At the end of 2014 one of my good friends asked me what she should do to get her house ready to list for sale. Normally I don't like to do business with friends for a multitude of reasons but there are certain people you know it will be a breeze. I walked through her house (as if I had never been there) and gave her 5 or 6 suggestions that would facilitate a quick sale like I would with any client.
In 2015 she had me back, showed me the changes she had made and asked me to list her house. They were looking to leave the state - I cautioned her as we are in a buyer's market and the average DOM (days on market) is a little higher than if we were in a seller's market etc...
Her house was the quickest house I sold ALL YEAR. As I sold house after house all year...right through December...her home remained way out in front for positive feedback and quickest sale.
The reason why? She asked me what to do and took the advice to heart...I told her there were 3 MUSTS:
DE-CLUTTERING - Anything they were not using on a weekly basis they needed to start packing away. This included seasonal clothes, nick knacks, dishes, anything on counter tops and so on.
DE-PERSONALIZING - All personal pictures had to go. Any abundance of personal pictures should start to be packed away. Sports memorabilia, hunting items, any overcrowding of personal items needed to be cleaned up.
DEEP CLEANING - Everything should appear as clean as possible even if it means touching up paint or painting something over.
What does this do? When a buyer walks into your home they find the home appealing if it is clean. They see room for their things if it looks spacious. They can visualize themselves living there if there is a little "room" for their imagination to insert themselves into each room.
So when I offered to help my friend, I helped her right out the door and down to Florida in what seemed like a few days. Remember when you hire a Realtor, you are hiring them for their knowledge and experience - listening to them can get you to YOUR next dream home!
