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tips and tricks on selling your house!  

post #1 of 23
Thread Starter 
got any?:

we are trying to sell our house for the second time, the negatives of our house is it's only two bedrooms (but there is a finished basement)
we don't have a shower but it is a jacuzzi bathtub and skylight in bathroom.

I know that only two bedroom is not a good thing but there is not much more we can do about it.

Help i really want to sell!
post #2 of 23
You could bury a statue of St. Joseph in the yard. There are many who claim it works!
post #3 of 23
Make sure it's VERY CLEAN.

Take down ALL of your personal photos. You can leave landscapes or whatever out.

Take all stuff off of your refrigerator.

Before a showing, put some cinnamon sticks in the oven on a cookie sheet on low heat.
post #4 of 23
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by frog View Post
Make sure it's VERY CLEAN.

Take down ALL of your personal photos. You can leave landscapes or whatever out.

Take all stuff off of your refrigerator.

Before a showing, put some cinnamon sticks in the oven on a cookie sheet on low heat.
good idea of the cinnamon sticks!

and we did the refridgerator thing, i took a lot of the pics down but there are still some left up.


I hate selling it is so hard for us to keep it clean!
post #5 of 23
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Valkyrie9 View Post
You could bury a statue of St. Joseph in the yard. There are many who claim it works!

i just might be tempted
post #6 of 23
Or bake some bread in the oven. Mmmmm. Good luck!
post #7 of 23
clean off all the counters of all appliances, and clutter. the cinnamon sticks is a good idea, and baking cookies is a good idea, if you don't bake you could always buy the cookie dough and bake cookies during the showings. but definetly put away all personal items.
post #8 of 23
I heard now you shouldn't take down all family photos because it makes it feel less like a home. But rather display family pictures so they are similar or in a grouping together.

Our realtor said most people decide if they like home before they even go in it. So do minor touch ups outside too like painting, weeding, maybe add a small rock garden, get rid of any cobwebs.. Stand at you front door and look around for what to improve on.

Paint inside a warm neutral color.

Fix any minor repairs.

Clean out clutter to show space potential.

Add healthy plants to give some green color.

Don't forget to clean garage as well.
post #9 of 23
Pack away ANYTHING you don't need, makes your house seem cleaner/bigger and you have it packed for your move - double whammie!! ** My husband mentioned that even though you don't want it to be cluttered with unneeded items you also want to make your home to be friendly and inviting).

Make sure all cupboards, pantry, and closets are clean and organized. Pack away anything in your closets you don't need and your closets will look bigger (and more organized).

Have on hand premade cookie dough so you can not only have that fresh cookie smell in the house but also have a platter of the freshly made cookies as well as a drink (cold or hot depending on the season) in a carafe with napkins and cups with a note to help yourself.

Shampoo your carpets.

Make sure your garage and basement is clean/organized.

Ensure your house is priced to sell, compare prices in your area with the price you settled on with your realtor. If it is a lot higher then you will turn people away before they get a chance to look.

Make sure your home is listed online.

Good luck, we did this 2 years ago and sold our house about 2 weeks after listing.

SJ
post #10 of 23
Quote:
Originally Posted by Starr View Post
I heard now you shouldn't take down all family photos because it makes it feel less like a home. But rather display family pictures so they are similar or in a grouping together.
That's interesting. I suspect it has something to do with how your family looks, too. We used an agency owned by two lesbians and I'd imagine their take is a little different than some other realtors, maybe.
post #11 of 23
Quote:
Originally Posted by Starr View Post
<snip>Our realtor said most people decide if they like home before they even go in it. So do minor touch ups outside too like painting, weeding, maybe add a small rock garden, get rid of any cobwebs.. Stand at you front door and look around for what to improve on.<snip>
I forgot about the outside in my PP. These suggestions are great but I want to add standing in the street and looking at your house from the vantage point of someone driving by.

SJ
post #12 of 23
My biggest thing is having the house be clean.

Nothing worse than trying to see past filth.

I am not even talking immaculate just clean. Who wants to be brushing cobwebs off their face while looking in a corner or closet?!

And free of clutter
post #13 of 23
New fluffy bath towels will make a bathroom look better than it is.

Although not eco-friendly, having interior lights on in the daytime when showing the house will make it feel bigger and brighter.

Fresh flowers add a bit of elegance.

Finally, make sure your windows are sparkling clean. It will look like you've cared for your house and will make it look better instantly both inside and out.
post #14 of 23
Declutter, Declutter, Declutter- It will free up space and make the area look larger.

Curb Appeal- Srpruce up any landscaping, give the front door a fresh coat of paint, some potted mums on the doorstep, freshen the outside up.

Rearrange furniture so it is the best use of space.
post #15 of 23
Lots of good ideas here! You want your house to look like a model home. Clear of all clutter, fresh and bright. And please, please clear everything off your fridge. It really is too "personal" for someone looking to buy the home, even if you're taking the thing with you.

Paint your front door red.
post #16 of 23
Most of these have been mentioned already, but this is what our realtor recommended (and we had two full-price offers within 3 days of listing, so something worked!):

1) clean, clean, clean
2) leave no more than two appliances on the kitchen counter
3) have minimal family photos (you don't have to remove them all, but the "wall of fame" most people have in the hallway should come down)
4) empty out closets enough so you can easily move the clothes around
5) neatly pack up clutter - boxes that are neatly stacked in the basement or garage are okay as long as there aren't too many
6) touch up any paint dings
7) clean the carpet
8) make little notes about special features (e.g. we had a sign on the basement door that said "finished basement", "well water for inexpensive summer lawn watering and car-washing", "huge yard with new landscaping""
9) have all lights on during any showing, day or night
10) leave blinds/window coverings open
11) remove all evidence of pets
12) arrange furniture to make rooms look as large as possible
13) no dirty laundry in laundry area
14) linen closets, pantrys and cupboards should have items neatly stacked and organized

Basically, he said you don't want the house to look too lived in, but you want it to look like it has life. We walked through some homes that had been a little too staged - they looked like a hotel room. You don't want that, but you want people to be able to envision their own lives there. We had planned to remove all our family pictures, but he saw a few collages of DD up on the wall and told us to leave those because she was so cute. Funnily (is that a word?) a few of the comments people left us said things like, "nice kitchen, third bedroom too small, cute kid!", lol.

Good luck! I know how stressful selling can be.
post #17 of 23
As far as family pictures, we're selling and left up only the artistic black and white family photos. We figured they stood out less that way and looked more "generic," but they are attractive (we're a cute family, if I do say so myself!) and give our home a warmer feel.

Not to mention I am just plain not giving up the cute black and white baby picture of DS1 on my nightstand. I look at it when he's on my last nerve to help me be nicer.
post #18 of 23
Thread Starter 
thanks all!!
post #19 of 23
Google up.. "staging before after"... and it should bring up some links on what a house looks like when it is "staged" to sell!
post #20 of 23
I'm a BIG believer in staging a house. That's why I managed to make a good sized profit on two house sales.
You don't set your house up for how you want it. You set it up for a magazine shoot. It's totally impractical and horrible to keep up but it does make people want to the house.
Walk into your house as if you're looking at it for your most judgemental family member or friend. Fix up bits of paint here and there, take out every bit of clutter and if you're going to put money somewhere - put it into curb appeal.
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