In the annual holiday special, Charlie Brown asks Lucy what she wants for Christmas
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I am so excited, WCCO AM radio just called and invited me to be on with Charlie Boone tomorrow morning at 7:40am. I was on before and I guess Charlie really enjoyed our conversation. I think we’re going to talk about my children’s book, Spirit of the Snowpeople, but I didn’t ask. I’d love to have you listening but if you’re not up for it, please send good vibes in my direction. Last week the VP of Burnet Realty invited me to come along on their office’s Property Evaluation tour to give my opinion why some of their old listings weren’t selling. Hello, Coldwell Banker Burnet in Burnsville. What a great morning with a wonderful group of realtors! I want to comment on a problem I saw that morning and see so often at home consultations—neutral colors that clash with other neutral colors. Many people think that neutral colors are all the same. And because they’re neutral, they go with every other neutral color because they’re well—neutral. Not so. Most of the time, red-based neutrals—those in the beige—taupe family just plain look like crap with the yellow-toned neutral colors in the cream—tan family. Where I see this most often is in the clash between walls and carpet. You can avoid this by matching your walls to your carpet—not vice versa. Snip a few carpet fibers and attach them to a piece of tape and bring them to your paint or home improvement store, they will help you find the right neutral paint color for you. Avoid these common slip ups to sell your home fast and for top dollar. http://bit.ly/3ooBnz Tom Keyes Mini Staging Lesson Three One of the puzzling things about preparing a home for the market is deciding what to do first. But it’s actually very simple. Start where buyers start, at the curb. The longer you can keep buyers engaged in your house before they encounter problems the more likely they will be to buy it. If buyers like what they see when they pull up to the curb they’ll be more interested in seeing the interior of your home. Likewise, if they like the first rooms they enter, they’ll be eager to view the rest of your home. However if you lose them at the start of the showing it’s very difficult to get them back. A weedy front yard, trim that needs painting, or torn screens will immediately reduce your chance of a sale by curbing buyers’ enthusiasm to see the interior. You want your dingy, living room walls that buyers see as soon as they enter your home, are much more of a problem than a spare room that needs painting and a kitchen that’s caught in a 50’s time warp is more important than the paneling lining the basement stairs. In other words, prioritize your projects according to what your perspective buyers will see first. My advice—start by making the changes that are quickly and easily done, that way your sense of accomplishment will carry you through the more difficult tasks that remain. Then, starting with the front yard, work your way through your house doing the 3rs in the order you think the house will be shown. That way if you have showings at any point before you’ve finished your preparations, you’ll show potential buyers the best your home has to offer. The time, money, and effort you spend making a good first impression will increase your chances for sale. Diane Keyes Lesson Two Staging works in ways that may not be readily apparent to the home seller. Besides the obvious reason of creating a more marketable property, staging helps owners detach from their home. When a homeowner begins rearranging furniture, packing things away, and removing their favorite artwork or personal possessions, their home begins to feel more like just a house—a saleable commodity. The entire moving process feels more real, more imminent. They begin to look to the future instead of holding on to the past. In addition, when a home no longer reflects the owner’s personality as strongly, the house feels more available to potential buyers. Just as the sellers look to new beginnings, the house reflects the new owners’ future instead of the current owners’ past. Realtors tell me that owner energy is often so strong they can tell if a home is available to their client when they’re still outside! In addition to helping owners detach and creating more saleable properties, staging also helps to level the playing field. You may have a superior location, and better schools, Diane Keyes Mini Staging Lesson One You’re thinking about moving. You’ve watched the news, you’ve read the papers, you know the real estate market is tough. You’re wondering what you need to do to get your home ready to sell. The current generation of home buyers is fussy. With work, family, and the frantic pace of daily life, these folks aren’t interested in building sweat equity or getting a better price because a house needs work. They’ve grown up with the instant gratification of TV, the Internet, and fast food. They expect more and they don’t want to wait for it. Buyers want to move in and get back to business. I’d like to be able to give you better news, but I can’t help you sell your home if I don’t tell you the truth. Today’s buyers want their homes “in turnkey condition” as it’s now called by the real estate industry. What does that mean to the home seller? It means if you’re considering putting your home on the market “as is” you can expect a long listing time, a lower sale price and it may mean no offers at all. So if you’re serious about selling your home, if it’s dirty—clean it, if it’s broken—fix it, and if it’s dated (even if it’s in good condition) get rid of it. I call this approach the 3rs of home selling—remove, repair, and restore. And if there is a larger improvement you’ve been wondering if you should do—do it. Most homeowners know intuitively what needs to be done, they just talk themselves out of it by saying it’s too expensive, too much work, or takes too much time. From years of experience, I can tell you if you’re thinking something may be a problem, chances are potential buyers will think so too. For example, you may be wondering if you should replace your carpeting. It could be worn, stained, or it might even be in good condition but several years old. You’re thinking it would be less work for you and more fun for the new owners if you offered a carpeting allowance and let the new owners replace it themselves. That is perfectly reasonable but, although I agree with you, that approach no longer works with today’s home buyers. If you want to sell your home today, you need to market to today’s buyers and they expect their homes to be turnkey ready. Do yourself a favor. Put in new inexpensive, neutral colored carpet, or it’s very likely your home will linger on the market much longer costing you even more in time, effort and money. Diane Keyes Great article from This Old House Magazine on increasing the value of your home. Well worth the read if you’re thinking of selling in the near future. 15 Home Solutions You Can Trust Tom Keyes The home is a pigsty and potential buyers are arriving within the hour. Here’s what home owners can do to turn chaos into order, says Julie Edelman, author of The Accidental Housewife: Your Guide to a Clean-Enough House. Tom Keyes If you are selling a home a first time home buyer is likely to purchase this quote is important: NAR (National Association of Realtors) estimates that about 1.8 to 2.0 million first-time buyers will take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit this year, with approximately 350,000 additional sales that would not have taken place without the credit. Buyers have little time to act because they must complete the transaction by November 30, 2009 to qualify for the credit. Unless extended, contracts signed but not completed by that date will not be eligible- it is taking approximately two months to complete home sales in the current market. Read more: http://tinyurl.com/nsf2bc The homes that are well prepared and priced properly are the ones that will sell. Get your home ready. Tom Keyes |
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