Real Estate Tips - Prepping Your Home For Showings

Prepping For Showings

It's nearly impossible to keep your home in a "show-ready" state day in and day out. In many cases you may find that your home will be shown to a prospective buyer with very little advance notice.

Even if you're keeping things as clutter-free as possible, a little preparation for the actual showing is probably in order. Here are some short-term ways to get your home looking and feeling its best. I recommend that every morning you leave the house ready, this way you can accommodate all showings to increase traffic.

Step 1: Cleaning Frenzy

• Scrub tile in the kitchen and bathrooms.
• Thoroughly clean hardwood floors.
• Vacuum carpets. If time permits, rent a steam cleaner to shampoo carpets, particularly in high traffic areas.
• Dust all wood furniture, TV screens and computer monitors.
• Clear counters of all clutter. If time permits, move unnecessary appliances and decorating touches into storage areas.
• Clear the kitchen sink and counters of all dirty dishes.
• Pick up all dirty laundry. Avoid over-filling any open air hampers - laundry is better kept out of sight inside your washer or dryer.
• Remove stains from bathtubs, toilets and sinks.

Step 2: Critical Eye Test

• After doing the first round of cleaning, take a walk through the house with the perspective of a buyer. Look for clutter, excess furniture or highly personal touches that might turn off prospective buyers.
• Try taking pictures of main rooms with a digital camera for an "instant review".

Step 3: Curb Appeal Checkup - This may not apply to you for condominiums

• Sweep the entryway, porch and walkways.
• Mow and water the lawn or yard.
• Store any toys or garden equipment.
• Clean up pet droppings.
• Clean gutters and downspouts.
• Add potted plants to the porch or deck.

Step 4: Closing Touches

• Turn on all lights.
• Open drapes and blinds.
• Open windows to let in fresh air.
• Burn scented candles or open jars of lightly scented potpourri. If you don't have either on hand, you can always bake cookies (the oldest trick in the book) or simmer a few drops of vanilla extract on the stove.
• Turn off all TV's, stereos and computers.
• If possible, relocate pets to a friend or neighbor's home during the showing.
• Clean the litter box thoroughly to rid your home of smells. If pets can be temporarily relocated, remove the litter box entirely.
• Hang fresh towels in every bathroom.
• Put fresh liquid soap or bar soap in each bathroom.
• Remove rugs to showcase hardwood floors.
• Put out fresh flowers and fill candy dishes.

Selling Your Home? Successfull Real Estate Selling Tips - #6

6. Get A Sense Of The Market

When listing a home for sale, aside from looking at comparables, I suggest taking my clients out with me to preview other similar properties that are the competition. It's important to do this so you can see what we're up against, and to see what works and doesn't work. So. before you put your home on the market, take a weekend day to check out the competition: homes with similar prices and in similar neighborhoods.

Remember, you don't have to go out and buy new furniture just to look like that beautiful new model in the new development -- what you want is the feel of that new model -- clean, uncluttered, and fresh.
Remember, after location, the most important item to a buyer is a well maintained home. Many flaws can be overlooked if the buyer knows he can move in without a lot of trouble and expense.

I hope you've enjoy my successfull selling real estate tips series!

Selling Your Home - Tip # 5

5. Putting Your Home on the Market: Show It to Sell It

After you have cleaned, shined, decluttered and generally whipped your property into shape, it's time to attract a buyer.
Regardless of who markets your home, you or a broker, there are other, small things you must do to attract buyers. For example, even if it's bright daylight, open the blinds and turn on the lights. Also, open all the interior doors to make the home appear roomier. Be sure to remove all your kids and pets -- they're cute, but a prospect wants to see your home, not your pride and joy. In addition, make sure your pet's litter pan is clean so the home smells clean and fresh, not like air freshener. Remember, you need to make sure your home is available to be seen by a prospective buyer with as little notice as possible. That means less than an hour, or even five minutes, if possible.

This is a very important tip that too many sellers miss. Selling your home is an inconvenience, yes we know this. But the goal is to sell your home right? So if that means waking up an extra half hour early in the morning to leave your place ready then it must be done. As an agent, we get last minute appointments all the time, and the seller's that refuse to let us show their homes get missed, skipped and another property that was ready gets the offer. Sounds harsh, but this is the reality! So always be ready for show. Like they say on Toddlers and Tiaras - you have to be on!!

Real Estate | Tips | For Sellers | Hoboken and Everywhere! Tip #3

Continuing with my tips for sellers to prepare your home for market series, here is tip number three!

