TOM & CYNDEE
BROWNER - CRS,
ABR, GRIQUAD CITIES REAL ESTATE WITH RE/MAX
SERVING THE ENTIRE IOWA AND ILLINOIS QUAD CITIES ............................................................
DAVENPORT - BETTENDORF - ROCK ISLAND - MOLINE AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES
TOM & CYNDEE
BROWNER - CRS,
ABR, GRI
BROKER OWNERS OF RE/MAX BI-STATE - SERVING IOWA & ILLINOIS
1-563-388-0008 Office - 1-563-388-0083 Fax - 1-866-388-0083 Toll Free - 1-563-570-7629 Cell - 355-1616 Home
Have a question? The answer is just a call or e-mail away. Contact us at tom&cyndee@quadcitiesrealestate.com
We know you want to sell your home for the most money, in the shortest time and with with least inconvenience. If you want serious advertising and effort from your agent, call or contact us for a FREE MARKET ANALYSIS of your present home. We are both Certified Residential Specialist by the Residential Sales Council. No obligation, of course. Call us on our private line at 570-7629 at RE/MAX BI-STATE or Contact us at tom&cyndee@quadcitiesrealestate.com - LOOKING TO BUY? Check out the services an Accredited Buyers Representative can mean to you.
PROPER HOME PRESENTATION OR STAGING
It is no secret that people love new. A home that no one else has ever lived in or made dirty. That is one of the reasons that New Construction is so popular. It is hardly ever the best investment or the best value in the market. However, year after year, New Construction draws many buyers because of the "I Have Arrived or Now I can Afford a Show Home" mentality. Brand New and my way.
Most can not afford the new construction cost bite. So what homes are the majority of buyers going to purchase? The answer is simple. The homes purchased will be those homes with the most amenities in the best locations in the best condition for the dollar that day.
With all the competition how can you get an edge? Again the answer is simple, prepare your home to appeal to the majority of buyers. Make it warm, appealing and clean. To make the best impression, here are some hints. First buyers make up their minds about a home before they enter the front door.
Front Door
Clean all the glass. Paint the trim and front door if they need it. Trim the bushes, make sure the drapes are evenly spaced and front windows are clean. Also make sure there is no pealing paint in the soffits, porch, etc. Most sources state that almost 85% of all buyers have made up their mind about your home before they even go through the front door based on the curb appeal and entrance.
Entry
Once inside the door, you might purchase a new throw rug that matches your decorations. It will be a clean, bright contrast and shows you care about not dragging dirt into the home.
Living Room
Everything should be clean, dusted, vacuumed and everything put away. This makes the home look large and uncluttered. Now comes the set up. Have all the lights on, you might place a magazine on the arm of a favorite chair or on the coffee table. A few green plants strategically placed will also warm up the room. Put on the stereo to soft music or classics and low volume, so it is just a soothing background, not an interruption.
Dining Room
If there is a formal dining room, set the scene by putting out your best dinnerware and napkins, as if you were preparing to have company. In the kitchen, have some coffee brewing and some cookies fresh out of the oven sitting on top of the stove, set the table for lunch with napkins.
Bedrooms
No dirty clothes, all beds made, closets neat. If you have too many clothes for your closet, take your off season and box them or take them to your mom's. Never have your closets look full and disorganized. If you do not have enough space, the buyer will identify with this problem and chose another home. Clear off dresser tops, night stands and other surfaces.
In children's rooms have the dolls neatly set up on the bed. Have all the toys picked up and in the toy box, then perhaps leave one colorful toy about a foot from the side of the bed on the floor, like your child just left it. Create illusions of family life. Not dirt or clutter, just images or snap shots of normal family living.
Bathrooms
Organize medicine cabinets, clean of the tops of toilets, and make sure there is no rotten grout or mold. Put out fresh towels that match the bathroom.
Basements and Garages
Box up all clutter and stack it in the back of the garage or storage room in the basement. Dust all furnace pipes and the top of the water heater and furnace. Remove all cobwebs throughout the basement and home.
Clean up oil spots in the driveway and garage. Tuck point any loose or eroded cement, bricks or chimneys.
General Maintenance
Paint or stain any window sills that have discolored or pealed from sun exposure. Remove fingerprints from woodwork and walls, touch paint if needed.
In short, what you are attempting to do is to have an immaculate home, that looks like it came out of House and Garden, then to place a theme in each room that the buyer may identify with. The more they feel at home, the more they feel they fit in, the better your chance of selling the home to them.
Attempt to keep pictures and personal items to a minimum, and never be home for showings. You want the buyer to identify with the home, not you. If you are home, the buyer will feel like they are intruding, because they are, and will try to leave as quickly as possible. If no one is home, they may wonder through the home several times and feel free to sit down and discuss the home with their Realtor. In my experience, after ten minutes, every extra minute in the home increases the odds of purchase by 1% up to thirty minutes. After 30 minutes, the odds increase 2% for every additional minute in the home. Your job is to create an atmosphere where they want to stay and look.
Ask your Realtor for advice in staging your home. It may not be the factor that sells your home, but it does help.