Aug 19, 2024 | Home Selling Tips
Selling a house in the current market can be tricky, but there are certain mistakes an owner can make that will cause a Worcester County area home to sit still without a decent offer and cause the listing to go stale.
In order to prevent that from happening, make sure you are not making one of the following mistakes when putting your property on the market.
Overpricing
While your home may hold sentimental value, many times that value does not translate into dollars.
Be realistic about your asking price and know the details about your current market.
Look at the list price of similar houses on the market to get a rough idea of what you should ask for your property.
Make special note of the actual closing sales price as well as the time on market and listing to sales price ratio.
A licensed real estate agent can provide these details as well as give you their expert opinion based on experience and comparable properties.
Neglecting Repairs
Glaring problems with a property will cause the buyer to think the home was not properly maintained.
While it may cost some money, repairing things like holes in the walls, broken light fixtures or missing tiles can change a buyer’s entire attitude about a property.
Ask for help if you aren’t comfortable doing these things yourself.
A real estate professional will have a whole list of qualified referrals who they trust to help you get things fixed up.
Ignoring Curb Appeal
Overgrown and unweeded yards can cause potential buyers to drive right by.
Also, having junk in the front of your house or peeling paint can deter someone from considering the property.
Step across the street and take an honest look at your house – and then make necessary adjustments.
Fixing these items may be as easy as one weekend day of clean up and a little elbow grease.
And even though it’s not expensive to fix these issues, it can make thousands of dollars difference in the sale of your home.
Creating Or Allowing Foul Odors
Odorous foods, pet dander and the smell of smoke can be extremely distasteful to buyers.
Even if you are used to the smell, others entering your house will not be.
Make sure you air out the house, smoke only outdoors, and put away the litter boxes before an open house or showing.
Also, ask someone who isn’t at your home often to come in and give it a smell test.
Brutal honesty here might hurt a little bit, but it’s a lot better than allowing this problem to prevent a quicker sale of your home.
Without even realizing they’re sabotaging a potential sale, homeowners can make several mistakes when first trying to sell their home.
To find out what you can do to make your property really stand out to potential buyers, contact me, I can introduce to some of the finest Real Estate Professionals in our area. 978-728-5104
Sep 21, 2023 | Home Selling Tips
Can you believe that autumn is already here? Autumn is not only a great time to enjoy some cooler weather, but it is also a perfect time to sell a home. If you want to sell your house this autumn, these home staging tips will have buyers pounding down your door.
Improve Your Curb Appeal
Curb appeal is easily the most important factor when it comes to selling a home, and it is even more important in the autumn. Maintaining great curb appeal can be difficult in autumn because of all the falling leaves.
Raking the leaves and planting some autumn flowers will make your home inviting to buyers. You can even add some pumpkins around the porch, if you desire.
Brighten Up The House
The shorter days of autumn make lighting more important when staging a home, because nobody wants to walk into a dark and depressing house. The best way to brighten up any house is by opening the blinds and turning on every light.
While it may not be great for the electric bill, the extra lighting will help the home sell quicker. You can even place some spotlights on the floor behind furniture to brighten up the darker rooms.
Make It Feel Comfortable
There is something about the cooling weather of autumn that makes people want to stay inside. Showing off how comfortable your home is will definitely pique buyers’ interest. A great way to make your home more cozy during a showing is by playing seasonal music and handing out some fresh baked cookies – it adds a personal touch and a subtle sense of coziness.
Accent The Home With Autumn Colors
While it is impossible to change the color scheme of your home to fit the season, you can add some accent colors throughout the house. If you have a neutral colored couch, then you can easily throw some red or orange pillows on it to make it really stand out. Adding some autumn decorations to each room is also a great way to accent your home with autumn colors.
Autumn is an extremely popular time to buy or sell a house, and for good reason. Taking advantage of autumn’s vibrant colors when you stage your home will give your house an irresistible appeal. For more information about how to sell your home in the autumn, or if you’d like to list your home for sale, contact an experienced real estate professional today.
May 25, 2022 | Home Selling Tips
Homeowners who want to increase the appeal of their residence before putting it up for sale can, within a few hours and with a little elbow grease, perform some do-it-yourself (DIY) kitchen upgrades that are sure to pique the interest of would-be buyers.
Many people either have or are in the process of listing their home, so it makes sense to do as much as possible to attract the interest of prospective purchasers.
It need not cost a proverbial arm and a leg to boost the selling price of a home. Here are three DIY kitchen upgrades that will help homeowners gain a competitive advantage in the real estate market and get attractive offers for their residence.
On-The-Cheap Cabinet Upgrades
For a DIY upgrade project that won’t cost much money and won’t take much time, homeowners should consider revamping their cabinetry, as long as the cabinets are structurally sound. After cleaning them and, if necessary, sanding down any rough spots, homeowners can apply a coat or two of paint and, after the paint dries, install new knobs or handles to finish off the project.
The end result will be a totally transformed kitchen that likely won’t require more than a can of paint, sandpaper, some cleaner and some knobs or handles.
Upgrade Your Countertops
It’s amazing how much of a difference an upgraded countertop can make to the overall look of a kitchen. Homeowners who believe that a new countertop would definitely transform their kitchen have a number of options at their disposal such as buying a new one, tiling over the existing one or repainting the existing one.
Often the easiest of the three options is repainting, since this simply involves sanding the surface, priming it, applying the paint and then applying numerous coats of polyurethane to safeguard the finish.
Transform Your Kitchen Backsplash
While a nice-looking kitchen backsplash can be a plus for would-be home buyers, the fact of the matter is that an ugly backsplash will definitely turn off prospective purchasers.
