Posts Tagged Selling


12 Staging Tips to Help Sell Your Home

0 Comments By Bobbi Egan on January 5th, 2011
Tags: , , , ,      Categories: Dutchess, Market Area, Putnam, Selling, Westchester

open door1 12 Staging Tips to Help Sell Your Home

There are many factors to consider when marketing your home for sale whether in Westchester, Putnam or Dutchess County. One important thing to remember is that your home is now a product that you need to “sell” to another. Staging your home for sale brings out the best features of your home and gives you a competitive advantage. Staging can facilitate a quick sale and get the best possible price for your home in today’s challenging real estate market.

Your real estate agent can provide an honest appraisal of what you need to do to help sell your home or put you in contact with a professional stager, if desired. For additional reference, research “home staging” on the Internet.

If you don’t have access or the budget for professional home staging services, you can incorporate many techniques to help promote the sale of your home. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

1. Maximize your interior space by placing excess/un-used furniture in
a storage unit to make rooms appear larger and showcase the room’s purpose.

2. De-personalize by packing up your personal photos and family heirlooms so potential buyers can imagine the home filled with their possessions and not be distracted by yours.

3. Remove excess clutter. Selling your home is the perfect time to get rid of anything you haven’t used in a long time and don’t plan to take with you when you move anyway. Remove refrigerator magnets, organize closet and cabinets, clear off countertops and dressers, file paperwork and pack up those knickknacks and books! Donate it, pack it up or throw it away.

4. Clean. Is your bathroom lived-in or a showcase? What would you want to see? Show you care and maintain all the areas of your home by using a critical eye to eliminate dust and cobwebs – make your house sparkle!

5. Brighten your interior space by washing the windows, opening all the shades, removing window screens and checking to be sure all the light bulbs are in working order using the highest wattage allowed.

6. Apply a coat of fresh paint to walls in a warm neutral color. Your home will be more appealing and will have one less thing for the new homeowner to do.

7. De-odorize your home by freshening the air and removing any traces of pet bedding or litter boxes, cigarette smoke and mildew. The number one homeselling issue is odors! Ask a friend or neighbor to walk through your house and let you know if they detect anything you may be unaware of.

8. Remove and replace favorite items such as heirloom light fixtures or fireplace screens that you want to take with you to your new home.  Pack up what you aren’t willing to leave behind before you begin showing your home to potential buyers.

9. Walk through your house with an objective eye. Pretend you have never seen the house before. Take note and fix any repairs that need to be made… especially the ones you’ve been putting off.

10. Take a hard look at your wallpaper. Is it out of date? Are you the only one who likes it? Consider removing the wallcovering if you’ve answered yes to these questions.

11. Create curb appeal. Just like a great exterior photo, the front entry of your home is your first and best chance for getting a potential homebuyer inside your door. Look around – is your yard inviting? Are toys and equipment put away? Are the shrubs trim and neat? Is your front doorway neat and clean? It’s a great time to clean your gutters. Make a great first impression by paying attention to the front of your home.

12. Disappear. Take your self, your family and your pets and don’t attend the showing. If you stick around, you’ll intimidate the potential homebuyers who really want to take a good look at your house.

Do you have any home staging experiences or tips you’d care to share with us? Please comment and let us know!

10 Photo Tips to Help Sell Your Home

0 Comments By Bobbi Egan on December 7th, 2010
Tags: , ,      Categories: Dutchess, Market Area, Putnam, Selling, Westchester

camera 10 Photo Tips to Help Sell Your HomeThe phrase, “A Picture is Worth 1000 Words” emerged in the United States in the early part of the 20th Century. This has become all the more important in today’s real estate market because most Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess County homebuyers now begin their home search online.  According to the National Association of Realtors, nine out of ten homebuyers use the Internet as an information source in their home search process.

