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Boca Raton Home Staging- Tips for Snowbirds Selling Your Home.

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Home Stager

Boca Raton Home Staging- Tips for Snowbirds Selling Your Home

If your house is on the market and you plan to be away during Hurricane Season, here are some tips that won't derail your sale.  Boca Raton and so much of Florida has seasonal residents whom we call Snow Birds..... they migrate north usually around Memorial Day and return High Rise condosometime after Labor Day.   This also happens to occur during hurricane season which begins June1 and ends November 30th.  

If you're not selling your home, you would typically bring in all of your patio furniture as well as any items that could become airborne.  Then up go your hurricane shutters before you head north.   

However if you are selling your home in Boca Raton, you still want your house to be able to stand out... you want your potential buyers to be able to see your space.  You will want to leave your hurricane shutters off.  A shuttered home is a dark one....trust me.  

I spoke with Lu Cohen of Realty Associates  who said that many Condominium Associations will not allow residents to board up their homes when they leave so as not to send out a signal that "no one is home."  And if the home is shuttered, it is difficult to inspect walls and check for leaks should there be an inspection. ;  

Tips for Snowbirds Selling Your Home

1. Don't assume your Realtor will be available to check your house on a regular basis.  It's not that they don't want to but they have many other responsibilities besides one house.  There are services in our area, such as Signature Home Management Services, who offer home maintenance and repair and will care for your home when you are gone for the season.  Signature will check on your home once a week if it is on the market. 

 Shuttered House2.Make sure that your lawn and pool service are maintaining the exterior of your home.  If you have a cleaning service,  they still need to come out even though no one is living in the home, even if on a limited schedule, such as every  2 weeeks.   They can remove spider webs and dead bugs and ants that are there even if you aren't.  

3 Find a friend, relative or handyman who is available to get your house hurricane ready in the event of a storm.  It is best to do this prior to the actual issuance of a hurricane watch since this will probably not allow enough time to get someone out.  It will be worth the investment to be able to have someone take care of this rather than have your home boarded up all summer.  Ask your Realtor for advice.  They may know of contractors or handymen who can board up your house.  You can also ask the local retailer from whom you purchased the shutters for recommendations. 

4. If you have plants that will need watering and tending find someone to care for them or remove them.  Dead plants are not exactly a way to say "Buy me."  

Don't derail the sale  your home if you plan to be away for the summer.  Call your Realtor or Professional Home Stager for more Information. 

 


Posted by

Kathy Streib
Retired Home Stager
and Interior Redesign

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Comments(26)

Scott Godzyk
Godzyk Real Estate Services - Manchester, NH
One of the Manchester NH's area Leading Agents

Good Morning Kathy, those are some great tips that are unique to Florida. We have alot of snow birds who are selling their properties and coming back north. Most people would not even think of the consequences. Using a professional like you and having a listing agent who can guide them through the selling process sure would be a great help.

May 21, 2012 11:48 PM
Fred Carver Real Estate Consulant
Retired BC Realtor - Victoria, BC
Accredited Real Estate Consultant

Hi Kathy...Great Advice for Snow Birds leaving their homes during the Summer. You sure know a lot about Real Estate.. like preparing a home while you are away and how to pre pare it to Sell a home in Boca Raton. 

May 21, 2012 11:56 PM
John McCormack, CRS
Albuquerque Homes Realty - Albuquerque, NM
Honesty, Integrity, Results, Experienced. HIRE Me!

Greta advice for snowbirds Kathy!

May 22, 2012 12:11 AM
Janis Borgueta
Newburgh, NY
Retired RE Salesperson

Great tips Kathy.. I want to be a snowbird someday!! 

May 22, 2012 12:30 AM
Sharon Lee
Sharon Lee's Virtual Assistance - Jonesborough, TN
Retired and loving life

Kathy-These are excellent tips and ones many of us wouldn't think of unless we were in the hurricane areas.

May 22, 2012 01:01 AM
Michael Jacobs
Pasadena, CA
Pasadena And Southern California 818.516.4393

Kathy -- what a great(and smart) idea!  It makes sense to have professionals take care of the snowbirds before they migrate back to Boca Raton.

May 22, 2012 01:02 AM
Lou Ludwig
Ludwig & Associates - Boca Raton, FL
Designations Earned CRB, CRS, CIPS, GRI, SRES, TRC

Kathy

Your tips are right on point for snowbirds who are selling their homes.

Good luck and success.

Lou Ludwig

May 22, 2012 01:29 AM
Dianne Goode
Raleigh Cary Realty - Raleigh, NC
Realtor/Broker

THANK YOU for tip #1 -- Don't assume your listing agent is ready, willing, or able to assume management of your vacant listing while you're away.  I've found myself on a hot summer day hacking away at overgrown hedges that are not my own, and not happy about it.  Expectations need to be clear on both sides, when a seller leaves a property vacant.