3. To Sell, Sell, Sell -- Clean, Clean, Clean

After you've cleared out the clutter, it's time to really clean. If you have carpets have them professionally cleaned. Hardwood floors? Then make them look their best! Hardwood floors are the number ONE selling feature in condominiums. Buyers swoon over nice hardwood floors so make sure they look great. Scour the bathrooms - another big ticket item for buyers. Buyers can be seriously turned off by a bathroom that looks used let alone dirty. So it is crucial that you re caulk if needed, and clean this room within every last inch. Go over the laundry closet, polish the furniture, scour out the cabinets, wash the windows and window coverings, and spiff up the ceiling fans and kitchen appliances. In short, clean everything, leave nothing behind and don't forget the dust bunnies on the ceiling molding!
Lastly, don't neglect the exterior; paint or power-wash everything that needs the work. Remember, this is a ceiling-to-floor, roof-to-foundation clean-up project. And with every dirty bucket of water you collect think of green in your pocket!

GO GREEN: Clean your home with home made recipes from your kitchen pantry and you'll clean just as well as using toxic items plus it's safe on you family and pets! Just add hot water to a bucket, and some ingredients you already have at home.

Here is a list of recipes from Planet Green you can make to clean different rooms in your home. In addition to contributing to a healthy environment, you'll save money on products!

Come back tomorrow for Tip #4!!

Is it Spring yet!?

Real Estate Tips For Sellers - Tip #2

If you're selling your home or condominium for sale, then you'll want to read these six tips for preparing your property for market. Check in as you go!

Continuing with my Selling Your Real Estate series, here is Tip #2

2. Clean Out the Clutter Before You Start to Sell

Take a deep breath because this next tip is difficult for most home owners, BUT - Before putting your home on the market, get rid of clutter in every area -- closets, book cases, kitchen cabinets, drawers, bath vanities, shelves -- everywhere. Remember, this is no time to be sentimental: if you don't use it, lose it. Potential buyers are seriously put off by clutter, and most of us drag a lot more things through life than we really need.

Also, don't forget the furniture and fixtures when getting rid of clutter -- most of us put too much in too little space, which makes a buying prospect, think your home is too small! If you have furniture that you combined when moving in with a significant other or roomate, get rid of it. Find a friend or family member that can hold it for you until you close.

Or, have a great moving sale with all the stuff you've collected and use the proceeds for paint and caulking, or whatever other materials you need for repair projects. If you just can't bear to part with some possessions, store them in the basement or some other place that's out of sight to a potential buyer, like a storage closet.

This is not to be taken lightly. This is probably the number one thing I go through with my sellers when getting their home ready for market, this is also where my sellers spend most of their time and energy! Decluttering everywhere literally means everywhere! Start with your kitchen. Common culprits are kitchen cabinets, drawers and even your counters. Buyers will open the cabinets and drawers, and you don't want to have them stuffed. This is a trick that stagers use all the time.

Remove items to show the buyer that their new set of plates, or the china set they have their eye on, will fit perfectly in these spacious cabinets!

The kitchen counters are another area in which we keep too much stuff. In this area you should not have more two or three items max. For example, a coffee maker, a utensil holder and a vase of fresh flowers.. that's it. Or, a toaster (if it doesn't take up too much space, and it looks brand new), a spice rack and a vase of fresh flowers - getting the idea??

Don't overlook the closets - every closet - linen, coat, bedroom closets you name it.

The idea is give the illusion of space so that the next potential buyer can see themselves in your home with their stuff.

Remember my acronym on the first post? O.C.D. Odors, Clutter, Dirt.

If you take the time to do it right, you will benefit. Think that for every item you declutter, you'll put a dollar in your pocket.

A great show you can watch is HGTV's "Sell This House". If you notice, the host spends time decluttering and depersonalizing spaces so that they are more neutral. You can gain great advice from the show.

Hoboken | Sellers | Selling Your Real Estate? | Time To Start Preparing

Real Estate Tips For Selling Your Home

Selling your home? Then you'll want to know that it takes work and time to prepare a home for market. Check in to read six tips for how to prepare.

Sometimes, life just hands us the inevitable: just when everything seems right with your home, something happens and you have to sell your dwelling. No matter what your reasons are for selling, remember that now is no time to dawdle, the process of preparing a home for sale can take a month or more. So, here's how to start:

1. Take a Fresh Look at Your Home

Your home looks great to you, but a buyer wants to see it since he and his family will be living in it -- so take a fresh look at your dwelling. Remember, be very critical; your buyer will be.

Next, walk up to your building (if this were the suburbs you'd pull into your driveway) noticing the immediate surroundings. How does the exterior of your building look? Are the stairs kept well? Do you have old pot plans with dead plants crowding the entrance? Does the front door make you excited to walk in??? Many times, I will take a buyer to a property or meet them there, and the buyer will say to me - "I don't want to go in." Sound crazy? It's true!! The front entrance is the very first impression! You may want to talk to your association and ask if anyone mind if you tackle the entrance be cleaning up, replacing plants and painting the front door. --- Don't wait until everyone agrees or ask them to get involved because sometimes a simple clean up can turn into a control battle, always let your fellow home owners your clear intentions of tidying up.

