In the previous section you completed the tasks on the inside of your home to make it shine, just as you made improvements to the exterior of your house. The goal throughout each of the steps you have taken is to enhance the appeal to the widest range of prospective homebuyers as possible.
Technically, the process you are completing is called "home staging." If you had chosen to let a real estate agent manage your listing, you most likely would had a discussion with them about the value of using a professional home stager, but if they can do this task, so can you and by doing the task yourself, you will save approximately $500-$1,000.
With the repairs and refinements that you have performed on the exterior of your house to enhance its' "curb appeal" and on the interior to remove clutter and the other things that turn off home buyers, now it is time to work on the aesthetic aspects of house presentation which will involve the use of light, furniture placement and home decorating accessories to draw the attention of the home buyers' eye.
To meet your goal of selling your property at the best price quickly, home staging is mandatory; there are far too many properties on the market in your house category for interested homebuyers to choose from to leave anything to chance.
Home staging accents the features of your house that make it stand out from the competition and make it unique while at the same time, minimizing any short comings your property may have. Taking a more conscientious approach to the details of selling your property puts you ahead of the many homeowners that hold the view that their property will sell regardless of its appearance.
The amount of time you spend on this phase of the process will be significantly less than the time you have spent on the previous tasks; what you are about to do can be compared to the final touches on a movie set before the characters make their entrance.
Throughout the process of home staging, the main factors have to be considered; the age of the property, its physical condition and number of properties comparable to yours all affect the marketability and extent of work required. By this point in time, you should be completely aware of the strong points as well as the weak points of your property.
Viewing your property as a buyer, look for the areas that may cause hesitation. For example, lack of storage space. How can you compensate for this? Since you have been living in the property, you should make a list of the ways you have handled this situation, should this be a matter of concern to a prospective homebuyer.
However if you do not pay attention to the presentation of your home, even the positives can be overlooked. This is why it is important not to take anything for granted; just because you see the advantage of a separate hall entry way, without a point of focus and reference, a prospective buyer may walk through without even noticing.
The purpose of this section is to give you ideas for each feature of your house. Then you can make a list of ways you would like to draw attention to them, whether it is to make their function easy to decipher or their added value more apparent. The components of your exterior and interior that are required to create the big picture of your house, one that the prospective homebuyer who views your property will consider in making their decision of whether or not to purchase. In addition to your property itself, give some thought to the advantages that your location and neighborhood offers the homebuyer.
The big question for many reading this will be: Is all this work worth the effort? What if your house sits on the market for 6 months or 1 year? The best way for you to answer the first question is to locate real estate listings in your home's category in a different section of your city, one where you are unknown, call the agent and go see how properties is on the market are being presented for sale for yourself. If you find that the majority of them have gone through the home staging process as you have, then you face stiff competition.
On the other hand, if the majority of the properties have you in a state of disbelief, you are very far ahead of the game. This partially answers the second question about how long your property will be on the market. When you had your real estate broker interview, it was suggested to ask them about the number of buyers they had on file who expressed an interest in your type of home property.
The other part of the answer is related to your research with your banker in reference to the long-term interest rates for mortgages and the types of financing options that could be used to purchase your property.
If you are selling during a period where these long-term interest rates are rising, then depending on the purchase price you are asking, your field of prospective buyers may decrease. The strategies given in the previous section talk about your options in regards to incentives you can offer a prospective home buyer, i.e., reducing your purchase price by one-half of the commission fee you would have paid to a real estate agent.
There are a wide range of ways you can manage the sale of your property, much of the decision of which option is best for you depends on your future plans and what you are willing to compromise in order to sell the house. There is no cut-and-dry formula that fits every situation; there are as many variables to this situation as there are people. But if you have followed the steps throughout this book to the best of your ability, the chances of you having to take extreme measures is not very probable.
GETTING READY FOR YOUR DATEThe date of the Big Dance is getting closer; the day your first prospective homebuyer walks through your front door to see what YOUR house has to offer THEM. That is the question that people looking for a home property have in the front of their mind: "What's in it for ME?"
