home seller tips

Home Seller Tips – How To Pack Up and Sell At The Same Time

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Whatever the reason, you need to pack up and get your home sold. Well, since you also need to get your home into saleable shape, kill two birds with one stone and declutter while packing up.

Start as early as you can so that maybe have a yard sale and also to give yourself enough time to get everything done. Even if you have to rent a storage unit or pod for the short term, do it. Your decluttered home and packed up stuff finished will take a lot of stress from your eventual move.

Start with your furniture. Make sure that rooms are easily moved through, that each room has good flow. Store the extra away. If you are moving immediately and need all your furniture, get a few things for each room on the cheap so it looks lived it.

Next, go room by room and clean out closets. Obviously, out of season things can be packed up and removed immediately. Whatever you need to leave make sure it is neat and sparse so the closets look bigger. If you have bookshelves, parse them down as well. You can leave some personal photos, but parse them down as well. Buyers need to imagine pictures of their own family on the walls, tables and shelves.

Then in the kitchen and bath pack away just about everything on counter tops, leaving only what you need, toaster or microwave, coffee maker in the kitchen, soap dispenser in the bath. Clean out the junk drawer!!! Yes, people go through cabinets, closets and drawers. Make them all look spacious. That means pack up all the extras.

Now that things are packed, yard saled out or given away, stash the boxes and stage the house. Clean towels for the bath, etc. Not sure what to do? Check out how homes are staged in the shows on HGTV. It doesn’t need to be expensive, but make your home look inviting, spacious and clean.

Tampa Bay Home Seller Tips – Make Your Home Worth More

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

You have a home in Tampa Bay and you want to sell it. Maybe you owe a lot on it, or you have another house in mind to buy and need a certain amount from the sale. So, of course, you want to know what is your home worth or what can you sell it for. That number depends on a few things like location, condition and staging, and here are some tips to get the most from your sale.

The first factor is location. Where is your home located? What are other homes in the area selling for? Are they similar to yours? Are homes taking a long time to sell? Are there jobs, high crime or other negatives? If the home is well kept, in a nice area with access to transportation, good schools and good jobs, it will sell for more money. If the home has acreage and similar homes are selling well, you’ll do better.

The next two factors are tied to each other. Your home’s condition and staging are also very important in determining price. If your home is well maintained and has been updated, it will sell for a higher price. Buyers don’t want to have to move in and immediately improve. So make major repairs, repaint in a neutral color scheme. It makes it easier for the buyer to see it as their home, not yours. Then clean it and stage it. Move everything and clean behind and under appliances and furniture. Declutter and depersonalize it. Remove excess furniture and make rooms look spacious. Make sure each room has adequate lighting.

The best thing you can do is rely on your Realtor to tell you what needs to be done, and what your home is realistically worth. She knows value and how to improve it. Listen, fix, clean and stage and then take your check to the bank!

Want an honest opinion of what you need to do to get your Tampa Bay home “show ready”? Give Deb a call today!

727-410-0336

3 Ways To Get Ready For Your Showing! – Home Seller Tips

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

It’s finally time to get your home shown! Do you know what you should be doing before you leave to let the Realtor show it? Here are some great ideas on how to make your home show perfect.

Spotlessly Clean

First, make sure it’s spotless. Run the vacuum and dust through the whole house to pick up any dust, dirt or pet hair. No dust bunnies allowed!

If possible, change the filter in your vacuum to one that uses a room air freshener to freshen up the smell of your home. Make sure that you also clean through the kitchen and bathrooms. No spots on the mirror. Put away tooth brushes, toothpaste, floss, brushes and combs. Put away any clutter and wipe down counters. If you find anything broken, fix it.

Throw In Some Cookies!

Actually, before cleaning, throw some cookies in the oven to bake. The smell of fresh baked cookies is so homey and inviting. Since it would make a mess to whip up a batch from scratch, keep a package of “break and bake” packs of cookie dough to be able to quickly back up a batch. You could also make a batch of dough and then pull it out of the fridge when you want to bake a batch before a showing. While they bake do your quick (but thorough) clean through. Take the cookies out, put them on a plate, quickly wash the pan and put it away.

Let In The Light!

After cleaning, open all the curtains and turn on the lights in each room. All that light will make your rooms appear clean, bright and larger. A day showing will let prospective buyers see how much light streams into your home. An evening show will show how well lit your rooms can be. Light is your friend!

So set up your home for success.

How to Market Your Beachfront Property

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

If you have beachfront property you’d probably think it would be a breeze to sell. Not necessarily so. As with any other home, selling takes marketing and pointing out the positives of your home.

When people think of a beach house they think of adjectives like relaxing, peaceful, natural, fun, and millions more. So when you are marketing your beachfront property you need to convey that feeling to those who will be interested. Take tons of pictures of your home and the surrounding property.

Show the amazing views. Set up your deck or porch with chairs draped with beach towels, a drink and book. Show the living areas of the home, bedrooms and baths, making them look relaxed and carefree. Show the scenery: the beach on a beautiful summer day; at sunset; make sure people can see that your property is steps from the beckoning sea.

Next write descriptions of the home. Use descriptive words to convey the beauty of the area, the soothing sounds of the sea when falling asleep, how amazing it is to wake to a fun beach day every single day. Check out ads for other beachfront properties to see what catches your attention. Use the best ones you find as an example.

Don’t forget that beachfront properties are part of beachfront communities. Talk about the amenities in the community. What kinds of conveniences are close by; things like golf courses, boardwalks, cultural events and so forth.

If there are great places for water sports, point them out. Also tout schools, churches and shopping. Think about who will be looking for a property like yours, what kind of community they will be looking for and make it stand out.

Show off your beachfront property as the amazing place it is.

Home Seller Tips – Selling Your Assets

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Here are some home seller tips to help you with selling your assets, (your home is an asset). What is the best part of your home? That is the question you should be asking yourself as you start to get it ready to sell. Why? Because the answer will tell you which assets you need to be playing up. You aren’t selling your home, as much as you are selling your assets.

The first home seller tip is to have a Realtor come in and look at your home with you when you are getting ready to sell it. They will be able to give you ideas on what are great selling points and what needs to be spruced up. Have a list ready before they get there of your favorite spots in your home. Is it your deck? How about your pool? The amazing lanai? Where do you spend most of your leisure hours when at home? What would draw you to an area like that in another home? Your Realtor will probably agree with you and have great ideas on how to make these areas shine. Selling your assets like your home is a big deal so get all the help you can from a Realtor.

Most people know to look at the kitchens and baths. Yeah, we all have them and isn’t it great when they are up to date. But what about the great reading nook you have on your lanai? Or the amazing set up around your pool? And who could resist the outside kitchen on your deck? These are the assets you need to play up. These are the areas that will make people want to live in your home.

So, another home seller tip is stage them. Just like every other area of your home. Make sure your deck or lanai furniture is clean, new looking or replace it. If your grill has seen better days, replace it. Even if it’s all going with you, it’s the visual you need the buyer to see to want to be there every day. Fix screening outside. Make sure your pool is clean 100% of the time. If you have safety covers, make sure they are in working order and ON when people come to look. It will be a huge selling point with families.

You know what you love about your home, so make others love it too. Then get ready to pack and move!

The Deb Ward Team