Tips Tuesday: Staging your Kitchen to Sell

Okay, now that your bathroom is staged and ready to sell, it’s time to look at another critical room in the selling process:  the kitchen.

The kitchen may well be the heart of the home, but it’s also a prime place for mistakes and blunders that could hurt your chances of selling your house. Ready to take the next step towards getting your home from “for sale” to “sold”?  Let’s tackle kitchen staging!

1) Clean, clean, clean.  When it comes to selling your house, there is no such thing as overdoing it when it comes to cleaning. Here are some common areas we tend to overlook when it’s time to sell.  But buyers will notice all of these! Make sure you clean:

• The space behind the faucet set
• The fan above the stove (include the vent, fan blades, edges and casing.) Even if this area is unseen, greasy smells that linger inside can make buyers turn up their nose at your kitchen.
• The seals on your fridge and oven
• The edges of doors on the fridge, dishwasher and oven
• The area under the knobs on the stove
• Cabinet doors including edges, tops and the area around the knobs
• Cabinet and pantry shelves, including the sides and edges
• Backsplashes and wall areas that adjoin counters or appliances
• Drain rings and baskets
• Faucets and faucet handles, including spray heads and the hose that comes out to allow it to spray (yes, people do look!)
• Floor edges under the counters
• Door knobs (grabbing a sticky one is an instant buyer-turnoff!
• The area under the sink, including pipes and such
• Walls and ceilings

2) Take a whiff! After awhile, it’s hard to notice the smells in your own kitchen.  But buyers will notice all those off smells and odd scents, and that could mean “No Sale.”  Pay extra attention to potential odors from:

• Disposals (clean it out, then grind up some lemon or lime peel just before showings)
• Dishwashers — invest in dishwasher cleaner, wipe out catch screens and check drains of odd bits of food
• Refrigerators and freezers. Now is a good time to eat out!  Or at the very least, make sure these appliances are spotlessly clean.  Then add fresh boxes of baking soda to both.
• Stoves and ovens.  Greasy smells can linger here, so clean the pans, burners and surfaces thoroughly
• Kitty boxes.  Keep it spotless.  Change the litter daily if needed.  Or even better, invest in a litter box with a charcoal filter lid, and then clean it every day
• Curtains. Fabric absorbs odor, so take down and wash any fabric items like curtain, table cloths or placemats.  Not washable?  Remove them, or replace them with new ones.
• Walls. Yes, your painted walls and ceilings can soak up nasty smells over the years, so give yours a complete wash with a dilute TSP solution (available in the paint department at Home Depot or similar stores).  Or have your kitchen scrubbed and repainted
• Wallpaper.  Like paint and curtains, smells of grease, cigarette smoke and such can soak in.  If it’s been up for several years, or if someone in your house smokes, consider removing the paper and painting instead.

3) Pay attention to the details. Little things like door or cabinet knobs, scratched stove tops or missing/broken lights can make all the difference in the world. Take photos of the details to see them with fresh eyes, and then replace whatever doesn’t work.

4) Give them space.  No one wants a kitchen that seems cramped.  And no one wants one that lacks enough counter or cabinet space.  Your job as a homeowner is to make the space you have look like more than enough.  Pack away extra dishes, stash non–essential appliances and create empty spaces throughout your kitchen.  Not sure what should stay on counters?  Talk to your Realtor, or wander through some model homes and take notes.

5) Consider something more.  Renovations and updates on kitchens not only offer a great rate of return, but can also push a buyer into making an offer when they’re teetering on the edge.  Check out other area homes for sale, and compare them to your kitchen.  Would a face lift or some new appliances make your home more competitive?  Talk to your Realtor about the average return on kitchen improvements in your area…you may find that it’s worth it to make your old kitchen into someone else’s brand new dream kitchen.

Friday Funnies Five tips on how NOT to stage your home

TGIF!

It’s almost one of those wonderful (almost) summer weekends.  Some of you may have big plans for the next few days…maybe some time on a boat or at the beach, maybe a hike in the mountains.

But if you’re getting ready to sell your house, odds are you’re going to be spending the weekend getting ready for buyers.  And that means staging.

Before you welcome your first prospects, here are a few tips on what NOT to do (but real home sellers have!).

1) Closets are for stuff, right?  Everyone knows that staging means cleaning up all the little stuff around the house.  Lots of articles tell you to get a storage unit, but heck, there’s room in the closets for a few more boxes.  Go ahead and stuff your junk in every closet in your house.  When buyers open them, they’ll see just how much of their stuff they’ll be able to jam inside!

2) Let buyers get to know the real you.  Everyone knows they’re buying a house from a real person, so why not share some of who you are with home shoppers?  Leave personal details in sight, like medicine bottles on the counter, political fliers on the coffee table and doctors’ appointment cards on the fridge door. The more personal, the better!

3) Cook with aroma right before showings.  Home cooking makes a house feel like a home, doesn’t it?  So welcome potential buyers by cooking with lots of onions and garlic. Or maybe a fish dinner.  For a finishing touch, boil some cabbage.  Yum, yum!  They’ll be fighting to place offers on your home!

4) Moving is messy.  Everyone knows that moving is a lot of work, and houses get messy when people are moving in or out.  So no one will mind if you skimp on the cleaning.  After all, why pay to have carpets cleaned or walls painted when the buyers will probably change everything anyhow.  People will appreciate your sensible attitude.

5) Save energy.  Low wattage bulbs and cheap florescent fixtures save money and use less electricity, so make sure your home is as energy efficient — and dim — as possible. Buyers won’t mind squinting to see into rooms — besides it’s a great way to hide those full closets, dirty carpets and stacks of magazines.  Who says being green isn’t beneficial?

