Are you thinking of selling your house? Don’t feel like paying the steep 6% real estate agent commission? You’re not alone. Many homeowners will attempt to sell their home on their own, prior to listing it with a real estate agent. Selling a house on your own can save a lot of money, but it can also cause a lot of stress. Escape some of that stress by avoiding these 3 common mistakes.

Mistake 1 – Marketing

The first thing many people do is run to their local newspaper and place a for sale ad in the classifieds. While the idea behind this is good, the results rarely produce the desired outcome. The problem with listing a home in the newspaper is that most people don’t buy a house out of the newspaper. Think about how you found the house when you bought it. Chances are you didn’t look in the newspaper to find your home. If you are like most people you probably decided on an area that you were interested in and began driving around that area looking for homes for sale. In fact most people know the area they want to live in before they truly decide to start “looking”.

Probably the most important marketing tactic you should employ when selling your home is adequate signage. I don’t mean just a single red “For Sale By Owner” sign stuck in the front yard. That should only be your start! You need to identify the two closest major streets and have directional signs (arrow signs) pointing the way around every turn all the way to your home. Your signs should draw people in from these major streets.

Mistake 2 – Presentation

Curb Appeal and Staging are two terms you have probably heard in relation to presenting a home for sale. Curb appeal has to do with the way the home looks when someone pulls up to the house. Many experts will tell you that the buyer has already made up their mind about your house before they get inside! That being the case you need to have a clean, warm comfortable approach to your house. Your front door should be attractive (paint it!) and the yard should be well groomed.

Inside your house you should stage it such that it looks livable but not lived in. The dozens of family pictures and nick-knacks need to go. Leave only the large furniture and large pictures. Don’t over crowd the house with unnecessary items. Keep the kitchen clean and make sure there is a pleasant smell throughout the home. You may want to boil some cinnamon sticks or put a few drops of vanilla on a cookie sheet and place it in a warm oven.

Mistake 3 – Selling

Your house is worth more to you then it is to most other people. Too often owners trying to sell their home set the price too high and loose the “market pop” you get when you first put a property up for sale. Setting the price too high can discourage interested buyers before they give your home an honest chance as a potential new home.

Doing these things will help save you time, money and stress when selling your house! Put them to work and enjoy the results!

By: J. Long

About the Author:

Is there anything more satisfying than retiring to your home that you have decorated yourself? Decorating your home is a creative exercise that not every home owner can do with complete justification. It needs patience and requires choosing the best quality material for every room and space that will add spectacular appeal to your room. If you are a beginner in the interior decorating, then here are quick tips that you’d like to know on your first move:

Get Acquainted with the Theme – Theme is the significant part when you are interior decorating your home. Without a proper theme you just cannot come out with cohesive home interiors that will otherwise make your home look fabulous and scintillating. Check for amazing themes interiors on Internet, and choose the one that impresses you the most.

Look for the Colors -Colors are mood regulating and they play important role when you are interior decorating your home. It is significant to note here that perfect color harmony is necessary and this can only come if you choose the wall colors with extreme subtleness. Select the hues and shades from the color chart as this will give you a quick way out in making the color selection. In addition, you also need to know which color combination will best match the tone of your individual rooms when you are interior decorating your home. For example, in case of bedroom, neutral colors will work best. Similarly, in case of children bedrooms, attractive colors will give a smart appeal. Good color scheme together with a purposeful theme of interior decoration will make the most of your home interior decoration process.

Choose Right Kind of Materials and Accessories – Choice of materials and accessories also make the important part of home interior decoration. And since you are a beginner in the area of home decoration, you need to spend some real quality time in order to get to know which type of accessory will give the right match to the rooms. Accessories such as statues, sconces, and other unique antique pieces will give your rooms a perfect touch. But again, you need to be clear on the right match.

