real estate
Creating the perfect home … to sell. By Keryn Dohanich
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rying to sell your home can be difficult, especially in a less-than-perfect market. However, the trick to a quick sell is to create an atmosphere for your buyer. The buyer must be able to envision building their life and future within the walls of your home. But, “your home” is the key phrase; how are they supposed to envision their new life amongst the clutter and memories of yours? Less is More To create a “buyer-friendly” space, you must create a space that they can picture creating their own. A fully furnished, lived-in, cluttered room can make the buyer feel overwhelmed. On the other end of the spectrum, an empty room can seem barren and cold, also not an easy space to picture your family living in. The strategy is to clean up the room, but not empty it out entirely. Depersonalize the space, put away family photos, various collections, and awards, so the buyer can see past your personal tastes. Take out extra furniture that may clutter a room and stick to the basics, because simple accessories will highlight the house for the buyer more effectively than your golf trophies. Honey Do List Remember that list of simple repairs that you have put off for the past couple of years? A new home buyer has a lot to worry about when moving into a home and adding a list of repairs can deter a sale. Take some time to fix squeaky hinges, chipped paint, and any other fixes that will help your home put its best foot forward.
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Squeaky Clean Refresh your house with a ceiling to floor cleaning. This means vacuum, dust, scrub, and don’t miss anywhere! People will be scrutinizing every corner of your house, from inside the refrigerator to the base boards and molding. You want an immaculate presentation that will wow the viewer, not turn them off as they are chased out of your house by the occasional roaming dust bunny. Keep it Neutral Go for a broad appeal. A bright pink bedroom will probably not appeal to most buyers and as easy as paint can be changed, buyers are more responsive to a neutral palette. Put a fresh coat of paint on bright walls and keep color palettes in rooms to a more natural look. Add a few pops of color in the accessories to keep your home interesting. Using neutral tones will allow the buyer to view your home beyond your own tastes. Wide Appeal Remember you never know who a potential buyer may be, a family, a single mom, a bachelor, so it is important to appeal to a wide variety of people and living situations. Tone down the flowery comforters for a more gender neutral look. Turn your nursery into a guest bedroom instead to help potential buyers feel more comfortable and excited about the space. Creating a general comfortable space that is neutral will ensure that you do not alienate any potential buyers.
VivaTysons | JULY-AUGUST 2012 vivatysons.com