Your best house selling tips please?

[binny]

Well gang, yesterday we put in an offer on a house.

It will be a new build and not a plan Ive posted before LOL.

This is a whole new plan LOL


We found this one this weekend and its much better than we had seen before.


Anyway, now the hard part! I have to put my house on the market


I could really use all your tips that you can offer!


THANK YOU!!

Bin

 

[Phrebert]

I hope you aren't moving to McCall We have plenty of people.

 

[DNBois]

Have you started watching Design to Sell - not sure if it is on HGTV, A&E or TLC but I have watched it before and it gives some really great tips on how to sell you home and get the most $$$ for it.
For example, fresh coats of paint or fresh flowers in the kitchen, new bedspreads, all aesthetic type things that people may find appealing. They also moved furniture around in order to make smaller rooms look much larger. Outdoor landscape can also do a lot, as can indoor plants (they emphasize the importance of real vs. fake, which will be a problem for us since all we have is fake plants).
Hope that helps - you can always go on the above channel website and find out some helpful tips - good luck and congrats on your new home

 

[ibouncetoo]

There are a couple of really good cable TV shows on this very topic! Here's some of the things they've said and done.

Clean and de-clutter. You are going to have to start packing it up anyway, so box up all the 'stuff' now. Is your refrigerator an arts and crafts display , clean it off!
Neutralize.....if you've used any bold paint or wallpapers, tone them down. Basically you want people to see/feel 'light, bright, roomy" and you want them to be able to imagine their own stuff in the space, so if your decor is a strong 'theme' sometimes it can just put people off...they can't see past your decorating to the 'bones' of the house.
If anything is in kind of shabby condition (like a broken light fixture in the hall or something) go ahead and replace it. A few hundered dollars in 'pick me ups' can make the difference in getting your price and a quicker sale.
Don't forget your "Curb Appeal" (one of my favorite shows). At the very least make sure your front landscape/entry is neat and welcoming.

I'm sure people will come up with more ideas for you

 

[Disney Doll]

~Declutter closets, garages, basements, laundry areas.
~Freshen paint and in neutral colors
~"Neutralize" any rooms with a "strong" theme
~Remove some stuff from the walls. Too much stuff on the walls can make a house seem "cavelike".
~Remove some knick-knacks...again, clutter makes a house seem smaller.
~Make sure the house always smells good. I am not necessarily talking about adding a "fake" smell, but you also don't want stale or pet smells to predominate either. The worst thing for a house is for someone to walk in and think "cat" or "dog". I like Lysol "Clean Linen" spray....it sort of smells fresh but not perfume-y.
~Anything that is looking a little "shabby"...light fixtures, trim, curtains etc...paint it, fix it, or get new.
~Check the curb appeal...shrubs look halfway dceent, not overgrowing the windows etc. Throw down some mulch, make sure there's not a lot of junk laying all over the yard, make sure the front door is in good repair.

 

[the kabuki]

Have any pets stay out of sight , preferably at neighbors', or if the weathers' ok for this, put them in the car for the 20 min or so while you're showing. Get rid of all evidence there may be pets in the house

Clean, clean, clean. Have windows washed inside & out-even in the winter. Bathrooms should be sparkling, nothing personal on the counters. Get some baskets and put under the sink

Clean & organize all closets, drawers, cabinets. People will look in there. Master bdrm closet-get rid of 1/2 the clothes in there. Box up as many toys as u can.

Concentrate on the front porch area. New doormat,lights, doorknobs. Have some nice greenery-Target had some outdoor topiary's for sale.

Get rid of all knick knacks. Take all small appliances of the kitchen counters. Microwave can stay, but anything else goes even coffee maker. You want it to look as big as possible, with lots of counter space.

Replace any bathroom rugs that are getting dingy.

Another good way to know what others' are seeing when they look at your home is to go to open houses on the weekend. Go and see a few, take a look and you'll start to see what looks good and most especially what doesn't.

 

[the kabuki]

Oh, I just thought of another thing, pet peeve of mine. Look at any indoor live plants and cut back dead or overgrown leaves. I've seen plants that look 1/2 dead but people still hold on. If it's not all green, trim it or throw it out.

 

[Disney_1derland]

declutter, declutter, declutter. And when that is done, declutter some more! Pack as much as you can away, all the knick knacks, all the 'stuff' and move it all to a storage unit. Don't have boxes of 'stuff' just sitting around. only keep just the clothes for the current season in your closets so the closets look bigger. Remove all furniture except what is absolutely necessary so the space looks bigger. If you have a couch and two easy chairs can you do with just the couch for a while? remove the chairs. If you have a dining room set, take out the 'leafs' and set the table to it's smallest setting with the fewest number of chairs necessary. In the kitchen remove everything from the countertops except a nice flower arrangement or bowl of fresh fruit. Empty cupboards as much as you can. In the bedrooms, remove as much clutter as possible and as much furniture as you can to make the rooms look bigger. In the bathrooms, leave only absolute necessities in medecine cabinets and drawers and cupboards.

All of this removing makes your space look bigger and people better able to see their own stuff in the space. Paint everything to a neutral fresh color. Have your carpets professionally cleaned. When you have people coming to view the house open as many curtains, blinds as possible to let natural light in.

Good Luck! When are you going to posts pics of the new floor plan???

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Make sure that visible problems are taking care of--like loose carpeting, obvious painting issues, doors not working properly.

Clean your closets as people will be looking in them.

Declutter.....think of what those model homes looked like when you were shopping for your new home and as best as possible, declutter so it looks presentable like that.

For showings---some light music in the back ground, lights on, window coverings drawn open. You can have candles and such--but just something that provides a lovely background scent and not an overpowering one. I know that I am allergic to a lot of scents so walking into a home that a homeowner tried to make smell pretty wouldn't sit well with me b/c I'd be remembering the sneezing and itching and not how beautiful it looked.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Good Luck binny! I have Open House today. My house looks like a display house. Neutral, decluttered, immaculate...(get me outta here!) I am tired....we hauled a 24footer (moving van) of our clutter. It is in a storage shed in Texas.

 

[2MuchOhana]

This is not to scare you; but disclose everything you know was ever wrong with the house! That way the new buyer can't come back and sue you for non disclosure.

Eliminate the clutter.
Keep house very clean and tidy.
Candles are a nice touch; but not too overpowering of a scent.
Leave a little candy or treats out for the potential buyers.
Paint the walls a neutral color.
Keep the yard looking nice. Plant flowers and keep the lawn mowed.
Leave the lights on.

If I think of more that my sister and BIL had to do I will post again. It was a long list. They actually replaced carpeting and flooring.

Good Luck!

Jodi

 

[binny]

YIKES I better get busy, eh? LOL


Thank you all so much I will be checking back in here for more advice.

I will post the new floor plan when the builder gets it to me He doesnt have any spec sheets printed up ( how weird is that??) and he doesnt have a website. This is a new ( to us) builder as well. He is really good and actually the one who built this house ( we just found that out) 5 years ago weve been pretty happy with this house so Im sure we will be happy with the new one we just need more SPACE!


The new house is 1000 SQ FT bigger than this one and a slightly larger lot. The REALLY nice thing though is that it is across the street from a 28 acre park! The park is being worked on now as this is a brand new neighbourhood and this was the last Park lot available so we jumped on it.

we really love the floor plan and I think it will be great, we made a good offer with only the sale of our home as a contigency ( oh and cat 5 in the den LOL) so I think he will take it, wish me luck! we find out tomorrow!!