Lights Play a Significant Role – Proper illumination in the home should be one thing that you need to keep in your mind when interior decorating the things. The quality of light inside the rooms will automatically increase the value of accessories as well as multiply the color appeal. The intensity of light and also the color of light play decisive role to create spectacular tone of the room interiors.

Follow these guidelines seriously when decorating your home. This will help you to give special meaning to every room of your house.

By: Roberts Allen

About the Author:

I love to organize, it’s a passion, and honestly is very therapeutic. I have had many jobs in my 30 years of being an adult, but organizing is my first and only love.

Okay, it’s time to get organized and wake up with a fresh new approach to your life. Being able to find what you’ve been looking for without looking under cushions or behind furniture could bring a different outlook to your day, and to your life. It cuts down on stress, believe me, to know where to go to get a safety pin, or an important document.

If you’ve lost control of what’s in your home, you can’t really feel comfortable with your surroundings.

My aunt was constantly looking for things in her home, which was constantly cluttered with everything imaginable. Although her community areas were fairly neat, her personal world was a mess. She couldn’t find her keys, her purse, jewelry, important documents, or her dentures. And sadly, when she could no longer care for herself, documents that her guardian needed were unable to be located.

And this was a successful businesswoman who had owned real estate and property, but due to her inability to keep her documentation up to par, she eventually lost everything.
Not only because she didn’t delegate, or that she wanted to maintain control, but because of the simple fact that she couldn’t keep track of what was going on around her.

I have organized homes that were literally knee deep in clothes, newspapers, books, dishes, boxes, takeout containers, and even the skeletons of rodents trapped under items, and the list goes on.

One client’s home was filled with everything mentioned above, but she was too embarrassed to let me touch anything, instead insisting that I sort grocery bags, you know the little plastic ones. She paid me $25.00 an hour to sort bags, after an hour of trying to get her to reconsider, I surrendered. That was the worst job I ever took as an organizer. Yes I left with $200.00 that day, but I hadn’t felt as though I had earned it.

Another client hired me to assist her in her home based business. My duties were to include answering the telephone, filing, running errands etc. However, once she discovered that I was an organizer my duties changed drastically. I spent 20 hours a week maintaining her personal world which mostly included keeping her wardrobe in order, jewelry, and shoes, included. I loved it, and she was always appreciative. I’d arrive at work to find my favorite caffeine waiting; she catered to me, and referred me to many of her friends.

I’ve opened closet doors filled to the ceiling with everything imaginable, crammed with clothing that was no longer appropriate for the client or their family. One woman had clothing that would never fit again, yet she kept it hung up, she said as a reminder, of the way she used to be. The clothing was a size 2, the woman was a size 20 and although I am a very optimistic person, I’m also realistic. The style/garment was over 30 years old, yet this client had carried this piece with her from home to home over the years and had rehung it as a reminder.I finally convinced her to space bag one piece, and get rid of the rest.

Another client with the same issue, was convinced to make a quilt out of each piece of the clothing she could no longer wear. It worked out very well. The clothing which was outdated wouldn’t have interested anyone else anyway.

Homes crammed in every room with stacks of boxes, newspapers and trash bags are the worst, not for me, but for the homeowner. I could never imagine what would happen if there was a fire in the home. One client had me come in to gut her mothers home while the woman was in the hospital. She had fallen and broken her hip while home alone, and it was quite an ordeal for the paramedics to get her out of the house, once they found her.

I found receipts and newspapers scattered throughout the home, that had been lying there for over 20 years. Apparently her husband, who had died a couple of years before, was also a pack rat. It was a mess.

The daughter was fully aware of her mother’s clutter issues, but had come to accept the fact that it was her home, and because she was in the final stages of her life, she wasn’t going to talk about her housekeeping. Because of the woman’s inability to let go of anything, having a cleaning lady was hopeless, and a waste of money.

Also, if your home is a clutter haven, and it’s burglarized it’s nearly impossible to tell what’s actually gone.

