Make Your Home Stand Out Among Others (counters, colors, living room)

[inkstainer25]

Simple Tips Can Prove Helpful In Selling A Home More Effectively
Ever wonder why some homes sell quickly and others seem to stay on the market longer? In some cases, it may be out of the seller's control because of market conditions or other factors, but often, a prepared seller will have success in selling his or her home quickly and for a price they want.
Realtors in the Houston area say that in many cases, buyers are prepared to purchase a new home but need to sell their existing home in order to make a move. For those considering selling their home or have already listed their home for sale, make sure everything has been done to make the home look its best.
Better Homes and Gardens offers some helpful tips in preparing a home for sale:

• Eliminate clutter in all areas of your home to create an impression of spaciousness and plentiful storage space. A great way to clear away clutter and make money at the same time is to hold a yard or garage sale.
• Put out clean towels, new soap, a nice tablecloth, and fresh flowers.
• Don't be at home during a showing or open house. Your absence will put buyers at ease so they'll feel free to linger and ask questions.
• If you do stay, be polite, but let your sales associate do the talking.
• Don't apologize for the condition of your home.
• Make sure kids and pets are out of the house.
• Nothing makes a home look newer faster than a fresh coat of paint. Neutral colors such as beige, white, off-white and gray have a broad appeal to prospective buyers. These colors suggest newness and cleanliness. It's a good idea to stick to neutrals when making any improvements prior to selling your home.

It's also very important to make sure the home is clean - make sure counters, floors, window sills and other key areas have a clean appearance, which also conveys a message that the home is well taken care of.
Realtor.org offers additional help in selling a home, citing an article from US News and World Reports:
Get them inside. The first thing a prospective buyer notices about a home is not the living room but the front yard. Cut the grass, trim the hedges, rake those leaves, sweep the sidewalks and power-wash the driveway. And make sure you don't have too many potted plants scattered around the property.
Properly preparing a home for resale does take some effort but the extra work a homeowner puts into the home will prove a wise investment and help your home to stand out among all others.

[Thila]

I agree with all the tips above. I put my house on the market after doing all of the above and reading "Staging your House for Total Idiots" and I had an offer within 24 hours of putting it on the market! I couldn't believe it because there were quite a few homes for sale in my neighborhood.

[mrpeatie]

On a quasi-related note I've learned to actually have the home inspected yourself prior to listing and to fix the items. That way you can address anything and it will not come up on the buyers inspection. And if it does you can have the answer/explanation if its benign or simply a matter of the inspector red-flagging something becuase it was diferent/questionable but not an actual problem.

I learned this after having a sale fall through when the itemized inspection had pages of problems. half were totally invalid but the ones that were seemed daunting to the buyer & they could not get the full list out of their head. It literally cost less than a grand to fix all the issues on my end but that punch list doomed it. Inspection 2 was a snap.

The front yard comment rings pretty true. $200 for a yard service to give it a thorough once over and a little more on mulch makes a bigger diference than one would think. Similar to when maids come through and hit everything as opposed to missing the little things most of us stop noticing.

[stepka]

Pretty good advice, but the last home I sold had a yellow kitchen, a pink living room, a green bedroom, and a blue family room! They loved it.

[coffeeQ]

Thanks for the tips. Need all the help I can get!