Now, more than ever, the first showing of a house takes place on the Internet. For that reason alone, a great photo will attract attention and help sell a property. Here are some tips to consider when having your house photographed for sale:

  1. Use professional photographers whenever possible
  2. Focus on the main features and detail of the house, not the contents
  3. Determine what time the best light is on the front exterior of the house
  4. If you are on a waterfront property, let the photographer know when it will be high tide
  5. Only photograph open pools that are clean & sparkling and free of pool toys
  6. Remove any cars or bicycles from the area to be photographed
  7. Open draperies, turn on light fixtures and replace burned-out bulbs
  8. Stage the house inside and out, make sure it’s free of clutter
  9. Avoid scheduling a photo shoot on trash day and make sure trash bins are put away
  10. Add decorative touches such as fresh flowers and plants, but don’t overdo it.

Your Houlihan Lawrence agent can assist you when its time to photograph your home for sale in Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess Counties. They understand that good photography – on the Internet and in print – is an opportunity to make a great impression.

5 Most Common Questions Asked by Sellers

0 Comments By Gay Prizio on November 9th, 2010
Tags: , ,      Categories: Market Conditions, Selling
  1. How’s the market doing?
  2. Is now a good time to sell?
  3. What is my house worth?
  4. If I make improvements to my house, will I get a good return on my investment?
  5. What are the most desirable features in a home and community that today’s buyers are looking for?

Reports to Help You Sell and Find Your Home

0 Comments By Chris Meyers on February 23rd, 2010
Tags: , ,      Categories: Buying, Houlihan Lawrence News, Uncategorized

Houlihan Lawrence’s new website has been up and running for over a month and I hope you have had the chance to browse the site and try out some of our new features.  The site is a trove of information that will inform and educate you, and keep you abreast of changes and trends in your area.

We now offer two new reports that help you make smarter homebuying and selling decisions. For homeowners, Value Tracker monitors the activity in your area on homes comparable to your own. Emails provide active listings, recent sold and pending transactions, and average days on market on listings that meet your criteria. This up-to-the-minute information will help you gauge the value of your home based on the most current MLS data available. Call or email your Houlihan Lawrence agent to start receiving your personal Value Tracker.

For buyers, we know you want information now. Home Finder provides instant access to new listings, and price and status changes on properties that match your search criteria the minute they hit the market. Unlike most email listing alerts, Home Finder shows price reductions in both dollar and percentage values with mapping capabilities. Start your search with Houlihan Lawrence and sign up for Home Finder on our website.

Let me know if Value Tracker or Home Finder has helped you with the sale or search of your home.

Diary of a Downsizer, Part 2

0 Comments By Gay Prizio on February 2nd, 2010
Tags: , , , ,      Categories: Buying, Downsizing, Market Area, Selling, Uncategorized, Westchester

As you may recall, Judi Smith, Houlihan Lawrence’s Larchmont Manager recently downsized and we are following her journey as a downsizer. 

Once Judi decided to sell her home and downsize, she created a “to-do” list to prepare her home for the market. She eliminated obvious buyer objections in order to maximize the number of potential of buyers. For example, she had an old bathroom which she knew would turn off buyers, and her house was filled to the brim and cluttered with 30 years of belongings.

“We took two months of working non-stop to prepare the house for sale.  This preparation included gutting and renovating a bathroom, and moving possessions into storage. The exterior had been painted in the spring, and we also did interior touch ups.  The windows were washed, the garden re-planted where needed, the house was cleaned to within a inch of its life!” said Judi. The house was ready for prime time!

Now came for the most important decision – pricing. She used the collective knowledge of the agents in her office and asked them for their professional pricing opinion. “The Houlihan Lawrence pricing committee had a wide variety of possible prices.  We chose the low end for our list price with the strategy of creating the largest number of potential buyers for the house”. 

Many sellers feel this is a risky strategy because they could potentially be leaving money on the table. But with instant dissemination of information – via email listing alerts and on-the-ball agents – Judis BackYard 150x150 Diary of a Downsizer, Part 2 informed buyers immediately know when a new listing hits the market and recognize value. “My house came on the market on a Wednesday” said Judi. “By Thursday morning we had 6 offers!  The house sold for significantly over asking price.”

The sale of Judi’s home was a case study in doing everything right – from getting the house in tip-top shape, to strategic market pricing that created multiple offers, and ultimately selling at over the asking price.

What do think of Judi’s pricing strategy?