The only way to create a new start was while she was in the hospital. The project took nearly a week of 16 hour days. Forunately, the elderly woman was able to return to her home because it was a ranch, and it worked out well

The daughter hired a caregiver to look after her mother and when she returned home, I was told she was very ‘relieved’ to enter a home that was cleared of clutter. I heard she spent hours looking at pictures that she couldn’t find for years, and spent the last 2 years of her life piecing together a scrap book for her family.

Another client owned a hair salon/clothing boutique, when she found out about my organizational abilities, she contracted me to inventory everything, pack it and supervise the move. Before I packed and inventoried everything I did what had to be done first, sort everything.

She had her 14 year old daughter help, and I’ll always remember her escorting the child in, and telling her “now you listen to Miss Tess, and do everything she asks you to do, because I want you to learn how to do what she does”. The daughter was not amused, nor was she much help, she just wasn’t into it. The move was successful, and I didn’t only make a nice fee, but had my hair done free for a year.

I’d like to also add that organizing is a skill, and not everyone is capable of doing it successful. You can maintain an organized environment, but not everyone can get everything in order starting from the ground up.

I also want to mention that being organized can and will save you lots of money. Several of my clients over the years would purchase a variety of items that they didn’t know that they already had in their home. If you know where everything is, and can see what you have before you shop, then you won’t duplicate.

I’ve found literally bags (I use a lot of Ziploc bags for storage) of batteries, and boxes of new light bulbs scattered throughout the residence while organizing. People were amazed at what they had once their home had been completely organized and inventoried.

Empty storage bins containing 2 pencils are not unusually, warranties belonging to broken electronic equipment or appliances, and important documents that should have been safely stored somewhere else and not in a kitchen cabinet. Coupons neatly stacked had expired years before. Can openers in sock drawers, and socks in kitchen cabinets.
Stacks of take out containers and the list goes on.

One client simply told me to get rid of the all the shoes in her closet, she could no longer wear them any more. I filled up 4 large garbage bags with shoes, and the shoe boxes were not included.

And what is the satisfaction of organizing someone’s home? To hear them say things like “I haven’t seen this or that in years” I wondered where it was. Or, simply thank-you so much I knew I needed to do this, but I didn’t know where to start.

The author Theresa Moss is a professional organizer (home/office) with a background in home security.

By: Theresa L. Moss

About the Author:

Spring is the season for selling homes. Over 40 % of homes sold in the entire year are sold in the spring time. Due to the fact that school let’s out and it is easier for families to move into their new home during the summer months.

When you are planning to sell your house for Sale By Owner, timing and planning are the most important tasks you must do to have a successful home sale. Proper staging of your home for sale can mean the difference between a quick sale or a slow one. Here are 4 ways that you can have the most appeal to the most amount of buyers.

4 WAYS TO A QUICK HOME SALE AND PRESENTATION

1. Timing & Planning – The best time to sell your house is in the spring time. So make sure you have taken the time to figure out what the proper asking price should be. You can do this by driving around your neighborhood and seeing what others are asking for their house. Also look up a on websites what the median price for your type of house is going for. Take the average of the two and price your house about ten thousand below that value. This will insure that your house will be the first to sell.

2. Provide Finance Options: Owner financing allows you the ability to make more than Fair Market Value on your house. By working with a contract buyer you can get all cash at closing when you set up your financing correctly. You can also work with mortgage brokers to help you get your buyer approved for financing.

3. Marketing Plan – An important step in selling your home is to have a marketing plan. How are people going to know that your house is for sale? Why would they want to buy your home? How can you help them buy your home? When creating a marketing plan think from the buyers point of view. You can use yard signs, classified ads in the paper, flyers and marketing strategies to create: Attention-Desire- Action.

4. Staging Your House: When the buyer walks into your home they will experience it with all five senses. Make sure you have new paint on the wall, new hardware on the sinks, doors, and electric sockets. Make sure your home is clean and free from clutter. Have the smell of fresh apples and cinnamon baking in the oven. Have soft music in the background. All these appeal to difference senses. At the end of the day people buy based on feelings and not logic.