Next, walk inside and decide if the common areas need help too. Do the hallways need repairs or repainting? If there is not enough in the budget, then focus your effort on cleaning and making sure the hallways smell fresh and are free of odors.

Then, size up the interior as though seeing it for the first time. Walk into your home and take a tour and imagine what your real estate agent might say about each room; don't forget to look into cabinets, open doors and check out the bathroom.

Finally, make a mental note of the things that might put off potential buyers, along with another list of the things that first attracted you to the dwelling. Remember, the home's become a great place for you, but a new buyer will see things that you don't.Here are some top 3 things that turn off potential buyers almost immediately: I've listed them in an easy acronym for you to remember - O.C.D.

Odors - from pets or cooking spices can be an immediate turn off for some buyers especially if they have allergies or strong reactions to certain odors

Clutter- too much furniture, knick-knacks and just plain stuff will deceive a buyer into thinking the house is too small

Dirt - buyers are less forgiving in other people's homes (those for sale) than in their own homes. A dirty toilet, dirty grout, dirty dishes, dusty floors, or dusty ceiling fans can give the buyer a bad impression, make them think their are many repairs to do, and will make the buyer feel anxious to leave. Look for my next tips!!! Or if you can't wait, email me directly and I'll send you my full list.

Hoboken real estate sellers and buyers: Record low sales news article on CNN money

http://money.cnn.com/2009/08/12/real_estate/record_home_price_fall/index.htm

Candid advice from a buyer , can help hoboken real estate sellers!

This was passed along to me by someone and although terribly blunt and sometimes mean, it is a good look into the psyche of a buyer. Seller's need to understand the seriousness of even the smallest details when selling their home. Some of this is humorous, I have no idea what house they are referring to but good reading nevertheless.

Have you had a similar experience or some similar thoughts when shopping for homes or apt? Please share!

------Although we are very happy with our home we did purchase, during this process, I happened to notice that as we viewed house after house, I kept seeing the same things happen over and over. And….not good things. Bad things. Bad things that were blatantly obvious to me. Bad things that literally turned me off. Bad things that were keeping this otherwise fine house I was standing in from selling faster.So, as we went through the homes, I started keeping track of things that I saw* that made the average buyer – ME – want to run away screaming. Here is my “Top 10 Seller Sins”:

1. Addition Addiction – Ok…exactly what were these people thinking when they added this addtion to their home?? It isnt level. The door frame isnt square. And, that simulated wood-grain indoor/outdoor burber carpeting is HIDEOUS!! *Wasn’t this were the garage should be anyway??* I guess that explains the severely sun-faded paint job on the Sport Family Truckster in the driveway and the Christmas decorations piled floor-to-ceiling in the closet in the spare bedroom. I don’t care what anyone says…Bigger is NOT always better.

2. The “Pet-Owner Moaner” – The over-all assumption that since the seller loves their pets more than chocolate, so does everyone else. Here are a couple of quotes I heard directly from the sellers mouths: “/Awwww, my cat must really like you to nestle into your neck like that.”; “I know he looks big, but he is really just a teddy bear.”; “We were able to clean up everything in the house except the cat room.”; “I cant remember if my son put away the ferrets or not, but feel free to look around downstairs/.”a. Ok…first and foremost, /Im allergic to cats/. I don’t mean that cats make me sneeze. I mean that I *quit breathing *and require adrenallin shots to keep from dieing. That thing is lucky I didn’t toss it out the open window that was next to me.b. The “/teddy bear/” they were referring to…Yeah, that was a 158lb Rotweiller with a googlie eye and a broken tooth on the right side. His chain was tied to a cinder block that he happily drug around and tossed into the air during “playtime”.c. The “cat room”???Oh Lord in heaven!!!d. If you cant figure out if your son left out a pack of rodents in the dark rooms down the creaky stairs without a safety rail and a working light switch, you can be damn sure Im not going to find out for you.

3. Auditory Unawareness – If you cant hear that your refridgerator is making a clicking noise that can be heard from the front yard, Im fairly sure you cant hear the floorboards creaking, the doors squeaking, or the apparent family of raccoons living in the attic. You also only hear what you want to hear. Instead of “Your house is priced too high”, you hear “Your house is of a high value”. Its not the same. Pay attention!

