It helps your home sell if you have it staged nicely, but there are a few things that really turn off buyers. While they may seem minor to you, in a buyer’s mind they start planting seeds of doubt as to the overall state of your home. Stage your home properly to keep the buyers interested.

• Turn off the perfume store smells! Use air purifiers to remove smells from your home. Buyers assume you have something to hide if you have strong scents of fruits and/or perfume. There are also many buyers with perfume allergies which makes all those scents a real turn off!
• When you de clutter and stage your home, don’t stuff everything into closets and storage areas. Rent a storage pod and put things you don’t need in there and have it taken to storage. Buyers DO look in closets and they want to see spacious closets, not packed full ones.
• Have all your lights in working order and all the bulbs too. It does not look good when only one of three bulbs in a lamp works. It may seem minor, but buyers will take note.
• Put pets in kennels or take them with you for showings. Not everyone is an animal lover. Even animal lovers don’t want to see your kitty walking all over the kitchen counters or be jumped on by your dog.
• Put your personal papers away. Don’t leave repair bills, financial statements, and the like lying around for the buyers to see. Buyers do see more than you may think, so put your papers away.
• The garage is part of your home. Make sure your garage is fairly clean, neat and tidy and not stacked to the gills with your stuff that would not fit anywhere else.
• Keep your yard looking great. Mow the lawn, trim the bushes, pull the weeds. The first impression a buyer has is the exterior of your home.
• Make sure your gutters are clean, the exterior paint is in order, walkways are clear, and your home looks inviting.

The trend these days is to get “a deal” and buy the cheapest house when you buy, but is that the right mind set? How about stretching your finances to buy an expensive home? What do you need to think about before you decide how much to spend?

What are some reasons to buy a more expensive home?

• You haven’t really figured out what you can afford and you simply go with the top number your banker gives you
• You lived in a cramped place now, and you want to move into a house where you can grow and stay in forever so you buy a home much bigger than what you need
• You are trying to compete with the homes of your family members and friends that are pretty well off financially
• You feel pressured to buy an expensive home

Why might I be a good idea to stretch your finances and not buy the cheapest home?

• The cheap home needs lots of expensive repairs like a roof and/or siding
• The cheap home is not energy efficient
• It is in such poor condition, making repairs is not worth the money or effort
• It may not be in a desirable location
• You won’t be able to get your money back when you sell it

In the end a mix is probably the best bet. No matter what house you buy, it will be a big expense, so make sure that the house you choose is something you can afford over the years, not just the day you buy it – meaning, take into consideration repairs, maintenance and utilities over time. Sometimes, the cheapest house will end up being the most expensive in the long run!

An open house can be a great tool in the process of selling your home but there are certain things you can do to help boost the success. You also need to keep in mind that the buyer of your home statistically will not attend the open house but the people that do attend will tell their family and friends who will also pass on information, so it is important to get people to attend.

• Make sure your listing is available online with as much information and as many photos and videos as possible. Most potential buyers are researching online before they ever see your home and they want to gather as much information as possible. I have my listings on over 100 different websites.
• Advertise your open house at least a week in advance on all the real estate sites your home is on. Some sites have open house searches or actual open house apps and you want buyers to know about your open house. As soon as I know I will be having an open house I enter it on all the sites I have the listing on.
• Let your neighbors know that your home is for sale. Sure, neighbors are nosey and you may not want them involved but they know the neighborhood and may have family or friends that want to buy in the area. Make sure they know about the open house too! I actually send out postcards to at least 50 homes in the neighborhood announcing the listing and the open house so they can come by and/or let family and friends know about the listing and the open house.
• Make sure your home has lost your personality. Buyers need to imagine themselves and their belongings in the home, so you need to remove family photos, religious items and any other items that may be slightly controversial to a buyer. Your Realtor should coach you on this prior to putting your home up for sale so you have time to prepare.
• Whatever you do, leave before the open house begins and make sure to take your family and pets with you as some buyers do not care for pets. You may be an expert on your home but trust me, what you tell buyers may be just want they do not want in a house and buyers don’t feel comfortable looking around a home when the owner is right there.
• Your Realtor should be present during the open house but he or she can’t be everywhere at once and you don’t know how many people will attend, so be smart. Lock up or put out of sight any valuables, prescription drugs or other information that you do not want people to have access to. It is rare but people have taken things from homes during open houses.

Housing prices are on the rise and are expected to continue rising so you should wait to sell your home? Wrong! In most cases, when you sell your home, you are going to be buying a new home. Yes, the price of your home will be higher in a couple years and the price of the new home will also be higher but what many sellers aren’t thinking about is the interest rate. Most forecasters say that the interest rate has already bottomed out and will be on the rise. What does this have to do with selling your home now or down the road when it may be worth more? The loan on your new home will cost you more because of the higher interest rates. Currently mortgage interest rates are 3-4% but in a couple years they are forecast to be 5-6% and on a 30 year mortgage for a $300,000 home, that adds up to a lot of extra costs in mortgage payments, thus making the home more expensive. Right now it is a seller’s market making it a great time to sell a home, you can find a home to buy and still get in on super low interest rates. Don’t wait – sell your home soon!