By: G Allan Roberts

About the Author:

Major Renovations

So it makes sense to update the kitchen, right? As a home staging coach, my answer is ‘yes’. However there area a few things you need to consider:

* Renovating a kitchen is one of the biggest and most expensive ($30 – $60,000) undertakings you can do. Your family will be without the use of the kitchen for possibly months. Can you afford not only the cost of the renovations but the cost of eating out more, the cost of the emotional upheaval in the family home, the dust and chemical smells, etc, etc.?

* When you have completed the kitchen renovation will it match the quality of the other rooms in your home? If not, this may hinder the full value potential of this investment.

* Most kitchen renovations require professional advice and qualified contractors to do the job so that it adds value to your home, done poorly will be a deterrent. Remember you will need a building permit if you are doing major renovations.

Or, Minor Improvements

My advice to you is not to spend too much money on major renovations but make some minor improvements that will update the look of your home. These ‘TOP TIPS’ will help you get your kitchens looking great for selling no matter who your target market is.

You can make these changes yourself or hire a professional.
‘TOP TIPS’ Kitchen Improvements for Budget Conscious Sellers:

* Best Paint Colours in the kitchen are medium tones in yellows, greens and beiges; nothing too dark and nothing too light. Add some accessory colours such as reds, oranges and yellows in bowls of fruit, containers or floral arrangements.

* If your Lighting Fixtures are old then replace them. You can buy very current brushed nickel light fixtures for very reasonable prices at Home Depot, Ikea, Canadian Tire or Rona. The old brass plates just don’t have the look home buyers want. If you have a sunshine ceiling paint out the wood colour the same as the ceiling – it diminishes it from being a focal point. You can also replace the glass with an updated look.

* Flooring does not have to be an expensive item for your kitchen update. Linoleum is inexpensive and works well in kitchens. Tiles are another good product; bamboo and cork flooring is currently popular in kitchens. Avoid using carpet in a kitchen.

* Counter tops don’t need to cost a fortune to replace. You can purchase inexpensive laminates that will give you a great updated look. Countertops can also be resurfaced for far less than the cost of any new counter tops! And while granite is trendy it is costly and there are manmade materials like Corian? that are still less expensive and still luxurious.

* Cupboards can be painted; you need to prime them, sand and paint. You can even find melamine paints if you still have this surface cupboard! With the addition of new brushed nickel door handles you will have a great updated look. There are companies who will put in new cupboards while resurfacing the sides at 50% less than replacing cupboards and drawers.

* Sinks can also be inexpensive to replace. Stainless steel are the most popular right now. If you only have a chip check out the home hardware stores that carry small bottles of chip filler. Faucet taps can be another good investment -just make sure you get a new one that works with your existing hardware.

* Appliances need to be updated. Check for sales or almost-new appliance stores. Costco has some great buys as do many of the local big box home hardware stores. Stainless steel, black or white are the most popular for selling. If you have some chips in your appliances go to your home hardware store and buy a small bottle of chip filler for stoves and fridges.

* Kitchen Islands are popular as they can add some extra work space if you have the room to put one in. Ready-made islands can be purchased from many stores such as Ikea, Home Depot, Rona, etc. Caution: if there is not enough room, trendy or not, better not to buy one if it makes your kitchen look small!

* Kitchen Eating Area needs to be tidy, clean and inviting. The goal is to make each room in your home look spacious. Whether you have kitchen stools or table and chairs ensure this area is not cluttered with too many chairs. In staging “Less is More”.

* Your Open House Ready Look – remove all the clutter and all of your personal items. Buyers don’t want to see all the things that you need out on the counter for your everyday use. Now is the time to sort through what you really need to keep, give away, sell or throw out. Recycle where you can. Counter tops should be clear with the exception of a few accessories. Clean until every single thing sparkles in the kitchen. Sinks need to be spotless, no dishcloth hanging on the tap or on the sink counter; floors need to be ‘clean enough to eat off’??Remove area rugs in the kitchen.

