Selling Your Home? Follow These Steps

This column was written by Cathy Vingelli, a realtor for Hal Knopf Realty.

So You Want to Sell Your Home?
Whether you are buying a home or selling the one you currently live in, the stress level can be exhausting. If you're well informed there’s no need to panic. This column will be chock full of information for both buyers and sellers. And, of course, if any reader has a real estate question for me, well…fire away!

Welcome to “The Big Move”
Thinking about selling? Many quick fixes will cost you little or no money, and make all the difference in the world. Remember that first impressions are the most lasting. Try to look at your home in an unemotional manner. Think about what your potential buyer will be looking at when they look at your home. At this point, you might want to visit some open houses and take a look at what
makes people excited or turns people off.

When you get home from your open house tour, take a long, slow walk through your home — starting at the sidewalk. If you have a brick stairway, is there mortar between all the bricks? What condition are your stair rails in? If they’re wrought iron, do they need a quick coat of paint?

Now take a look at your driveway. Patch holes and resurface. And while you’re standing in the driveway, look at your gutters — are they clean? And how’s the siding look? A powerwash is inexpensive and shows the potential buyers that you care about your home. Now, what about your yard? Make sure the lawn is mowed, edged, and that the bushes are trimmed. If there are fallen leaves scattered around, collect them. And why not buy some pots of colorful flowers to place near the front door?

Next, take a look at your coat closet. Is it packed to the gills? Buyers love to look in closets and cabinets. Yours should all look like there’s plenty of room. Everyone likes to think that there’s more than enough storage in the home they will be purchasing. As everyone knows, you can never have too much storage space. And clutter coupled with disorganization is a turnoff.

What about the rooms themselves? Scrape peeling paint and check out cracked caulking. Easy and inexpensive, and makes all the difference in the world. Even if your house is filled with kids’ toys, you’ll need to find a way to make that playroom/den look spacious. Consider buying colorful plastic crates for toys. This will help keep the room clean, even with your kids playing in it daily.

Last, but not least, vacuum, dust, and make sure that there are no food or pet odors. All these suggestions will cost you little or nothing, and will show owners that you care for your home and that it is well maintained.

Next column — how to choose a Realtor — a guide for buyers and sellers.
Please feel free to email me any real estate questions.

Cathy Vingelli
Hal Knopf Realty
cathyvinre6@verizon.net