How to Sell Archives - East Texas Real Estate Group

Staging the Outside: 7 Strategies for Outdoor Staging

Staging the Outside

If a car’s paint is faded, chipped, and peeling, what are the odds it’s nice inside? Slim. Would you trust a luxury clothes store with broken windows and a dirt parking lot? I don’t think so. [perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”#dd1f1f” class=”” size=””]We’ve heard not to judge a book by its cover, but life teaches that most covers reflect their book.[/perfectpullquote]

While we should never judge people by their appearance, other things often prove a correlation between the outside and inside. So if your home is nasty on the outside, no matter how shiny its inside, the value will suffer in the eyes of potential buyers. Let’s look at some things you can check to get the best first impression, curb appeal, and a better bottom dollar.

Siding

How is the wood paneling beneath your roof? Does the paint look good? What about the bricks or boards that make up the siding? The walls of your home are its skin, so do all you can to give it a clear, unblemished complexion. Fresh paint goes a long way, though fresh materials may be needed in cases of damage or rot.

Gutters

When my sister moved into her new home, my Dad and I had to climb atop the roof, remove wire mesh, and rake out accumulated leaves and trash in the gutter. Blocked gutters can hold water up to the roofline and lead to leaks, rot, and other damages. [perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”#dd1f1f” class=”” size=””]Blocked gutters can hold water up to the roofline and lead to leaks, rot, and other damages.[/perfectpullquote]

So while this should be a regular activity for household maintenance, now is the time to be sure gutters are cleared and functioning properly. If they’re hideously rusted or deformed, consider replacing them – the difference could be quite significant.

Front Door

While I’ve discussed the importance of front doors before, it bears repeating: a scarred, dirty front door does irreparable damage on a first impression. Replace or repaint it with a light, neutral color and a quality knob for best results.

Garage Door

How much space does a garage door cover on a house’s front? 30%? 50%? Regardless, think of it as a moving wall that can wow buyers in positive or negative ways. If it’s old and rickety, replace it with a carriage-style door or one with windows to improve the aesthetic of your home.

Light

Light makes dark walks across the lawn safer for you and your garden gnomes, but it also creates a feeling of security and comfort. Accent lights can add flair to an otherwise ordinary home, so consider them as well. Buyers may not see the effects of light during daytime showings, but both nighttime pictures and visits can allow your improvements to work in your favor.

Front Porch Furniture

It’s amazing how welcoming two empty chairs on a front porch can be. Of course, they’re most welcoming when free from dust and spiderwebs/wasp nests, so make sure they’re cleaned like everything else.

Landscaping

Last but not least, cultivate a good relationship with Mother Nature. A recent national survey found that 84% of participants “agree that the quality of a home’s landscape/yard would affect their decision about whether or not to buy it.” And while mowing, weed-eating, and edging are essentials, Tyler Smith says you need to “think beyond” these basics because “Planting flowers and adding mulch can make a big difference.”

Staging to Sell: 7 Point Plan for the Inside

As important as the cosmetics are when staging your home, the actual condition of the essentials can have a powerful influence on how much money you walk away with. Some problems can even prevent buyers from obtaining their loan if left unfixed. Let’s look at seven things to check for a better listing price and an easier sell.

[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”#dd1f1f” class=”” size=””]Few things are so crucial in Texas as the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system.[/perfectpullquote]

HVAC

Few things are so crucial in Texas as the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systemAnd as a relatively expensive component of your home, potential buyers will want to know the age of the unit (15-20 years is about the max), its condition, and any potential issues with the duct work.

Water Heater

Water heaters are said to last between 8 and 12 years, so figure out how long yours has been cooking! If there are no leaks and the water’s still hot, you’re probably in good shape. If you’ve never done so, drain it and remove any sediment from the bottom in the spirit of basic maintenance.

Electrical Panel

Preventative electrical panel maintenance is recommended every 1-3 years, but if you’re like many people, you may never think to have that box of switches looked at. Dust and moisture are hard on your wires, so give things a once-over at least, and if you’re regularly resetting breakers, get it checked out!

Pipes

Pipes are harder to check for damage, so keep an eye on your water pressure. If it starts to falter, it could indicate a problem in your plumbing. Also consider your water’s hardness, as this can lead to mineral buildup and increased stress. See this great article for more on plumbing maintenance, repair, and solutions.

Kitchen

Arguably one of the most important spaces, the kitchen can make or break a sale. Start by making sure the disposal works, the cabinets are clear of food splatter, and nothing is growing between tiles or in the drain. If you’re willing to remodel, the kitchen has the potential for a great return on your investment. [perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”#dd1f1f” class=”” size=””]
The kitchen has the potential for a great return on your investment.[/perfectpullquote]

Houzz’s 2016 kitchen trends study shows common desires and concerns for kitchen space, and there’s plenty of inspiration if you need ideas. Experts recommend starting with backsplash, countertops, and updated appliances before moving on to the rest.

