You’re Selling Your House, Not Your Home….

When you decide it’s time to put your house on the market it’s important to remember that that is exactly what you’re doing, putting your “house” up for sale, not your home.  What’s the difference?  Think back to when you bought this house, it wasn’t your home, it wasn’t filled with your personal things, you hadn’t created any lasting memories it was just a house with potential.

Whether you’ve lived in your home for 6 months or 20 years you’ve made changes and added things that have made it your home.  Now you’ve decided that it’s someone else’s turn to make this house their home, so let’s make it easy for them to visualize the potential of this house as their home.

The most important things to remember when getting your home ready to sell is that you have to repair, de-clutter and de-personalize.  All those wonderful knick-knacks and family photos that you treasure are going to have to be packed-up when you move anyway, so why wait – pack them now.

The most important part of getting your home ready to sell is the repairs.  All those little things that have happened over time that you were able to live with now have to be fixed.  I cannot stress enough how important this is.  It’s quite easy to recognize that major repairs must be addressed or your time on the market and selling price are going to be negatively impacted.  But “the devil is in the details”, minor repairs that aren’t addressed before your home goes on the market will effect is salability in ways that you may never know.  Minor repairs can become a big deal when it comes time to negotiate the selling price not to mention the impression purchasers will get about you and your home should everything not be in proper working order.  A dripping tap might tell a potential buyer that if that’s been neglected what else haven’t they fixed, is there water damage behind the walls?

Don’t give a prospective purchaser the opportunity to make mountains out of mole hills, fix everything and make your house the one they can see themselves moving into today.

For more information about effective staging techniques fill out the form below and I will send you a comprehensive list of what you need to do to make your home the house that purchasers want to buy.

Download my Staging Booklet for a step-by-step guide on how to get your house ready for sale.

HomeGain 2009 Top 12 Home Improvements Survey Results

HomeGain recently conducted a new survey of top 12 low cost*, do-it-yourself (DIY) home improvements for people getting their home ready to sell.  Nearly 1,000 REALTORS® responded to the survey.

The top five nationwide home improvements that Realtors recommend to home sellers, based on average cost and return on investment (ROI) to sellers, are:

   1. Cleaning and de-cluttering ($200 cost / $1,700 price increase / 872% ROI / 98% recommended)
   2. Home staging ($300 cost / $1,780 price increase / 586% ROI / 82% recommended)
   3. Lightening and brightening ($230 cost / $1,300 price increase / 572% ROI / 95% recommended)
   4. Landscaping ($320 cost / $1,500 price increase / 473% ROI / 94% recommended)
   5. Repair Plumbing ($385 cost / $1,250 price increase / 327% ROI / 88% recommended)

Costs are averages are rounded up.

For ranges of values, see chart 1 below. For actual price increase, see chart 2 below.

Cleaning and de-cluttering continues to rank as the top suggested home improvement (since the survey was originally conducted in 2003). This low cost home improvement is recommended by 98% of Realtors and costs less than $200 but has a returning value of nearly $1,700 to the home’s sale price, or an 872% return (ROI).

“Inexpensive cosmetic home improvements and basic improvements greatly enhance the value of the home,” stated Carol Wilson of Carpenter Real Estate in Indianapolis, IN (AgentEvaluator member since 1999).

In 2007 survey results, Lightening and Brightening had the second highest ROI followed by Home Staging. Two years later, Home Staging overtakes Lightening and Brightening.

“Many Realtors agree, especially in a buyer’s market, that sellers who make these recommended home improvements often get their homes sold faster and at  higher prices,” stated Louis Cammarosano, General Manager at HomeGain. “We have customized our Home Sale Maximizer online home improvement tool to help identify and prioritize the projects that can increase the salability and selling price of your home.”

Rounding out the top 12 DIY home improvements are:

    * 6. Update  electrical ($400 cost / $1225 price increase / 310% ROI / 89% recommended)
    * 7. Replacing or  shampooing carpets ($300 cost / $1420 price increase / 586% ROI / 82% recommended)
    * 8. Painting interior walls ($700 cost / $1770 price increase / 250% ROI / 94% recommended)
    * 9. Repair damaged floors ($650 cost /$1600 price increase / 250% ROI / 91% recommended)
    * 10. Update kitchen ($1200 cost / $2850 price increase / 237% ROI / 69% recommended)
    * 11. Paint outside of home ($900 cost / $1815 price increase / 200% ROI / 81% recommended)
    * 12. Update bathroom/s ($830 cost / $1430 price increase / 172% ROI / 70% recommended)
In comparison to the 2007 survey results, the top five home improvements were the same, except that Lighten and Brighten and Stage home for sale were flipped for second and third top home projects.

The home improvements with the highest price increases to a home’s resale value is Updating the Kitchen ($2,850 price increase), followed by Painting the Outside of the Home ($1,815 price increase) and Home Staging ($1,780 price increase).

Home Staging is the second most valuable home improvement project to a seller when it comes to selling a home by ROI and third most valuable by price increase, according to surveyed Realtors.

Source:http://blog.homegain.com/

Disclaimer:

HomeGain received survey responses from nearly 1,000 real estate agents in each of the U.S. regions. All agents might not necessarily agree on the same pre-sale strategy. See “% of agents recommending” column above. Differences of opinions may vary based on the climate of the market, region of the country or condition of the home in question. The percentage of agents that agree on the positive impact of a particular pre-sale activity is summarized here.