Keep the cooking smells to a minimum in the kitchen during a showing. No smells are better than bad smells! The smell of baking bread or cookies can be pleasing if not overdone. Fresh air and lots of light make for a great feeling in the kitchen.

By: Dana Smithers

About the Author:

It seems as if lingerie wars will soon be coming to a shopping center near you and will include retailers such as JCPenneys, Target Corporation, Kohl’s Corporation, and many others since they have found that under wear is a fashionable trend for women.

As the retailers rush to cash in on the growing fashion trend, they are launching lingerie lines and giving old ones a makeover. These retailers are also redecorating their dressing rooms and offering professional fitting services, while other companies such as Chico’s FAS Inc., American Eagle Outfitters Inc., and Charming Shoppes Inc.’s Lane Bryant, have created stand-alone lingerie stores. These retailers are hoping to steal some thunder from Limited Brands Inc.’s Victoria’s Secret chain, which has dominated fashion lingerie in the United States for many years.

Lingerie has become only second to handbags as the fastest-growing apparel category on the market, which is why everyone in the retail market are trying to capitalize on its overwhelming growth. Last year in the United States retail sales of intimate apparel rose ten percent to reach over ten billion, which more than double the growth rate in 2005. Helping to drive that growth increase are new technologies and fabrics, which allow for such innovations as laser-cut seamless bras, and the growing fashion appeal of lingerie, particularly among young women.

The intimate-apparel category is appealing to retailers, simply because it has higher profit margins than regular apparel, drives store traffic, and boosts customer loyalty. Some analyst feel that if you solve the bra needs of a woman, then you will have a customer for life, which is basically the truth. Victoria’s Secret were the ones that largely created the market for fashionable lingerie in the United States by emulating the lingerie market in Europe. In 1982, Columbus, which is an Ohio-based The Limited bought a handful of Victoria’s Secret stores and a catalog at a time when most women in the United States owned a few sets of underwear in beige, black and white.

Many analyst envisioned women buying underwear as they are much more likely to purchase clothing by buying more frequently and choosing among a range of colors and styles. For much of the last twenty years, Victoria’s Secret had the market for fashionable lingerie to itself. Brands sold in department stores, such as Maidenform, Vanity Fair, and Bali, have typically appealed to different shoppers as the loyal consumers that tend to have more-conservative tastes. However, the younger and more fickle customers are being lured away by Victoria’s Secret, whose clothing apparel has a fashion component.

In the fiscal first quarter that ended on May the fifth, Limited reported its overall net income fell forty-seven percent, which was hurt by profit-eroding markdowns, and said it expects continued weak sales in its Victoria’s Secret division. Net sales at the lingerie unit rose almost fifteen percent, while the same store sales closely measured from the revenue from stores that opened at least a year increased two percent. The problems at Victoria’s Secret stem in part from recent product launches that did not make as much of a splash as last year’s Secret Embrace, a bra fashioned from a single piece of material that has no seams, stitches, or labels. Its teen line, Pink, is battling American Eagle’s aerie launched last August.

In February, JCPenneys launched its Ambrielle lingerie collection with a series of smoldering ads during the Academy Awards, and the company predicts the collection could become one of the store’s private-labels. Kohl’s recently announced it is launching three new lingerie lines this year, while Target has also made changes, redesigning and expanding its private-label Gilligan & O’Malley line, and offering seamless bras and sorbet-colored matching lace bra-and-panty sets, but lingerie was among its weakest sellers last year, according to the company’s reports. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. began upgrading its private-label Secret Treasures and plus-size, Just My Size lingerie, a few years ago, plus carrying a fuller range of styles like thongs, in addition to basic brands like Hanes and others.