Now you have another opportunity to decide how your house will speak to the prospective home buyers' heart, because buying a house is an emotional as well as rational experience. To increase the emotional appeal of your house, you want to focus your efforts on making your house feel inviting, warm, comfortable and secure; all the terms that most people basically think about when they think of "home." Make a house feel like home and selling it at the same time is a balancing act. While you want your prospective homebuyers to feel so at ease that they linger, you also want them to be clear on the value of the property that is providing that reaction. Home staging is an exercise in property appreciation. After living in a house for years, it is easy to take the property for granted; homeowners notoriously procrastinate in regards to repairs. After all of the tasks you have performed to bring you to this point, it is quite possible that your perspective of your house has changed dramatically.
Now with these efforts behind you, your confidence level in the value of your property should be higher than when you started. In fact, there are some homeowners who have their property reappraised after completing the steps outlined in the previous sections; many times finding a significant increase in the market value from the appraiser's point of reference.
But whether you have your property re-appraised or not, the point here is that now you can feel secure in your purchase price. From the home buyer's perspective, the amount of confidence you express when it comes time to discuss price will be invaluable in determining how far they think they can take the haggling ritual that is inherent in most transactions.
You must continue to reinforce a buyer’s mind-set throughout this process if you want to come to a successful conclusion of your property sale. While both the homebuyer and you both may know that the property is worth the purchase price, be prepared for the buyer to use tactics designed to persuade you to lower your price. Review the previous section that discusses how to incorporate a "negotiation cushion" in your purchase price, so that you can enjoy the haggling process and give the buyer the opportunity to feel that they have saved some money on the deal.
Unlike Cinderella, your house will not magically transform itself into an object of desire for home buyers just because it has a well-manicured lawn, Fido, the dog is nowhere on the premises, and the house is full of the fresh scent of new paint. You want to give your prospective homebuyers spaciousness and beauty. The spaciousness is important, the more space they feel they are getting in the property, the more value they feel they are receiving for their money; this is the rational part of the argument. The beauty component is important because you want the prospective homebuyer to identify and connect with the property; they should be able to see how the property fits their lifestyle as well as how much happiness they will experience by living in the house. Starting with the rational part of the response, you need to address the finer points of the functions of each room in the house and how it functions as a unit.
USING SPACE AND THE SENSESroom, formal dining room and eat-in kitchen, each room furnishings to display the functionality or purpose of the room. Using the example of a colonial style house with two bedrooms, one bathroom, living should contain the basic
LIVING ROOM
The main room for social interactions, you can arrange entertainment unit in the living room. Accent the room with a tasteful art print, subdued lighting and attractive window coverings. Position the furniture from a point where the room can be viewed from as many angles as possible without interfering with the flow of traffic.
a compact love seat and
Set the scene for a delicious dinner for two in your dining room. Prepare two table settings with linen and just enough tableware to make the point. Accent the table with a scented candle and a bud vase with a silk rose flower. Sheer panels for the window and a bowl of potpourri in the same scent as the candle will add elegance to the setting.
BEDROOMSA well dress bed with a nightstand, lamp and a few books easily conveys the feeling of privacy and relaxation that people seek in their bedrooms whether they live alone or with a companion. Adding a small dresser with a bowl of potpourri or vase of silk flowers along with subdued lighting completes the scene of comfort and security.
BATHROOMSmall, scented votive candles, a bowl of guest soaps and hand towels should greet your homebuyers’ inspection of the bathroom. A brand new shower curtain with liner and bath mat are all that is required to communicate how this room supports good hygiene.
KITCHENTwo chairs placed beside a small bistro style table prepared for a friendly coffee break will immediately make your prospective home buyer see the value of the house; they have two places where they can entertain, enjoy good food and drink. If you let the aroma of vanilla and cinnamon that comes from cookies baking be the fragrance for all the scented candles and potpourri throughout your house, by the time the house tour is completed, you may see the home buyer with their checkbook in their hands.
Once you have completed these steps you will be ready to present your house for consideration by the homebuyers. In the next section you will place the advertising listing that will attract them to purchase your house for sale by owner.