Now that you know what NOT to do…

Next week, I’ll be starting a new room by room series of articles on staging your home.  Every few days, I’ll offer tips and ideas for creating the best look for your home when you’re preparing to sell.  Don’t miss these great ideas especially if your home is in a down market.

Friday Funnies: The five biggest mistakes home sellers can make

It’s Friday (TGIF!) so let’s slip into the weekend with a little fun.

I’ve gathered a list of the top 5 mistakes home sellers can make.  Now before you start reading, I have to give you one warning.  Yes, these are funny — but all of them have REALLY happened!  You just have to wonder what people were thinking…never mind.  Read them first, giggle a bit, and then….make sure your home selling mistakes won’t end up on my next list!

Ready?

1. Let the dog great home buyers at the door. What makes a home shopper feel more welcome than a full-on paws up greeting from the family lab?  Want to make sure it’s even more effective?  Make sure the dog’s paws are wet or muddy before you open the door.  Oh the words you will hear!
2. Tell the potential buyers everything.  Of course you have a disclosure and it’s accurate. But why stop there?  Be sure to tell the potential buyers all about the quirky plumbing the last owners installed or the neighbor’s habit of mowing his lawn at midnight.  Throw a bunch of one time events or problems too, just to round out the picture.  For a finishing touch, talk about how much you can’t WAIT to get out of the house for good!
3. Share personal details about your life in the house. Buyers really do want to know where your three year old threw up all over the living room.  Or just how you know that the bedroom is really soundproof.  It’ll make them feel like a part of the family, right?
4. Skimp on cleaning.  You’ve had to keep this house clean for years.  But now you’re selling now, so why bother to keep everything spotlessly clean?  As soon as it’s sold, they’ll have to clean it themselves anyhow, right?  And besides, buyers are looking at big stuff like room sizes and swimming pools.  They’ll never notice that crud in the corner of the shower or the fingerprints on the doorways.
5. Leave your er, um, personal effects in sight.  From undies to… Need I say more?  Hey it’s still your house, after all!  Why should you cramp your style?

So how about you?  Do you have a “what were they thinking?” seller’s mistake to share?  We’d love to hear!

Top 10 things sellers need to do to sell their homes (Part Two)

Ready for the rest of the story? Here are the other five things sellers need to do to get buyers busy writing offers…and signing contracts.

6. Take a whiff!  Before you let a single buyer in the door, get some friends over to take a sniff.  Ask them what they smell in your home.  Is it cooking odors?  Smelly shoes?  Kitty litter box?  A diaper pail? When you live in a home, it can be hard to smell what visitors smell. Once you know, take action.  Be diligent with the cat box.  Try to schedule showings before dinner to avoid cooking smells. Banish smelly laundry and stinky shoes. Use candles (with caution!), open windows, clean every surface.
7. Make it sound good.  Using quiet background music is a great way to make your home more inviting to potential buyers.  Avoid very ethnic or obscure musical genres, and of course veto anything with sexual content or profanity. A soft jazz, new age or classical station on the stereo or TV is an effective way to boost visitor comfort and (according to some studies),  improve visitor perception of the home.
8. Take your family out of the picture.  No, not literary.  Odds are you’ll have to live in your home while it’s for sale.  But removing family pictures and other family signs and images makes it easier for buyers to see the home as theirs instead of yours.
9. Control the pets.  Yes, our four-legged family members are part of our lives.  But potential buyers may not want to meet them at every turn.  Make sure Fido and Fluff are kept under control and out of the way of buyers.  Or even better, if you have a cluster of showings, take them out for a few hours.  Even pet-loving buyers will appreciate the break from flying fur.
10. Leave the premises. If it’s at all possible (and to be honest, sometimes it’s not), you and your family should leave the home when Realtors are bringing home buyers through. Having the owners there makes it harder for home buyers to look around and really get a feel for the house.  If you must be home, try to stay out of the way outside or in one spot with a book or other quiet activity.

Top 10 things sellers need to do to sell their homes (Part One)

When you put your home on the market, you might think that selling it is something only your Realtor does.

What you may not realize is that your Realtor is only half of the selling team.  You, the homeowner, are the other half.

Sure, she may generate paperwork and put up signs.  And he might bring clients to see your home, and handle questions and offers.

But it’s up to you to do the rest.  Here’s my top 10 list of what you need to do to sell your home.

1. Make sure it’s priced right.  Part of this comes from your Realtor’s advice.  But in the end, it’s up to you to set the right sales price…and to be willing to adjust it if need be.  Make sure the price you ask is reasonable for the market now…too many buyers get stuck in a past value and fail to accept that the market has changed.  This is especially important if you’re selling in a down market.
2. Pack up your clutter.  All those decorations and photos and toys might make a house a home, but they also make it too hard for potential buyers to see the bones of the house.  Have a garage sale, get a storage unit  or stash your stuff in a friend’s garage.
3. Make it available.  If the goal is to sell you home, make it available as much of the week as you can.  Limiting showings to one or two days a week or only a couple of hours a day might make it easier to live your life, but it will make it much harder to sell your home.
4. Pay attention to the yard. While your house is on the market, consider using a lawn service to take care of mowing, edging and weeding.  That green, trimmed lawn can go a long way towards inviting browsers to become buyers.
5. Let there be light! If you’ve been saving money by using lower wattage bulbs in your home, now is the time to switch to bright choices.  Select daytime bulbs for the most flattering lighting, especially in bathrooms.  Using florescent strip lighting?  Trade standard bulbs for bluer natural daylight styles to avoid the yellow tint these bulbs can create.

Stay tuned on Thursday for the next five tips for what buyers can do to sell their homes.