Summer Home Sales: Keeping it Cool
It's summer and it's hot, no two ways about it. South Texas is just plain hot in the summer. but keeping your home cool can be a selling factor. No one wants to move into a house that is too warm or too cool, so keeping your home at the perfect temperature when it is being shown can help your home sell!
Keeping your home cool, doesn't just involve the HVAC unit. Factors besides temperature can warm your home up when you just want to be "cool"; i.e humidity and light. In our area where the sun shines a lot, shady areas can provide an oasis and can help the inside stay cool. You can even give the impression in your home of a cooler atmosphere by the colors you have chosen to decorate the home.
Selling in the summer, keeping your home cool and comfortable is important to you as well as the future owners. So help that future owner remember your home by using some of the following ideas to keep your home "the cool place".
Air Conditioning
Air conditioning is the number one choice in our area. Since electricity bills can be high, a well-functioning air conditioning system that is both efficient and suited to the home is very important.
Central air conditioning is probably the easiest to keep an entire home cool. If you have central air conditioning, keep the home at a reasonable temperature for your showings, and if it is new, has been especially well maintained, or if you have a service contract on it, advertise that fact.
Window Models are great for cooling a single room and can be installed in multiple rooms. If you have one of these types of units, have them on to keep the home at a comfortable temperature and demonstrate their effectiveness. If a unit isn't working well, be sure and have it repaired.
Ceiling Fans
Ceiling fans can be an decorative asset to the home as well as a cooling factor. They can create a breeze in the home and can move heated air down to warm the home in the winter. Another great place for a ceiling fan is on your covered porch to help add comfort to your outdoor entertainment areas. They are cost effective to circulate the air in your home.
Blinds, Shutters, Drapery
Another decorative asset to your home can be blinds, shutters and draperies. Make sure they are in good shape and look nice. The best part though is their ability to block the sun and heating up inside of the home. You have control on the amount of sunshine allowed inside.
Keeping blinds and drapery closed on the sunny side of the home during the midday heat can reduce temperatures throughout the home, but go ahead an open them up before a showing.
Colors, Fabrics, and Art
You may not realize that you can make you home seem warmer or cooler by your choice of decor. Staying to the lighter colors such as blues and greens will make the home seem cooler. Colors such as yellows, oranges and reds will give the feeling of warmth.
Ways to help you home seem cooler during the summer sale can be as easy as stowing away the heavier bedding and removing any decorative items that remind you of fall and summer. Consider lightening your palette by bringing in cotton or linen. Add plants and art that give the feel of summer.
Swimming Pools
Now is the time to showcase that pool or outdoor spa. Make sure it is in working condition and add seating that will invite people to stay awhile. Add towels by the pool or the cabana area. If the pool has a waterfall be sure and turn it on before the showing. The sound of water adds to the cooling effect.
Outdoor Rooms: Porches, Decks, Lanais
Texans love the outdoors and having a great outdoor entertainment area is a plus. Porches, decks, lanais and patios can extend the living area of your home. Adding seating, shade options and placement of things like grills and plants will enhance the outdoor areas. Umbrellas or a retractable awning can provide cooling shade. Leaving an ice pitcher of tea with glasses on the outdoor table will invite the buyer to maybe sit for a
minute and enjoy.
Views and Other Water Features
Just like color, fabrics, and indoor art can make your home seem cooler, water features can do the same thing on the outside. Water features may be as small as an indoor fountain or as large as a pond or stream running through the yard. The sight and sound of water has a cooling and calming psychological effect, inviting people to relax and stay. In hot weather, the evaporation of water combined with a slight breeze is similar to the evaporation cooling systems.
A winning combination for your home during the summer is decluttered, updated and temperature controlled will make your home the "cool" one and help you promote a summertime sale.
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