Although it¡¯s contrary to what many consumers believe, homes sales occur year
round; however, springtime is usually the time in the year when most sellers
seriously contemplate placing their home on the market for sale and housing
inventory tends to increase. In my 25+ years of selling and investing in real
estate, it never fails to surprise me, how many sellers often make the mistake of
forgetting to showcase their home to appeal to the prospective buyer when they
get ready to sell their house.

In spite of how this mistake seems like common sense, and could be easily
avoided, it would surprise most people to see how often sellers neglect this very
thing. When attempting to sell your home to buyers, try to keep in mind that
even before you list your home and set out the yard sale sign, you should
develop an objective view of your home as a ¡°product¡±. The more appealing
you make your house (the product) to the general public by cleaning it,
repairing things that need to be fixed and making it presentable, the more likely
you will get an offer you will be pleased with (presumably a higher one).

Almost without exception, a poorly, maintained home will lower the asking and
final selling price of your property. In this day and age of instant coffee, instant
internet access and instant everything else, most buyers just don¡¯t want to
spend the time repairing anything. Their lifestyles are just too busy! If it isn¡¯t
working properly, it usually ends up costing more at the negotiating table than at
the hardware store. Today¡¯s buyer usually just wants to move in and get on
with their day-to-day business and not be saddled with repair work and
remodeling.

Just look at your own busy lifestyle and ask yourself if you would be inclined to
do all the cleaning and repair work you are assuming your buyer would like to
do. Unless your buyer is an investor or is handy with home improvement
projects, you are more likely to be successful in selling your property at a price
you are pleased with (a higher one), if you prepare it with the expectation that
the buyer does not want to do the work. Usually, if your buyer has to spend
time in repairing, they will subconsciously factor in more than the actual cost at
the negotiating table. . According to reliable statistics, it can cost the seller two
to three times more at the negotiating table than at the hardware store. An
investor will do the same except in their case, they will invest the time and effort
to upgrade the property and will turn around and reap the benefits.

Furthermore, as more and more realtors are using virtual tours and/or photos of
the interior of your home on their internet websites, you need to declutter as
much as you can and store personal items so your home¡¯s internet pictures or
virtual tours truly showcase your house and its features. There is a whole real
estate related industry and process referred to as ¡°staging¡± growing out of the
process of cleaning, decluttering and showcasing your home to prepare it for
sale.

Keep in mind that your objective, as a seller, is to allow your buyers to see
themselves living in your house and not showcasing junior¡¯s artwork on the
refrigerator or dirty dishes in the sink. While depersonalizing your home for the
purposes of selling it seems almost strange, it actually serves to allow your
home and its features to appeal to a wider market and attract a larger pool of
potential, pre-qualified buyers. While it has always been an important principle,
with almost worldwide showcasing of homes occurring via the internet, it is
almost a necessity to view your home in this new light. For more information
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