Before you create a ‘for sale by owner’ property listing to sell your house privately, there are a few simple steps that will ensure that your home looks great and sells for the asking price. Your home needs to look good not only in your FSBO listings, but also from the curbside and during the all important viewing.
You should never assume anything, but; let’s assume that the people who arrange to view your home are really interested in buying it, and are firmly on the hook. It’s your job to land them, so don’t put them off.
Buyer will be distracted by your personal possessions, photos, and taste in decor and what shampoo you use. You need to concentrate their attention on the internal spaces of the house, so remove all your personal stuff and get it packed away. Cleanliness too or lack of it will put a buyer off. Take the kitchen, for example: Do the baby test. Would you be happy to let a baby crawl around on the floor?
Take a good look at your bathroom: If you were a stranger would you be happy to have a bath, or would you have to clean it first? Aim for hotel luxury and think fluffy towels, candles, nice soap, and banish the usual collection of five bottles of shampoo conditioner and whatever else.
Bedrooms need to look clean and uncluttered. Your exercise bike has remained unused in the corner since Christmas, so may be it is time to remove it. Flooring is very important here. If your buyer looks at the floor and thinks that they would not like to walk around in bare feet, chances are they will not buy. If your carpets are looking worn, cover them up with a neutral colored rug. Invest in new bedding to smarten up a room. Make sure that cupboards and wardrobes are neat and tidy and not too full. This is especially important if they are built in as you want to give the impression of adequate storage.
Make sure that your house smells clean and fresh. Use fresh flowers to brighten up dark rooms and give the impression of sunshine, and buy an air freshener so that you home appeals to all the senses.
If you don’t want to present your home as a work in progress or handy man project: You should repair everything that is broken and worn, even if it means sticking down that edge of wallpaper that is coming away. Manage your buyer’s perception, as they may see small incomplete jobs as the tip of the iceberg and use them as a reason to negotiate the price down.
Make an effort to tidy out storage spaces like garages, lofts, sheds and cellars. If you have a spare room that you use as a dump, you must clear it out and give the room a makeover. Rooms used in this way may indicate to your buyer that the space doesn’t work, which will put them off.
Remember you have become accustomed to your house and all its failings which may prevent you from seeing it in its true light. However; your buyers are viewing your home for the first time, and will not be as forgiving in their assessment. So make sure that all walkways are clear and that all doors can open freely. This will make your home appear more spacious.
You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Home buyers will start forming impressions about your home from the moment they first come across it through your for sale by owner property listing, or viewing it from the street. So make sure that you give a good impression always.
Spend a few minutes looking at your house from across the street and make sure that it looks better than your neighbors by weeding flower beds, clipping hedges and cutting the lawn.
Make sure everything is clean and tidy, repaint your door, polish the door handles and buy a new outside mat. Remove cobwebs and place a planter of flowers or a hanging basket near your door to add a splash of color and brighten the place up. If you have nice garden furniture, set it up to show off your garden as an extra room for entertainment.
Try to create a natural flow between the house and the garden. Even if you don’t paint the outside of the house, you will need to wash down window frames, fascia boards and garage doors, and use a power hose to clean paths and driveways. Try to organize the children’s outdoor toys so that they do not take up the entire garden, and if you have limited parking, try not to draw attention to it by jamming three cars on the driveway.
Preparing your house for sale will present it in the best light making it much more appealing and helping home buyers to buy. Remember your objective is to sell your house to whoever makes an acceptable offer. Your job is to convert highly motivated browsers into buyers, and if you follow this advice, you surely will.
Stuart Atkinson runs the website www.offplanpropertyexchange.com where you can sell your house privately for sale by owner and search homes for sale and property investments worldwide.
[tags]for sale by owner, sell your house[/tags]
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