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Little things can make a big difference in selling your home
If your real estate agent suggests that you spend a little time staging your home, you should listen to this advice. While you may love your home as it is, a buyer is looking at your house through entirely different eyes. Staging your home emphasizes your home’s best features while deemphasizing any weaknesses. Staging need not be expensive – there are a lot of little things a home owner can to make a good impression without spending a lot of money.
First, repair anything that needs fixing. It’s easy to live with minor problems for years, but a buyer seeing your home for the first time will notice small imperfections. Let your real estate agent help you do a survey of your home and don’t feel slighted if problems are pointed out to you.
Once everything is repaired, clean your house from top to bottom, even in places you think people will never look. (They will.) Windows, mirrors and hard surface floors should gleam. Clean the grout, not just the tile. If the walls are dingy, refresh them with new paint. Sweep the garage and considering painting the garage floor. Don’t scrimp on lighting. A bright home makes a good impression while a dark home will seem smaller and dingy. Avoid overhead lighting except in work areas. Table and floor lamps give softer shadows.
If a room is crowded with furniture, get rid of some pieces, even if you just move them to the garage. Pack up personal items and knickknacks (you have to pack them to move anyway) including family photos, awards and religious items. Remove fridge magnets and notes. A good rule of thumb is that there should not be more than four items on any flat surface, including floors and walls. Your goal is a home that’s attractive but impersonal, so the buyers can picture themselves living there.
In neutral colored rooms, add a spot or two of bright color (a throw pillow, a vase with fresh flowers, a brightly colored tea pot, perhaps.) Move furniture away from walls into cozy groups, which will make the room seem larger and friendlier.
Your front door is the first thing a buyer sees, so consider painting it a bright, welcoming color. Currently, deep red is popular, but other colors can also work. Avoid primary colors, but chose colors that are in style and that are found in nature. The paint expert at your local hardware store can help you choose. In warm weather, bright flowers outside the front door will increase the ‘welcome’ effect.
Once a buyer makes an appointment to see the house, do a quick cleaning and straightening job. Hang up clothes, put away dishes, toothbrushes and cleaning supplies. Make the beds with matching linens. Dishes shouldn’t be left drying in a rack. Even the bathroom cup should shine. Wipe out all sinks and, for heaven’s sake, put the toilet lid into the down position (unless you think buyers are in love with exposed plumbing.)
The result of a well staged home is a house that should sell for more money and in a shorter time. The time and money you put in to staging will be worth it at closing.
Contact Kim Melin for staging suggestions specific to your home.
Electronics recycling has never been easier or more important. Most electronics contain toxic metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium. If any of these contaminants get into our rivers, streams or lakes, they can harm our health and damage the environment.
Hennepin County takes electronics free of charge, year-round, from residents at drop-off facilities in Brooklyn Park and Bloomington.
The facilities are open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Wednesdays: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Saturdays: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Electronics accepted include TVs, computers (CPUs monitors, laptops), computer peripherals (keyboards, printers, etc...), VCRs, DVD players, stereos and more. Some quantity limits apply. These items are accepted from households only. Electronics from businesses are not accepted at the facilities.
For more information on electronics recycling, call Hennepin County at 612-348-3777.
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You've been pre-approved by a mortgage lender, been through what seems like a couple hundred houses and finally found the perfect home. You think your offer is fair, but now it's in front of the seller, out of your control and all you can do is wait. You're beginning to get nervous. What happens now?
In real estate, everything is negotiable and the initial offer is often just the first step in a longer process. The sellers are going to go over your offer with their real estate agent, line by line. Sometimes, they'll accept your first offer but usually, there will be some back-and-forth before the final signatures clinch the deal.
If you have offered less than the amount the seller is asking for, they may counter with another price. Unless you've made a low-ball offer, expect the new amount to be somewhere in the middle, between your offer and the list price.
Other common points that end up in negotiations are the closing date, the transfer of personal property and any seller-paid closing costs. You have a choice of accepting or rejecting any part of their new offer, or even coming up with a new proposal - a counter of their counteroffer.
A formal inspection of the property, although not a requirement, is recommended and you probably asked for one in your purchase agreement. A good inspector will tell you about possible problems with the house. Buyers can ask for repairs, a lower price on the house or other considerations. If there are serious problems, this is the one time where you can back out of the agreement without penalty.
Listen to your real estate agent, the expert you've hired to help you through this process. The final decisions are up to you, but your agent has done this before, knows the current market and has your best interests in mind.
In the end, most negotiations end with a happy buyer and a satisfied seller. Usually, a week or two after you've sent the seller your offer, the process is complete and you're planning for the day when you'll turn the key on the front door of your very own home.
If you are interested in searching for a home please go to www.kimmelin.listingbook.com. You can also call (612) 201-4758 or email Kim@KimMelin.com.
7550 France Ave South Edina Mn 55345
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
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