be surprised by the difference. Put in a new shower curtain liner. And, believe it or not, make sure the toilet is flushed. Yep, we have shown homes to buyers where you didn't want to go into the bathroom.

It's not your Home

We have just scratched the surface of getting the interior home ready for showing so you get that full price offer. We could have gone into a lot more detail, but most readers already know what needs to be done and how to get it done.

We will leave you with one last thought. When you make the decision to sell your home, just remember that the house is not your home anymore. It belongs to the next buyer. So, don't be afraid or emotional about putting personal and family stuff out of site and giving the next buyer a clean slate to make it their home.

Stay Tuned!