Bathroom

Personally, this is my top priority when considering a living space. Bathrooms are where we prepare for the day and wash it off before we go to bed. We begin and end here, and no one wants to bookend their days in a dirty, outdated, or dark space. New mirrors, good lighting, fresh fixtures, and clean grout/caulk can mean a world of difference. Showerheads and toilets are also factors to consider updating.

Flooring

“What you walk on creates value. If you can only afford to make the investment in one significant part of your home, consider updating the flooring,” writes Cara Ameer on Inman. It is true that beautiful flooring can impress more than most things, while shag carpet spells near-certain doom. With many low-cost options, flooring remodels could be more doable than you think. And as you should always do when staging, make sure floors are clean and baseboards wiped for showings. Don’t let those dust bunnies tell any stories! [perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”#dd1f1f” class=”” size=””]Flooring remodels could be more doable than you think.[/perfectpullquote]

Conclusion

Cleaning, maintaining, replacing, and renovating all take effort, so make sure your effort goes where it’s most effective. Focus on these seven internals and your house will thank you, as will your wallet and your buyers.

Staging Your Home To Sell: Cosmetics

Cosmetics

When it comes to selling your home, appearance matters. We humans think with our hearts and buy with our eyes, so perfecting the cosmetics of your home can drastically reduce the time it takes to sell and even help your bottom line. I know there’s rarely time for these changes during normal life, much less while preparing to move, but let’s take a minute to imagine an ideal world: this is what you would do.

Remove the Personal

The key to successfully selling a home is creating an environment where prospective buyers can imagine themselves living. Part art, part science, good staging makes your space a blank canvas others can paint themselves into.[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”#dd1f1f” class=”” size=””]The key to successfully selling a home is creating an environment where prospective buyers can imagine themselves living.[/perfectpullquote]

But if Fido’s dog bowl that your kid painted is sitting out beneath ten frames of the family Christmas, buyers feel like they’re invading a personal space. Pack the photos, take down the turkey handprints on the refrigerator, and store the kids’ medals. I know it’s hard, and a good Realtor understands your emotions. But this is what it takes.

Declutter

We all have clutter. Everyone’s guilty. And we all know it’s unattractive, so do everything possible to clear the shelves, refrigerators, counters, and other visible flat surfaces. But don’t stop there. Consolidate, donate, pack, and organize until those baseboards you haven’t seen in years are visible once more. Which leads us to the next step: cleaning.

Clean

Now that parts of your house are visible that haven’t seen daylight in years, it’s time to grab a rag, mop, broom, and whatever else you can find. Wipe off baseboards, clean floors, dust, and vacuum until the place shines like Mr. Clean’s dome. Consider hiring it out if you can’t find time to do this yourself.

First Impressions

We all know the sayings about first impressions, but do you know that science backs them up? “Before we can finish blinking our eyes, we’ve already decided whether we want to hire, date, hate, or make friends with a person we’re encountering for the first time,” according to psychologists. So how long do you have to sell someone on your home? The front door. Speaking of front doors, how does yours look? Paint or replace it if the years have left it scarred or faded. [perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”#dd1f1f” class=”” size=””]So how long do you have to sell someone on your home? The front door.[/perfectpullquote]

Polish the front porch, perfect the entryway, and take down any warning signs (dogs, soliciting, trespassing, etc.). This is your home’s handshake and smile as it meets prospective buyers. Don’t leave it with a limp wrist and dirty teeth.

Bonus: Paint!

If you’ve made it this far, you might need a nap just thinking about all I’ve said. But for the strong-willed, highly-motivated, or over-achievers, one of the best, most cost-effective improvements you can do is paint. Fresh paint brings a home to life like nothing else.[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”#dd1f1f” class=”” size=””] Fresh paint brings a home to life like nothing else.[/perfectpullquote]

And if you’ve lived in a rainbow, consider repainting with more neutral colors. For extra sharp corners and less stress, pay a professional. You’ll likely recover at least part of your costs in your listing price, not to mention the shorter time on the market.

Staging

Wrapping Up

Buying, owning, and selling a home all require effort. That’s not to say you can’t sell a cluttered, dirty, dinged-up house. You can. But you can’t reasonably expect top-dollar prices when all someone can think about is how much work is needed before they can live there. On the other hand, by doing these cosmetic updates, your home will likely sell faster and for more, which is always a huge relief. If you need help with selling your home or have questions, feel free to give us a call at 903-734-2235. We’re always happy to help.