Advice For Home Sellers: Tips for Selling Your House During the Winter Months!

Tips for Selling Your House During the Winter Months

The worst possible time of year to try to sell a house has to be between Thanksgiving and Christmas - BUT that doesn't mean you have to be discouraged!  While it's true, there are fewer house hunters this time of year, those who are looking at houses during the holiday season are usually QUITE serious.  I'd take a SERIOUS buyer over a "lookyloo" any day!

Here are a few tips for winning over your prospects when selling a home during the winter months:

1. Holiday decorations can be a huge distraction to buyers and they can also make a home feel overly cluttered.  Resist the temptation to transform your house into the usual Christmas wonderland.  (Sorry, no one will find it as charming or appreciate it as much as you do.)  Your goal is to highlight the house NOT your stuff.  Keep decorations to an absolute minimum and use white lights only at Christmas.

2.  Remove snow and ice from the driveway and all walkways, and keep them neatly shoveled and sanded.    Perhaps this seems too obvious to mention - but EVERY winter we come across homes where this is not done!  If buyers can't safely enter your house, you've lost the sale.  AND if someone slips on ice and gets hurt - you could have a law suit on your hands.  If your home is vacant, arrange to have this important job done by someone else.

3.  Be sure to also remove snow and ice from patios and decks.  These are important selling features that you don't want overlooked simply because they’re typically not used in the winter. 

4.  It's hard to showcase your home in its best light during the winter months.  Do you have a pool?  Hot tub?  A garden?  Display an attractive a photo album with pictures of how beautiful the flowers look in your yard look in the spring; the clean and refreshing water in the pool during the summer; the vibrant colors of the trees in the fall.  (Be sure to keep the photos of the scenery and not your family.)

5.  Add potted evergreens to front porches/entrances for added color, warmth and life.   

6.  Keep thermostat at a comfortable setting.  Light a cozy fire in the fireplace (if you have one) whenever possible.

7.  Is cutting back on your usual holiday decorating too much of a sacrifice for you to make?  Has your home been on the market for several months without any bites?  You might want to consider taking it off the market for the  month of December - especially if you don't want the stress of showings while you're trying to enjoy the holidays with your family. 

You can always re-list in January.  It's a lot easier for your agent to create excitement for a "NEW" listing (with a new price that reflects the currrent market conditions)than it is an old, tired, over-priced and shop-worn one.

If you liked these suggestions you'll find A LOT more just like them in the Ready2Sellin30Days, the do-it-yourself guide to preparing homes for sale.   Ready2Sellin30Days provides all the information and inspiration you need to get your house ready to sell in the quickest most economical way possible!  Visit www.Ready2Sellin30Days.com to learn more.

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Karen Bernetti, Realtor®, Professional Home Stager, Author, Speaker and Owner of The Home Team Advantage, in Southington, Connecticut, offering Real Estate Staging, Home Improvements and Property Management Services.  860-621-6964

Resident Stager at North Star Real Estate, in Southington Connecticut, where every listing comes with a complimentary home staging consultation.  860-302-0333.

Co-creator of Ready2Sellin30Days® an innovative, interactive, multi-media educational program designed to teach do-it-yourself homeowners EVERYTHING they need to know about preparing a home for sale during tough economic times!