WANT TO SELL YOUR HOME FASTER FOR MORE MONEY? SECRET DECORATING TIPS REVEALED

TIPS ON DECORATING YOUR HOUSE TO SELL

When potential buyers step into your house, they want to see a clean, neat and attractively decorated house. What they DON”T want to see is something so overly decorated they can’t imagine their own furniture and possessions in the house. Plus, too many shelves and tables with knickknacks, too many overstuffed sofas piled with pillows can hide the architectural and structural features of a home.

Here are a few tips on keeping a minimalist approach to your home decorating.

·    MINIMIZE. Put away EVERYTHING that isn’t absolutely essential. Even if you have get down on your knees and beg your neighbor for some storage space in their garage, (or rent a storage locker), do it. Remember, it isn’t forever, and you might find you can live without some of that stuff.

·    ORGANIZE. This is a good time to tackle that filing you’ve been putting off, and organizing your craft materials and other projects. Once again, get rid of anything you can live without temporarily. Better yet, start packing! And by the way, it’s easy these days to find attractive, inexpensive baskets in stores from WalMart to PierOne. Use those baskets to help keep you organized. A large basket can be used to stash magazines and coasters under the coffee table. Baskets can also be put to good use in bathrooms – put away all your personal items like make-up, toothpaste, shaving cream, etc. People can get distracted looking at the brand names of products you use; plus, having all that stuff around makes the house look used.

·    ARRANGE. The things you DO keep around can be rearranged in attractive ways to make your house look interesting. In the kitchen, for example, group canisters together. Spreading them out makes counter space look smaller. The same goes for ledges, end tables, bookcase, and fireplace mantels. Group no more than 3 things together, making sure they’re varying heights, and mix graduate sizes. For example, group 2 candles on one side of the mantel, and something smaller on the other side.

One thing to remember while decorating to sell is that potential buyers frequently spend more time looking at family photograph and items of a personal nature. That embroidered family tree your aunt made might well spark a long conversation that does nothing to sell your house. So temporarily put away those photos and other personal items.

The Key is to make the house look attractive, minimally decorated, and devoid of personal artifacts which distract the potential buyer and possibly prevents her from envisioning her OWN family and stuff in the house.

Terry Naber, RE/MAX Properties, Inc, is an experienced real estate professional since 1990 having served hundreds of clients and helping them in the process and dream of home ownership.  Terry KNOWS the market in the Colorado Springs, CO. region.  Give her a call to discuss your plans to sell and list your home, gather information, and find out what Terry can do to get you the best market price with the least time on the market!  

Call Terry Naber at 719-590-4796. 

Look at Our Inventory of Wonderful Colorado Springs Homes Here

What Is Your Home Worth? Click Here

9 Ways To Make Your Offer Irresistable To Sellers

1. Pay cash. Investors have been snapping up homes to flip or rent, and they usually come to the table with cash. Sellers love all-cash offers because they’re less likely to fall through before the sale closes. In January, all-cash transactions accounted for 28% of existing home sales, according to the National Association of Realtors. If you need a mortgage, a low appraisal could cause your bank to back out of the deal, forcing the sellers to put the house back on the market.

2. Get pre approved. If you can’t pay cash, you’ll need to get a mortgage. Three or four months before you shop for a home, check your credit reports, says Michael Corbett, a consultant to real estate Web site Trulia and author of Before You Buy! That will give you time to dispute any errors and take short-term steps, such as paying off debts, that will improve your credit score. You can get your reports once a year free from the three major credit bureaus at www.annualcreditreport.com. Then get a bank’s pre-approval. It won’t guarantee that you’ll get a loan, but it will show sellers that a lender has verified your income and credit score and determined that you can afford payments on a mortgage for a certain amount.

3. Make your best offer on price. You may only have one shot to get it right, so make your best offer—what you’re willing and able to pay. Base your offer on recent sale prices of com­parable properties in the neighborhood so that it will pass muster when the property is appraised. If you hold back, thinking you’ll sweeten the offer on the second try, you may lose the property to another buyer.

4. Up the ante. You can add an escalator clause, with which you agree to ratchet up your offer if there’s a higher bid from another buyer. Keep in mind that if you agree to pay more than the market value determined by an appraisal, you’re on the hook for the difference from your own funds.

5. Beef up your earnest money. This deposit signals how serious a buyer you are. Try doubling the amount that the seller requests or that is customary in the area. If you must renege on the offer for any reason allowed by the contract or state law, you’ll get your money back.

6. Pay for extras yourself. These might include some of the closing costs, homeowners association dues that must be prepaid, a one-time contribution to a community-enhancement fund, or a home warranty.

7. Make contingencies palatable. Most sellers prefer offers with no contingencies, but you probably can’t afford to forgo the protection that contingencies provide if you want to cancel the contract. Offset a financing contingency with pre approval and a strong earnest money deposit. If you have enough cash, temper an appraisal contingency by assuring sellers that if the appraisal comes in lower than the purchase price, you’ll pay the difference or split it with them (up to a certain amount). Include a home-inspection contingency, but tell sellers that you will cover the cost of any repairs. If the price tag on those repairs gets out of hand, you can back out of the deal.

8. Write a love letter to the sellers. This will help you connect with the sellers, especially if you haven’t met them. She suggests such points as: “We’re relocating from…” “We see ourselves living in your neighborhood or chose your schools because…” “We especially love…” and “We appreciate your accommodating our visits.”

9. Give the gift of time. Express your willingness to work with the sellers’ timetable to go to closing. If the sellers want to remain in the home for a while after closing, offer them a “lease back” or “rent back,” which means that you will be their temporary landlord. This is a legal arrangement, and you’ll need to work out the details with your agents and be sure that the sellers keep their homeowners insurance during their stay. If you are bidding on a short sale, make clear to the sellers that you are patient and can wait for the bank’s decision.

Terry Naber, RE/MAX Properties, Inc, is an experienced real estate professional since 1990 having served hundreds of clients and helping them in the process and dream of home ownership.  Terry KNOWS the market in the Colorado Springs, CO. region.  Give her a call to discuss your plans to sell and list your home, gather information, and find out what Terry can do to get you the best market price with the least time on the market!  Call 719-590-4796.  

Look at Our Inventory of Wonderful Colorado Springs Homes Here

What Is Your Home Worth? Click Here

(article reprinted; Inman news)