4. Color Blind – /Holy Lord!! Who decorated this place?? /Its like Andy Worhol threw his color pallet into a Cuisinart and hit ‘liquify’. The fuscia flower print wallpaper needs to go. And, I don’t carew what you say, it doesn’t do any justice to that wall with the fake woodgrain panelling it joins up to by the sunshine yellow couch. Worse yet…the white cabinets, white-washed walls, white countertops, and white tile is just a bit much.

5. “Take it or leave it” – Yup. Heard that come right out of a seller’s own mouth. We were discussing the possiblity of him making a necessary repair to a sliding glass door that lead out to a deck. Between the glass panes was about half an inch of standing water. Obviously, the seals on the window were compromised. When asked if he would spend the money to get the glass replaced and the seales re-done…or just replace the entire door…that was the response I got. Guess what…I left it.

6. Price-itis – The fear that your home wont sell for the price you are asking for it. I put in an offer on a home that was only $5,000 under what was being asked. The counter came back with a reduction of $1,000, but a clause to pay $4,000 in closing costs. Now, I may be bad at math…but, isnt that the same damn thing????

7. Fried Food Funk – You know what Im talking about here. If you can smell it, you won’t sell it. Bottom line here is that fried food smells, kitty litter, a back yard filled with dog crap, a nursery reaking of dirty diapers, etc…all add up to one thing – a very short showing. (Well, it also leads to gagging, shortness of breath, tears streaming down your face, and everyone skrunching up their nose and making that internationally known face that says, “Do you SMELL* that???”)

8. Photog Fog – Everyone should take pride in their family photographs. I do. But, Im not trying to sell my house! I went into one home where, I kid you not, the entire living walls…every square inch…was covered in frame pics of family. There must have been 100 pictures in that room. Frames mounted together like a patchwork quilt of memories and bad matting jobs. Love the sentiment…love the family pride. But, I was COMPLETELY distracted from seeing the actual house.

9. “I collect them” – /No kidding, really???// / Nothing would have made me realize you collect dolls were it not for the fact that Im now suddenly very aware of the fact that 226 eyes are now following me through your house like Chucky with an ax to grind. Yeah, I couldn’t tell that you collect Vegas casino ash trays since they are on every flat surface in your entire house including 4 separate 6-ft tall bookshelves, your coffee table, the top of your TV, the end-tables, and the extra two shelves that you put up encircling the entire living room. But, worse than that, you have them on your toilet tank, your dresser…and in an amazing twist, you have drilled holes in them and replaced half of the doorknobs in your house with them. In case your agent hasn’t told you this….PACK THIS CRAP UP!

10. Livin in the past – I don’t care what you think, the pea soup green shag carpeting is not coming back in style. And, regardless of how many memories are associated with it, the nine-foot long, hunter orange, faux-leather couch on the wooden legs with the sleigh-style arms on the each end is FREAKING UGLY!! Regardless of whether or not they still work, the matching avocado green stove, fridge, and counter tops are ugly…and they are ugly 24/7/365. If you want to move this house…replace this ferocious eyesore. Better yet…HIRE A HOME STAGER! Yeah, selling a house is hard. Selling a house in the market is harder. Selling one of THESE houses with a seller that sins like this…nearly impossible. Sellers, if you are reading this…listen to your agents. Agents, if you are reading this…make sure your sellers understand that buyers – like me – will look at these like neither of you know what you are doing and act accordingly. Probably by running away quick.

Remember, you were once a buyer too!! A great tool besides asking your real estate agent for some candid advice on what your home needs to make it a succesful sale is hgtv.com and search one of the hundreds of episodes dedicated to making homes ready for the real estate market. www.hgtv.com

Seller tips for a successful sale in today's Hoboken real estate market

The longer you work with buyers the better you understand what buyers are looking for. The more homes you preview, the more you learn which listings sell, which don't and why. In a buyers market, as a seller you want to make sure that your home stands out - and for good reasons!
Buyers are easily turned off by the smallest things like scent, wall colors, dirt and clutter.




Tip #3 - Repairs
This one could cost or save you lots of money. When buyers walk into a home and start to look around it is important that your home not only shows great but works properly. If you have a closet door that doesn't close properly because it's off it's track say, or a kitchen cabinet door is off it's hinge, a buyer will see this and think I have to do a lot of repairs and spend a lot of money.
It's always a good idea to keep your home in tip top shape through the years. Don't neglect even the little things, keeping up will save you hassle, time and money when it comes time to sell your home one day. So caulk your bathrooms when needed, repaint or wash walls when needed, replace broken screens etc etc and you'll ensure your home is in it's peak condition!
Think of it like beauty maintenance, just like you'd get a pedicure monthly, or color roots every few months - upkeep your house the way you do your beautiful self!
Till next tip..

Addittional selling and buying tips can always be found on my website www.karinasplace.com