By: Victor Epand

About the Author:

As a Decorator and Home Staging Specialist I spend a lot of time shopping in general, particularly for great buys on a website called Craigslist.org for my clients too, but mostly for myself. It provides the ability for buyers and sellers to come together like eBay does, without the need for auctions or any fees. It is all done locally, so there usually isn’t any shipping involved.

It’s amazing to see how quickly Craigslist has taken off in so many major and minor cities. Daily there are free items up for grabs, listings for garage sales and any items from artwork and bedding to cars, appliances and clothing! It truly is a great way to save money and recycle, so you’re helping the planet too with fewer items in landfills!

As with most things in life, there is a certain level of etiquette that needs to be adhered to for all to be happy in the world of online selling and buying. Below I’ve listed some guidelines for both buyers and sellers.

Sellers:

You’ve decided to do a little ‘spring cleaning’ and have several items you want to post. Setting up an account is very easy and fast. It allows you to edit your posting later if needed, add/remove photos and re-post days later again if necessary until sold.

When posting an item or grouping of items be sure to provide photos (if possible) and provide an accurate description including whether the items are new, new in box, gently used or very worn. If you are misleading, the buyer can refuse the item when they see it, and that just wastes everyone’s time. Pricing your items can be tricky. The object of Craigslist is to sell items at a reasonable price, similar to a garage sale but not necessarily as low. Feel free to list what you paid for the item, what it is selling for new and provide a link to compare so your price really stands out. This is not generally the place to sell a $5,000 sofa or period piece. It’s not impossible, but those are the posts that I see up for several months often with no sale-an antique store would be more suitable for those items. Ensure you add the words “Serious inquiries only please” at the bottom of your posting. I find this minimized the amount of bogus calls and emails that come my way. For safety purposes, provide your cell phone number and name only, do not outright include your address, unless you have a box of free items on your porch for pickup, or another specific location where you are not opening the door to a stranger. While you may communicate via email before meeting the buyer, it is important to speak with them on the phone if you can. If you feel unsafe in any way, do have a friend or your spouse at the house when the person arrives or bring the item on your doorstep where you can exchange your item for cash in a more public area. Also, by posting “we’ or “our” in the ad gives the sense that you will not be alone and you do not live alone, warding off any creeps! If you post an item, you can expect that you will receive phone calls and emails. So, don’t post right before you go on vacation or a weekend away, that is frustrating for the buyer. Make sure you’ll have the time to respond AND actually be around for the buyer to pick up your item. Try to have some change on hand or remind the person picking up your item that you don’t have change for the amount and you only accept cash. This avoids the buyer having to run out to a local store to make change. Do let the buyer know of other similar items you have for sale. I can’t tell you how many extra sales I’ve made by doing this and it may only require a quick trip to an ATM to grab the extra items, you can even put together a multi-item package at a discount to move your unwanted items! Once your items are sold, be sure to go into your account immediately to delete your posted item(s), which is helpful for buyers but always minimizes unnecessary calls and emails for you too. In the case of free items, this is particularly important (I always include the fact that I’ll delete once picked up) so that the buyer doesn’t waste gas and time to drive to your home to find the items have already been picked up by someone else. Selling doesn’t just include merchandise. You can also post services that you provide such as painting, house cleaning, tutoring, seamstress etc. This is a great way advertise and I know several people who have received business as a result.
Buyers:

As a buyer, these finds are a great way to cut costs in a down economy and keep more money in your wallet! Often the items are new or like new and are a fraction of the cost of even discount stores in your area. Here are some success tips to ensure you stay safe and happy.