A cheap and relatively quick way to give a backsplash a new lease on life is to use so-called tile decals that, because of the adhesive they contain, can be pasted over top of existing backsplash tiles. There many different options in terms of styles, colors and concepts, so homeowners will be able to find the perfect option to make their backsplash look as good as new.
Preparing to list a home and get acceptable offers involves ensuring that your home will stack up nicely compared to other homes up for sale in the area. As it turns out, doing some quick and relatively simple kitchen upgrades will help to attract prospective buyers. Tips for performing any of these DIY upgrades can be found either at neighborhood big-box stores or online.
For more information on the real estate market or to get more information on any related topics, call your trusted real estate professional today for a no-obligation consultation.
Jan 19, 2022 | Home Selling Tips
When you sell your home, you want it look as good as possible. To do this, your real estate agent will help you stage your home or, if needed, help you find a professional to stage your home.
This means de-cluttering your home, re-arranging furniture, and de-personalizing each room.
A staged home is more appealing to buyers and helps to highlight your home’s positive features. However, staging is not meant to cover major flaws in your home. Some things just have to be repaired.
Roof Problems
It doesn’t matter how pretty your home is, your buyer is going to expect you to fix roof problems or adjust your price to cover them. Your roof is one of the most important parts of your home.
Cracked Tile
Of course, you can use throw rugs to cover cracks in your tile, but chances are your buyers are going to look under them. Then they may think you are trying to hide a serious problem like a shifting foundation. Save yourself the headache and have your floors fixed.
Broken Windows
You have to expect your buyers to walk around your home checking out the views from the windows. They’re going to notice any cracks. If you have the budget, consider upgrading your windows and making your home more marketable. At the very least, you should have the glass replaced.
Torn Screens
If you have torn screens, your buyers may think you don’t take care of your property. Yet, screens are fairly easy to fix on your own. With the right supplies from your local hardware store, you can have new, sleek screens in less than a day.
As your agent, I will make sure your home is ready to sell fast. Call your trusted real estate professional today.
May 26, 2021 | Home Selling Tips
Pantone is a universal language of color that you can use to select beautiful colors to paint the home. Interestingly, each year, Pantone selects a color of the year that embodies what’s happening in society.
In 2021, the Pantone color of the year was awarded to two colors, Illuminating 13-0647 and Ultimate Gray 17-5104. These two colors highlight how two different elements can come together and support each other. This is the thought behind selecting them based on what has occurred over the last year.
The bold yellow and deeper gray capture feelings of promise, friendliness, and thoughtfulness, which may be a great reason to add those colors to a home. Should homeowners repaint their home in these colors, though, before they sell?
When Psychology Matters, Remember Pantone’s Color of the Year
Pantone’s color of the year is normally the start, or continuation, of a yearly color trend. That can make it an excellent color to incorporate into your home, especially if you are selecting the color based on its meaning.
However, most people don’t use Pantone colors to completely repaint before selling their homes. Instead, they use the Pantone color of the year to add pops of color or a touch of the modern color palette before putting the home on the market.
How Can You Incorporate the Pantone Color of the Year?
For example, if a home is already based on a neutral color scheme in grays or blues, adding a pop of the color Illuminating draws the eye. Using yellow as an accent color is a great way to draw attention to impressive parts of the home.
For brighter spaces, toning down the room with a cooler, relaxed gray is a good way to make the space welcoming to those who love color as well as to those who have a more traditional approach to home decorating.
Repainting an entire home in the Pantone color of the year is an option if homeowners need to repaint anyway, but if they don’t, then it could be an expensive option. To reach the most buyers, the better bet is to choose a neutral palette that potential buyers can envision in their own preferred color scheme.
Mar 17, 2021 | Home Selling Tips
Home inspections are a tense time for everyone. Sellers are passionately hoping that nothing major is wrong with their home that could hold up the transaction.
Buyers are eager to hear that their new house is in prime condition. Whatever the wishes, one thing is for sure; any news from an inspector is usually bad news.
Home inspectors have a tough job. They have to be trained to spot hundreds of potential issues with a home and be knowledgeable of local codes, community restrictions and residential permit parameters.
Stay one step ahead of your home inspector by reading the list of common home inspection issues below. Then hopefully your inspection won’t reveal any unwelcome surprises.
Electrical Wiring
This is a common bubble-busting issue, especially in older homes. Wiring might have been up to code when the home was built, but it now violates code and is a fire hazard.
Look for ungrounded outlets, shoddy wiring or a mass of confusing connections in the electrical panel. Replacing an entire electrical system can be expensive, but it’s worth it not to risk a fire.
Plumbing
Look for signs of water damage in the ceilings. This could be a sign that something above, like a bathtub or sink is leaking into the floor or walls. Look around toilets and inside kitchen cabinets for traces of wet flooring or wood.
While external leaks are easy enough to fix, interior pipes might require you to rip up flooring.
Foundation And Framing
Examine the foundation and framing of your home for any structural issues. You’ll want to keep an eye out for cracking in the foundation due to water runoff or settling. Also, look for signs of wood rot or termite damage.
These issues affect the framing of your home and could cause scary structural problems if left unattended.
Roofing
While it’s probably too difficult for you to inspect the roof yourself, just stand back in the yard and see if you can notice any bare spots. Also, check for water damage around the roofline from rain leaking in. Don’t get too discouraged about roof issues. It might not call for a complete replacement, but just a repair on one section.
These common home inspection issues affect both sellers and buyers. As a buyer, you’ll want to keep a eye out for these problems so that you know what you’d be getting for your hard-earned money.
As a seller, it’s good to stay one step ahead of the home inspector so that whatever price is agreed upon goes through.
