Selling Your Home When You Have a Pet
(as Featured in the Waltham Patch by HANS BRINGS as its Official RE Expert Blogger)
Selling your home when you own a pet can present some unique challenges. For instance, prospective buyers may be allergic to pets, could be intimidated by them (especially large barking dogs), or they simply might not like pets in general. In order to avoid running into any of these issues and possibly turning off a potential buyer, the following pointers will help pet owners sell their home.
1.) Relocate your Pet - Most pet lovers might not want to hear this, but the best solution when putting your home on the market is to relocate your pet during showings and open houses. Putting them in the backyard, basement or garage is not fair to them and may still turn off some potential buyers.
2.) Professionally clean carpets and remove all stains. If stains remain then the carpet should be replaced, without question. Be sure to vacuum at least once per day, as close to the showing or open house as possible).
3.) Minimize offensiveness by keeping cat litter boxes extremely clean and out of site. In addition, make sure to clean up the backyard. Remove food and water dishes, pet toys, cages, and beds.
4.) Invest in a good air purifier that will help eliminate pet odor and dander.
5.) Even if your only pet are fish, make sure to scrub the tank and make it sparkle. You don't want prospective homeowners hung up on a dirty fish tank when they should be looking at your beautiful moldings!
Keep in mind these handy tips to ensure that your home has the greatest appeal to the largest pool of buyers by ensuring that your pet does not create a barrier to getting your home sold!
New Year, New Perspective
(as Featured in the Waltham Patch by HANS BRINGS as its Official RE Expert Blogger)
With the New Year upon us, opportunities abound for us to look at our surroundings differently and with a fresh perspective. This is especially true when it comes to putting your home on the market. Here are some examples of ways to utilize a different mindset when approaching this often stressful and sometimes tricky process:
#1 - Take a look at your decore. A good place to start is with that collection of figurines/beanie babies/personal photos, etc, that you have lovingly displayed in the living room. It's probably time to start packing it up. Potential buyers can get distracted by too many personal belongings. You want buyers to envision their belongings in your home, not get distracted and waste time during a showing by giving commentary on your stuff! Take a look around the house and try to depersonalize as much as possible.
#2 - Freshen up paint colors. While it's true that mauve was a very fashionable color in the 80's, it's just not the case anymore. In order to make your home appealing to a vast buyer pool, it's important to neutralize any outdated or loud paint colors.
#3 - Enhance architectural details. That pocket door that doesn't slide very well needs to be oiled. The molding with some paint cracks needs to be sanded and painted. Go around with a fine tooth comb and be sure to address all of the little imperfections that you've learned to live with over the years. Every house has them, but without attention, they can be a turn off to a potential buyer.
#4 - Think back to when you first bought the house. Why did you buy it? Was it the great neighborhood? Was it the swimming pool in the back yard? Now, ask yourself what you've come to love about the home over the years. Be sure to write those things down and provide them to your real estate agent. Your perspective both when you bought the home and now, are valuable tools that your agent can incorporate into the marketing material they will use to showcase your home.
#5 - Start thinking about your next home. It's much easier to approach a home sale when you're focused on your move and your next destination. By depersonalizing the transaction, and focusing on the future, you'll be in a better position to negotiate with buyers and navigate the selling process. By detaching emotionally, you'll be able to ensure that the process goes more smoothly and takes less of a toll on you and your family.
By remembering these tips, you'll be able to approach a home sale in the new year from a renewed vantage point! Remember that the details and special attributes of your home that you may take for granted after living in it for so long can sometimes be the best selling points. Good Luck!
How to Sell Your Home this Winter
(as Featured in the Waltham Patch by HANS BRINGS as its Official RE Expert Blogger)
It's hard to believe that the holidays are upon us and 2012 will soon be here. This can be an extremely busy time for most people, and particularly for those juggling family life and holiday celebrations with the added element of selling a home. Thinking of taking your home off the market until spring? You may want to reconsider if you are serious about making that sale.
Winter is actually a very successful selling season. Buyers who do take a break from a home search over the holidays tend to return to house hunting with the start of the New Year, creating a significant increase in demand at the beginning of January. Many corporate buyers are also looking to relocate during the winter months, because employers tend to make changes at the end of the year.
With many sellers taking their homes off the market during the holidays and planning to re-list in the spring, there is less competition during the winter and though there may be fewer buyers, they tend to be more serious. If you’re willing to keep your home on the market, you may be surprised at the number of inquiries you receive.
In order to increase your chances of selling during the next couple of months, keep the following tips in mind:
1) Update online photos of your home. Most prospective buyers scour the Internet before they start scheduling showings. It’s important that your online photos reflect the current season. If your listing only includes summertime photos, buyers may sense that your home has been on the market a long time or that it’s overpriced and you’re having a hard time selling it. If you'd like to showcase the landscaping, provide some extra photos to your Realtor that show flowers in bloom and your picturesque yard. This will help prospective buyers see what their new home will look like in springtime! If it’s snowy when you list your home, try to post outdoor shots featuring freshly fallen snow before a few days worth of dirt accumulates.
2) Store your summer clothes and any other unneeded belongings at a remote location. Storing anything you aren’t currently using will make your home and closets seem larger, and give the appearance of extra space to potential buyers. Closets that have some open space are also sure to impress both types of home seekers.
3) Be meticulous about your landscape. Removing those last stray leaves can be tedious and time consuming, but it's necessary if you want to impress buyers. Winter may not be the most appealing time of year for landscaping, but you can spruce up your property by removing unappealing foliage and by keeping driveways, paths, and walkways cleaned up and free of snow.
4) Seasonal changes to decor help sell homes. Investing in bath towels, throw pillows, and other warm touches that give a sense of the season will show prospective buyers how nice their new home can look at this time of year. Clean or replace rugs and flooring that have taken a beating over the previous months. It is, after all, a new year. Ask your Realtor to provide shoe covers to buyers when showing your home. This will protect the floors and ensure they stay clean!
Don’t take your house off the market just because it’s winter. The season can actually prove to be an advantage when selling your home. Weathering a winter market may seem counterintuitive, but lower inventory and motivated buyers may just be your ticket to a home sale and a fresh start in the New Year.