Be Respectful! Use the same level of regard for the seller as you would have for family and friends, if you say you are going to show up somewhere to pick up an item, do it! I have had several people tell me they are driving over to be left wasting my evening waiting at the house. If something comes up, call the seller, or at the very least email them so they can re-plan their time accordingly. Always Ask! It is not uncommon for me to receive several dollars off the price of an item, simply because I asked for it! I try to track the item and see how many times it was posted over the past few days/weeks and negotiate accordingly. If I know they haven’t had any takers, I always ask for a lower (reasonable) price. If they hesitate I ask if I can meet in the middle of their price and mine since I have to drive over and get it. The other important thing to ask about is pickup location. I try to meet in the middle whenever possible or in some cases I’ve had the seller drop off the item off if they were in the area, but I generally don’t ask for that. With the price of gas, it is worth asking. If you are going to pick up an item at someone’s home be sure to bring a friend as you might be going inside the home which could potentially bring up safety issues. I’ve never had any problems at all, but better safe than sorry. Alternatively, you could agree to meet at a local landmark like out front of Target, or in a Best Buy parking lot, as I’ve done many times before. Especially if you are woman, and the seller is a man, this is best. Be courteous of the Sellers home and neighbors. Do call before you show up, and show up at the appropriate time. Once at the home do knock or ring the door bell once. It is not acceptable to drive into the driveway and honk your horn incessantly or yell hello loudly. Treat the seller as you would want to be treated. Once backing out of the driveway be sure not to drive over their lawn which could damage an in-ground sprinkler system. Be Creative! There are loads of free items everyday that get posted because someone is moving out of state/country and need to off load items quickly. Feel free to snatch those up and sell them yourself! Or find a great piece of furniture and give it a sanding and coat of paint and post it up for sale. I’ve found myself doing this more and more and it’s been a great way to make some extra cash while doing something I love, re-purposing furniture. If you are in the service industry, use the item pickup experience as a great way to get your name out by handing out a business card. You never know who knows someone that might need your services. You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain! Buyer Beware! Once you pay for the item, it’s yours! Make sure you test it out and ensure that it works, is comfortable, isn’t broken/damaged before forking over the cash. This applies to all appliances, furniture, handbags, etc. Always have the seller plug an item in to prove that it works. Likewise, if you’re buying a sofa or a chair, make sure it is comfortable and if it’s not what you had expected, you can always walk away.

I hope you find these tips helpful in your online buying/selling world of Craigslist. I’ve been using this site for years and never had any problems. I’ve been cautious and I always negotiate! My pointers come from experience (just today I encountered the car honker loudly honking her horn to get my attention to come out with a set of bamboo blinds!)

Happy Craigslisting!

By: Karla M. Davis

About the Author:

When selling your home yourself you need as many advantages as possible. Without a doubt you will be fighting an uphill battle in the advertising department as realtors typically have large budgets to spend on the advertising of homes. So it stands to reason that your home needs to stand out in other ways in order to garner the attention it needs to sell quickly and for the right price. Two ways this can be done is through the use of a professional stager and holding your own open houses. The latter may be time consuming but you needs to get the word out about your home.

Home stagers are a new breed of home professionals. In recent years the practice has evolved out of the designer field and specializes in the preparation of a home for selling. This usually involves a large amount of shuffling of furniture and in some cases the outright replacement of items that will not benefit the show. Getting rid of mess and clutter is a big part of staging as is the strategic use of available space. Many homes are a bit too cluttered for a home showing and home stagers are experts at deciding what can stay and what needs to go to make the home more presentable. It is really amazing what a home can look like before and after a proper staging. Many people hardly recognize their own homes!

Holding your own open houses can be a trying event. It can be gratifying to hear the positive remarks that people make about your home but conversely it can be heartbreaking to hear the negative comments as well. Remember you can’t please everyone. Also, don’t be afraid to invite realtors to your open house. Just because you aren’t using one to sell your home does not mean that you can’t benefit from their clientele! In fact you may want to consider holding an open house explicitly for realtors. The more people that know about your sale the better. Another thing that any FSBO seller should seriously consider is a flat-fee MLS listing. Traditionally one major drawback to FSBO selling was the fact that FSBO homes did not have access to the Multiple Listing Service. As anyone in the business knows a MLS listing can make the difference between a sale and a missed opportunity.

