10 Tips to Make Your Home Stand Out When Selling

Want your home to stand out to buyers?  Take the extra steps when getting your home on the market.  There's a lot of competition out there, and buyers are seeking those homes that are truely "move-in ready". 

So use this checklist as a way to evaluate your home, and see if there's things you can do to enhance your home and your chance of selling.

1. Create an attractive entry -- both inside and outside.  First impressions are really important.
2. Hardwood floors are "in" with buyers.  Replace that old worn carpet with nice hardwoods.
3. Update and improve the little details like cabinet hardware, bathroom faucets, and doorknobs.
4. Make your bathrooms more attractive to buyers by replacing the large sheet glass mirrors with elegant framed mirrors and updated lighting.
5. Countertops?  Go granite, it might be more affordable than you think and it scores big with buyers.
6. Replace old ovens, cooktops and dishwashers with stainless finishes. 
7. De-clutter and organize clothes closets and kitchen cabinets.  No cost here, just a little effort.
8. Make the yard attractive to families with kids.  The grass should be well maintained and healthy. 
9. Don't overlook lighting.  The interior needs to be bright, so add lamps or improve fixtures to make the house well lit.
10. Stage the furniture to show off the best features of the home.

Pricing Mistakes When Selling Your Home, and How to Avoid Them

When selling your home, your pricing strategy can make or break your chances for a successful sale.  Listing your home at a proper price will encourage a buyer to snatch up your home for fear of losing it to another buyer, while listing too high can cause your home to sit on the market for months.  Especially in our current slower market, proper pricing is crucial.

In her article, "Pricing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them,"  Shannon Petrie of FrontDoor.com lists six mistakes that home sellers most often make.

Mistake #1: Forgoing research
Sellers sometimes base their prices on hearsay or by checking the asking price of the home down the street.  Instead you should base your price on a competitive market analysis, or cma, done by a real estate professional that looks at recent sales in the same area that are similar.  These cma's are usually free because agents are hoping to get to list the home for sale.  Another option is to hire a real estate appraiser to do the job.  Cost:  Several hundred dollars.

Mistake #2: Hiring the agent who offers the highest list price for your home
Beware of agents trying to "buy" your listing by suggesting an unrealistically high asking price.  This is unethical and costs you time and money in the long run, since you'll most likely have to cut the price later after being on the market a long time.  The agent you choose to list your home should be able to back up their list price with comparable sales data.

Mistake #3: Getting emotionally involved
Try to stay objective during the pricing process by focusing on the comparable sales in the cma.  Everyone thinks their home is the best home on the block, and worth more than it really is.  Listen to the agents you interview to see how your home really compares.

Mistake #4:  Pricing too high at the beginning
If the home enters the market over-priced, you've lost many buyers who otherwise could have afforded your home.  By the time you adjust the price, those buyers have already bought something else.  Then when you do put a proper price on the home, buyers want to know why it has sat on the market for so long.  Your best opportunity for a quick offer is in the first two weeks the home is on the market, so don't waste that time by being overpriced.

Mistake #5: Overpricing because you have "time"
Time does not equal dollars.  Being on the market longer actually costs you money.  Especially in a market where home prices are declining or just staying flat, being on the market longer is not a good option.

Mistake #6:  Chasing the Market
If prices are dropping and your home is overpriced, then as you lower the price, you are still falling behind the market that's declining.  List the home as competitively as you can from day one, and then assess market feedback and numbers of showings to see if further cuts need to be made.

Showing homes in San Antonio, Texas

Thankfully, business has been good lately.  We've had the opportunity in the last few weeks, to work with four sets of really good buyers.  The fun part is that we have a buyer in the $150's, the $250's, the $350's and the $700's+.  So we're getting to show a wide variety of homes in San Antonio and nearby neighborhoods.

What has made this experience fun and interesting, is the unique floorplans we've seen, the unique furnishings in those homes, and the various styles of decorating and staging home sellers have worked to achieve.  For the most part, an overwhelming percentage of the homes we've shown have been really ready to show, and were in move-in condition.  I suspect that as the numbers of foreclosures increase, I won't be able to say that much longer.  But in the meantime, a big thank you to San Antonio's home sellers.  Job well done! 

It makes the Realtor's job a lot easier and a lot more fun when the buyer can see themselves moving into a home without having to do a lot of clean-up or re-do's to make the home livable.  And that translates into more money in the Seller's pocket.  Keep up the good work Sellers.

