Four tips for sellers who have their homes on the market in Winter.

Good tips.  Hope you have a great 2009!

Good points.  Thanks for the reminders!  Happy 2009 to you!

Gita - Yes these are points to keep in mind.  Shoveling to provide access is very important.  If you are going to show off the fireplace make sure it is in good working condition.  When last was it cleaned?  Sadly there are too many fires this time of year.

Gita, making the little changes for the wintertime can make all the difference.

Hi Gita~ Another to think of : If it is Vacant, make sure you ( the listing agent) physically go inside regularly and check for leaks from the plumbing and check the ceilings too and monitor for problems as a courtesy to your sellers.  Prevention and catching issues early is a must!  Morethings happen to vacant homes then you could ever believe.....a good and astute agent can catch these things and save sellers lots of money in the long run....  I just may do a blog about this......

Good points....I recently sat an open house  and had to trudge knee-deep through the snow to get to the lockbox! So remind sellers to maintain those back door steps that are not often used in winter.

Really good reminders Gita!  The most motivated sellers I have ever seen actually had hot chocolate and cookies waiting for us in the kitchen!  What a nice touch and it made the home smell really nice too!

Gita, That is such excellent advice.  I pass open houses at times and see people come out freezing--they can't enjoy seeing a home that way.  Maybe they could use auto timers for lights and heat...and get someone to shovel.

This might be market specific, more for areas who don't see much snow, but spread Rye grass so you can have a green yard in the winter, and that's more inviting than a brown yard.

This is great advice for people listing their homes in the winter.  I would love to walk into a nice warm house with a welcoming fire in the fireplace if I were out looking at homes in the winter.