By: Kevin Bilberry

About the Author:

Are you considering to sell your home? There’s a lot of really simple things you can do that are very inexpensive that can dramatically increase the value and sell ability of your home.

First and foremost, you must always look at your home from the prospective buyers view. You know your home intimately because you’ve lived there for some time. You know all its flaws and you also know all its high points. A prospective buyer may miss all of these things.

But it’s what you can’t see anymore that they do see they can kill sale in the making. So the very first thing I recommend that you do before you decide to list your home for sale is to go away for two weeks.

What this does is allows you to look at your home more objectively. It’s funny how the human mind works. If we enter into her home every day we miss many subtle details about its appearance. But when we go away for two weeks and then step into her home again our eye catches only subtleties that will be caught by a person coming into your home for the first time.

Take careful note of what you see and don’t see. What you need to fax in what you think looks good. I’d actually recommend that you take around a small hand-held recorder to record what you see. The summit the process quick and you catch as much as possible.

If you’re married and sure that your spouse does this as well. What your spouse will point out that you don’t realize.

Another thing you can do is ensure that a first look a prospective client has is a good look. The first look is always the outside of the front of house. I know when I went house hunting if the outside doesn’t look good out just how the real estate broker, next. But the outside is a spectacular looking with a well manicured lawn, landscaped nicely and lots of flowers, a prospective buyer can forgive quite a bit because their first impression was very good.

I did a real estate course once a talked about flipping houses, and you would normally spend the majority of your money on the outside of the front of the house. They used to state that you could make $20,000-$50,000 more with a very attractive front view of the home.

If you take both of these ideas together, stepping away for two weeks in ensuring the front looks good, you have a pretty good idea and what your prospective home buyer will see when they see your home.

By: Frank J Thomas

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We know that true market value pricing and a full court press marketing approach will bring buyers to your door. Use these 7 Interior and exterior steps to make sure that your home is ready to be shown to the new buyer who may want your property.

1) Hire a Home Inspector – A third party home inspector will check your home and its’ systems inside and outside. They will provide you a detailed list of needed repairs or items of concern. If you complete repairs and address all these items you will be way ahead your buyer and their home inspection team.

2) Storage, Clear the Clutter – Inspect all closets and storage areas (basement, attic, garage, crawl space, and pantry). Move to a rental storage location all items you are not using and items out of season. Move to storage all large tools that take up space. Give away items you will not ever use. Yard sale/garage sale if you have time.

3) Furniture/Decorating – Some forward thinking real estate agents can arrange to have an interior decorator or home staging company inspect your home. These people can make suggestions and help rearrange furniture in your home to show at its best. Show you some inexpensive ways to redecorate or change furniture.

4) Light Open Appearance – Remove and store all screens, clean and wash windows. Open all blinds and draperies (maybe a good time to have blinds and draperies cleaned). Paint rooms with dark bold colors a lighter more neutral shade. Clean carpets clean hardwoods and tile (clean or apply stain to grout for fresher appearance).

5) Wash/Paint Exterior – Wash siding and over hangs (remove all bugs, spiders, bees). For a clean and neat exterior appearance power-wash driveway and all walkways/patios (concrete, brick and stone). Clean out and repair the gutters and downspouts. Repaint front door, trim, and porch columns rails and beams.

6) Landscape – Cut and edge lawn. Make sure you can see house trim over grown shrubs, trees add mulch to all planter areas and add flowers for color. Remove any dead or dying plants. Areas with no grass such as under shade tree add much for better appearance.

7) Shine and Sparkle – Clean all fixtures inside of home and outside (brass, chrome, nickel, bronze, and plastic). Polish or replace front door hardware, house numbers, mailbox, light fixtures. Fixtures that have lost their finish should be replaced.

Following these steps should put your home at the top of a buyers list in your price range.

By: Bill Carey

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