Sellers, How To Make Your Home More Irresistible

You can sell your home in this market!  I cannot stress enough how vital it is that your home shows well, especially in this market so that you can sell it - this market is a price war but also a beauty contest so make your home the most appealing.  I have had buyers again and again see homes that are similar in design and they choose the more expensive of the bunch simply because it showed the best - and yes, that is in this current market.

Here are some inexpensive ways to make your home a great show:

1. Add a touch of color. Use fresh or silk flowers to breathe life and color into the main rooms. A colored afghan or throw on the couch will jazz up a dull room.

2. Make the bathrooms feel luxurious. Put away those old towels and toothbrushes. When buyers enter your bathroom, they should feel pampered. Add a new shower curtain, fresh towels, and fancy guest soaps.

3. Does it smell fresh? Set out potpourri or fresh baked goods for a homey smell. Make sure that there are no lingering scents from cigarettes or pets.

4. Help them envision living there. Set the table with pretty dishes and candles, and create other vignettes throughout the home to help buyers picture themselves there. For example, in the basement lay out a chess game.

5. Beautify the entrance. Buy a fresh doormat with a pretty pattern or a clever saying.

6. Make the rooms feel bigger. Take one or two major pieces of furniture out of every room to create a sense of spaciousness.

7. Accentuate counter space. Put away kitchen appliances and personal bathroom items to give the illusion of more counter space.

8. Lay logs in the fireplace. Or put a basket of flowers there if it’s not in use.

9. Depersonalize the rooms. Put away family photos, mementos, and distinctive artwork. Potential buyers have to be able to imagine themselves in your home, and it helps them imagine fitting in if they have a depersonalized canvas before them.

10. The lawn should sparkle. Turn on the sprinklers for 30 minutes to make the lawn sparkle.

Source: August 2009 FMLS Newsletter, Tips for Your Sellers: Making a Home Irresistible
for an Open House