May 22, 2012 01:34 AM
Debbie Reynolds, C21 Platinum Properties
Platinum Properties- (931)771-9070 - Clarksville, TN
The Dedicated Clarksville TN Realtor-(931)320-6730

Kathy, Very good advice on transfering the responsiblility of lawn, pool and routine monitoring to a friend or handyman. The agent's job is to market and find a buyer, not babysit the home.

May 22, 2012 01:35 AM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

BARFF- you should see some of the condos when they're boarded up.  

BarbaraT- well yes, but at least we have some warning!  Better that than tornadoes or earthquakes.

Sally & David- I can remember putting up shutters on our neighbor's house.. in the rain just before Hurricane Andrew. 

Al- yes, and if a buyer is looking and you have all of your hurricane shutters on as well as your patio furniture sitting in your family room... not a good showing.

Borino- yep... which is why I always have my umbrella in my car!!!

Joanna- We had a client who refused to keep her shutters off and brought everything that was outside and put it in her family room and some of the bedrooms.  It was so dark in the house, even with all of the lights on. 

Scott- there are individuals and companies who provide services to help with the maintenance of your home and it's definitely worth the investment.

Fred- thank you.  I've been through several hurricanes and have a lot of friends who are snow birds.  You can't wait until we come under a hurricane watch because then everyone is busy taking care of their own homes. 

John (QMan)- guess you don't have to worry about that in Albuquerque!

Janis- wouldn't that be nice!  You have great weather all year.

Sharon- you learn quickly if you move here.

Michael- once they fly the coop the poor Realtors are often left to take care of things.  

Lou- thank you!  You flying away for the summer?

Dianne- you're welcome... I've heard from my Realtor/friends who get calls at the last minute to go take care of this or that.  One of my friends was trying to clean the pool before a showing.  It's hot, muggy and humid during the summer so you can imagine what that was like. 

Debbie- absolutely!  But so often the Realtors get the calls.  During a hurricane they're trying to take care of their own homes!

May 22, 2012 02:12 AM
Debb Janes
Nature As Neighbors - Camas, WA
Put My Love of Nature At Work for You

Hi Kathy, I once got roped into keeping an eye on one of my listings when the client moved - oh my goodness. It turned into 3 months of constant trips. The wife was super neurotic and had me driving to check something out nearly three times a week, I even had to refill their back yard water feature several times in  hot weather...never again. I offer great customer service, but you're right, we have so many other responsibilities. The "Home Management" idea offers such a great alternative.

May 22, 2012 02:24 AM
Suzanne McLaughlin
Sabinske & Associates, Inc. (Albertville, St. Michael) - Saint Michael, MN
Sabinske & Associates, Realtor

I would think that finding someone to get your house hurricane-ready might prove difficult.  Yes, no?

May 22, 2012 02:32 AM
Sharon Tara
Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH
Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

It's stressful enough being "on the market".  I hadn't thought of sellers who have left the area during hurricane season. Great tips!

May 22, 2012 03:14 AM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Debb- I know.. I've heard stories from my Realtors.  One wanted her Realtor to wait at her condo until Goodwill came to pick up her furniture she was donating. That can be a 4 hour wait.

Suzanne- it can be.  Some people have the ones that just roll down with the push of a button, but most of us have the metal ones that are marked for each window and have to be bolted on.  And if you have a multi level home that really gets difficult.  Newer homes have the hurricane impact windows.  If you are going to be gone then it's best to line up someone before you leave.  

Sharon- Thanks... I've had friends who've had to drive from here to the Keys to board up their weekend home. 

May 22, 2012 04:13 AM
Joni Bailey
101 Main St. Realty - Huntsville, TX
Your Huntsville / Lake Livingston Area REALTOR®
If I were an agent in Florida, or where it snowed, I would reblog this for my clients! You give great advice!!
May 22, 2012 07:28 AM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Joni - it's not something many think of.  When your house is on the market your mind is going in so many directions that it's too easy to forget about hurricanes and show storms. 

May 22, 2012 09:40 AM
Irene Durocher
Coldwell Banker BUYERS AGENT - Boca Raton, FL
homesweethome4u@att.net

Thanks Kathy for the "snowbird " advice. However I do not expect to be putting my social security

number on my arm this season.

 In a " Hurricane designated area" the local code inforcment will come and scare you by telling you to put

your social security number on your arm for identification if you don't leave.

 

I understand that they expect fewer hurricanes this year. I am also watching the turtle nests on the beach.

They are nesting close to the water's edge here in Boca Raton.

The animal instincts are usually correct. The hurricane years they nested higher on the beach and

the seagulls left early also.

May 22, 2012 10:17 AM
Wendy Tomm
Beyond the Walls - East St Paul, MB
CCSP, RESA-PRO, BBB - Wpg Realtors
Great post and so relevant for all those snowbirds, great advice thanks for sharing.
May 22, 2012 11:09 AM
Kwee Huset
Kwee Huset Realty - Venice, FL
Venice Florida Homes For Sale

Kathy, great information for snowbird sellers. There are quite a number of agents are snowbirds too.

May 22, 2012 11:11 PM
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

Very good advice for home owners.

I hope you are having a very productive week.

May 23, 2012 08:21 AM