Sellers Beware! Top 10 Ways to Turn off A Homebuyer!

We work with both sellers and buyers, and see a lot of San Antonio homes.  Some are ready to be on the market, and others not so much.  Sometimes it is hard to communicate to sellers what it takes for a home to be ready for prime time!  This list from Jay McDonald, 10 Ways to Turn off a Homebuyer, says it very well.

10 Ways to Turn off A Homebuyer....

• Dirt  Cleanliness IS Godliness!  No one want to buy your dirty home and have to clean it!
• Odors  Smoke odors or pet odors make buyers walk right back out the door!
• Old fixtures  You didn't replace them because it cost so much, why should the buyers want to do it?
• Wallpaper  A big no, at least at the present time.  Buyers don't want it -- take it down!
• Popcorn acoustic ceilings  Can be removed, but it's a messy job.  Younger buyers hate it!
• Too many personal items  You're not selling your family or possessions, just your home!
• Snoopy sellers  When the home is being shown, LEAVE the HOUSE!
• Misrepresenting your home  If buyers are expecting too much, they'll be disappointed and won't buy your home.
• Poor curb appeal  Preparing the outside of the home is just as important as preparing the inside, maybe even more crucial!
• Clutter  Piles of clutter tell the buyer that the home is TOO SMALL.  Ditch the clutter and organize the home's contents to emphasize the existing storage.

Do's and Don'ts for Maintaining Your Kitchen Cabinets

The Do It Yourself Network has some great tips for maintaining your kitchen cabinets.  Whether you are getting your San Antonio home ready to sell, or just wanting to keep your cabinets looking like new,  follow these easy steps.

Do inspect the caulk around sinks and backsplashes to prevent water damage to cabinets.
Do clean knobs and drawer pulls using mild soap and warm water.  Dry with a soft cloth.

Do lubricate and adjust drawer slides periodically.  Use a little silicone spray lubricant.
Do lubricate and adjust door hinges.
Do tighten loose knobs or pulls.


Don't put wet dishes in cabinets - dry thoroughly before putting them away.

Don't clean cabinets with harsh abrasives.


Don't hang wet dishcloths on the edge of the countertop or on cabinet doors or drawers.


The DIY article also gives specific tips for wood cabinets and plastic laminate cabinets.  Check it out!

REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-Sellers Should List Homes Early

REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-Sellers Should List Homes Early

The message here from the nation's realtor organizations is that in order to reach the homebuyers who are looking to take advantage of the tax incentive for purchasing a new home, home sellers should be putting their homes on the market NOW, and not wait until Spring.  The incentive ends April 30th, so unless it is extended again, the homes need to go under contract by late March, and the buyers should be out house shopping soon to find the best deals. 

Traditionally home sellers wait until March or April to list their homes, hoping to move after school is out in late May or early June.  That pattern will not work with the tax incentive deadline.  So if you are thinking of moving up, moving down, or just moving, you should contact a Realtor very soon to get your home out there for buyers to find.  The number of homes on the market will surely increase as the year progresses, so the competition gets tougher later.  Don't wait!

Sellers, Your Kitchen IS the Heart of Your Home!

An appealing, workable kitchen is near the top of most buyers' list of priorities when house-hunting.  It is the room that gets the most scrutiny, and can make or break a sale.  So what can you do if you don't have the open kitchen, the stainless appliances or the granite countertops?  These 10 tips should get you started.

1. Avoid clutter!  Clean the counters of small appliances and other things to maximize the appearance of limited workspace.
2. Check the area around your sink, and put away soaps, cleansers, etc.
3. Sinks, appliances and counters should be sparkling clean.  (Yes, clean the oven!)
4. Clean off the top of the refrigerator.  Put items that need to be stored there in baskets or bowls to neaten up.
5. Stage the kitchen with an open cookbook, or a colorful fruit basket.
6. Create aromas that remind the buyers of a kitchen: cookies baking, bread baking or fruit pies baking.
7. During the hot summer, display a bowl of lemons or limes for their pleasant aroma.
8. Clean and organize all the kitchen storage areas so the areas appear larger.
9. Look critically at your kitchen window treatments and clean or update.
10. Set the table with bright placemats and a nice centerpiece.

