Tucson Real Estate Blogs » Tucson Real Estate

Tucson Real Estate & Golf Properties

Douglas Trudeau , Assoc. Broker
Prudential Foothills Real Estate
64 N. Harrison Road, Suite 160
Tucson , AZ 85748
Mobile: 520-954-2209
Contact Me

Tucson Real Estate - Home Selling 103

You’ve evaluated your motivation in Home Selling 101, determined your price in Home Selling 102, now you are ready to prepare home for the market. When competing with every other home in your area or price range there are things not to do as well as things you can do to out shine the other homes competing for your buyers. Staging has become a rapidly growing industry in the real estate market. The higher the competition for buyers, the higher the price, the more relevant staging becomes. Statistics show that staged homes sell faster and for more.

What is staging? Staging is like going out on that first date. You only get one chance to impress. For guys its the hair cut, right clothes, and a washed & clean car. For the ladies its make up, hair, and the right outfit. Each side trying to be attractive and impress. That first date with each buyer is no different. What will impress buyers the most to create desire? Staging will create that desire and make the best impression.

Condition of the home is important to staging. How does the front yard look? Are there weeds? Are there bare dirt patches in the gravel? Is the grass brown or green? Is there any color from flowers? The front yard is a tell tale of the rest of the home. How can anyone expect buyers to want to see the inside when there are weeds as high as the car sitting in the front yard on blocks?

Some things that are relatively inexpensive:

If there is grass, water it, fertilize it and cut it.
If there is gravel, rake it out with a leaf rake to make it even. Using a large leaf rake to walk back and forth putting lines in the gravel can make a vast improvement.
If there are flowers, water them, fertilize them and prune them.
No flowers, plant some.
Stains in the driveway, clean them.
Don’t stop at the front yard, continue to the back and sides.

You may have to spend a little to sell your home.

If there is bare dirt, cover it with gravel and plant some flowers.
If the paint is pealing, repaint.
Buy some inexpensive pots an plant flowers in them.
Repair the walkway that the tree root raised a foot.
If the roof is pealing off, replace it.

If the home is not in pristine condition and is the best home buyers have seen for the money, they won’t give your home a second thought.

Inside and out there is a lot that can be done, some without expense, some with. It all depends on your budget, the price range your home is in, and how fast you want to sell it.

First, clean till you drop. The vents, under the refrigerator, the laundry room, bathrooms, everywhere. Mow the lawn, pull and spray the weeds, rake the rocks, pick up trash. Clean, Clean, and clean some more.
Remember the foyer/entry. I always tell my clients, “You have 5 seconds to get the buyer’s attention when they walk in the door. Stand in the doorway of your home and tell me what you see?” This is where buyers get their first impression of the interior. A cluttered or crowded entry can be a disaster.
Get rid of clutter. The rule to thumb is remove 1/4 to 1/2 of everything that is out. Look at a model home to see how they look. Clutter distracts buyers from seeing the home and its potential.
Erase personality. Buyers want to see a home, they do not want to feel that they are intruding on your personal life. A few family pictures are OK. Remove excess family pictures and children’s drawings from the refrigerator. Cut back on family pictures throughout the house.
Arrange furniture to accent the home. If there is a view through a window or a part of the home that buyers should be drawn to, arrange furniture to draw attention in that direction.
Use rooms for what they are intended. A bedroom should be a bedroom, not a storage room or exercise room.
If its broken, fix it.
Update old functionally obsolete appliances.
Find storage for excess. Nothing is worse than clutter.

If your home needs professional attention, call in a professional stager. If your home is vacant, rent furniture through a stager or affiliate. You will be amazed at the difference staging a home can make. Remember, that first time the buyer sees your home will be the key to whether they want to buy it or look at the next house. Are you impressed when you walk in the front door?

More reading:

This entry was posted on Friday, July 13th, 2007 at 1:24 pm and is filed under Tucson Real Estate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

[…] Home Selling 103 – Impression and Staging […]

July 23rd, 2007 // Tucson Real Estate - Home Selling 105
[…] Home Selling 103 – Impression and Staging […]

July 25th, 2007 // Tucson Real Estate - Home Selling 106
[…] Home Selling 103 - Impression and Staging. You get one shot at making a good impression on Buyers. Put your home on the market unprepared and watch your neighbors homes sell before yours. […]

July 31st, 2007 // Seven Steps To Home Selling A Home In Tucson

Tucson Real Estate Blogs & Golf

Submit Email For Feed

Really Simple Syndicate

Tucson Real Estate - Home Selling 103

Leave a Reply

Categories

Archives

Favorites

Tucson Golf

Blogroll