Five Home Staging Myths

Are you selling your home?  You are obviously still the owner until the house sells, but when it is listed, it becomes "inventory" and should be viewed as a house and not a home.  You've probably heard about staging your home to make it more attractive to buyers.  There are professional home stagers in San Antonio you can hire, and even if you don't hire a pro, you can get great staging hints from your Realtor.  But today we'll talk about the 5 biggest myths surrounding staging a home for sale.

• I don't need to stage my home, buyers can see past my stuff.  Actually, NO they can't.  Most buyers cannot imagine their stuff in a home that is cluttered with the seller's possessions.  We tell our sellers that every box of clutter they remove from the home puts $$ back into their pockets at closing.

• The original (and expensive) features of my home add value.  Those 30 year old drapes and 20 year old wallpapers do not add value to today's buyers.  If a home is not vintage, meaning it is less than 50 years old, and it has not been updated, then the buyers won't pay for dated fixtures, even if they were expensive "in their day".
• My home isn't expensive enough to pay for staging. On the contrary, all homes need to present themselves in the best way possible. Take a look at your competition in the price bracket, and figure out what you need to do to make your home stand out. Staging can be just as important in a smaller home as it is in a larger home.
• Empty rooms look bigger.  Not usually!  When you are trying to sell an empty home, it is very hard to help buyers see how a room is used, and what fits in that room.  A few rented or borrowed pieces of furniture can define a space for the buyer.  Conversely, in a really large open room, buyers can sometimes have a problem when a room is empty because the room looks TOO large!
• "It's really a bedroom, but we're using it as a gym."  If it's a three bedroom home, but only two rooms have beds, buyers will sometimes question whether the third room would work as a bedroom or not.  For the sake of the time you have your home on the market, put the gym out in the garage, and give the bedroom it's real purpose. 

Buyers need to be able to picture themselves living in your home, so the house needs to look like they could bring all their stuff and move right in.  Staging simply means improving your home's appearance in order to appeal to the widest segment of the potential buyers.  The way you decorate your home to SELL may be quite different from the way you decorate to DWELL!

Sellers, can a home be TOO clean?

In short, no.  If your home is on the market, it should be CLEAN!  A home that is clean and neat on the interior sells faster and for more money than a home that is not.  And that's the plain and simple truth.  So if you are selling your home, don't forget...

• Clean light switch plates and trim around the doors.

• 
  
  Clean carpets and remove all spots (or replace).
  
  
  

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  Get rid of cobwebs and dust in corners, ceilings, baseboards and around light fixtures.
  
  
  

• Wipe hand prints off walls, doors and mirrors.

• Make sure tile and vinyl floors are washed and shiny clean.

• Kitchen counters and sink should be clean and clear.

• Bathroom sinks, counters and toilet should be clean and smell fresh.

   

•  Re-caulk around bathtubs, re-grout showers as necessary to look clean.

• Clean windows and make them sparkle! (Open the drapes and let the light in.)

• Clean the stove and oven.  Buyers don't want to clean up your mess! 

If you've done all these items, and you still have a little time and energy left, look at your closets and garage.  The more you straighten them, the better a buyer can picture their own things in your house.  To get top dollar for your home, cleanliness is godliness!

10 Ways to Give Your Home's Exterior A Facelift

Saavy sellers know that a buyer's first impression can make or break a sale. So in this buyer's market, how can a seller make their home more inviting?

1. Trim the shrubs so they don't block windows or the architectural details of the home.

2. Put a pot of bright flowers on the front porch.

3. Install new doorknobs on the front entry door, and paint or stain the door if it doesn't look fresh.
4. Buy a new doormat for the front door.

5. Edge and mow the grass, even around walks and trees.
6. Upgrade the outside lighting fixtures.

7. Clean windows, inside and out. Sweep the front porch.
8. Polish or replace the house numbers.

9. Keep garden tools and hoses out of sight.
10. Place a seasonal wreath on the front door.

Your home only gets one chance to make a first impression, so make it a great one!

Welcome!

Welcome to my first posting! 

In future postings I'll give you lots of helpful information about the San Antonio area housing market, and tips for buyers and sellers that will make your next purchase or sale a pleasant experience, no matter where you live. 

In the meantime, check out available San Antonio homes at http://www.stevelinick.com/, and contact me if you'd like more info on any of those homes.