Tuesday, December 8, 2015

9 Tips For Selling Your Home During The Holiday

The holiday season from November through January is often considered the worst time to put a home on the market. While the thought of selling your home during the winter months may dampen your holiday spirit, the season does have its advantages: holiday buyers tend to be more serious and competition is less fierce with fewer homes being actively marketed. First, decide if you really need to sell. Really. Once you've committed to the challenge, don your gay apparel and follow these tips from FrontDoor.

1. Deck the halls, but don’t go overboard.
Homes often look their best during the holidays, but sellers should be careful not to overdo it on the decor. Adornments that are too large or too many can crowd your home and distract buyers. Also, avoid offending buyers by opting for general fall and winter decorations rather than items with religious themes.

2. Hire a reliable real estate agent.

That means someone who will work hard for you and won't disappear during Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year's. Ask your friends and family if they can recommend a listing agent who will go above and beyond to get your home sold. This will ease your stress and give you more time to enjoy the season.

3. Seek out motivated buyers.
Anyone house hunting during the holidays must have a good reason for doing so. Work with your agent to target buyers on a deadline, including people relocating for jobs in your area, investors on tax deadlines, college students and staff, and military personnel, if you live near a military base.

4. Price it to sell.
No matter what time of year, a home that’s priced low for the market will make buyers feel merry. Rather than gradually making small price reductions, many real estate agents advise sellers to slash their prices before putting a home on the market.

5. Make curb appeal a top priority.
When autumn rolls around and the trees start to lose their leaves, maintaining the exterior of your home becomes even more important. Bare trees equal a more exposed home, so touch up the paint, clean the gutters and spruce up the yard. Keep buyers’ safety in mind as well by making sure stairs and walkways are free of snow, ice and leaves.

6. Take top-notch real estate photos.

When the weather outside is frightful, homebuyers are likely to start their house hunt from the comfort of their homes by browsing listings on the Internet. Make a good first impression by offering lots of flattering, high-quality photos of your home. If possible, have a summer or spring photo of your home available so buyers can see how it looks year-round.

7. Create a video tour for the Web.
You'll get less foot traffic during the holidays thanks to inclement weather and vacation plans. But shooting a video tour and posting it on the Web may attract house hunters who don't have time to physically see your home or would rather not drive in a snowstorm.

8. Give house hunters a place to escape from the cold.

Make your home feel cozy and inviting during showings by cranking up the heat, playing soft classical music and offering homemade holiday treats. When you encourage buyers to spend more time in your home, you also give them more time to admire its best features.

9. Relax — the new year is just around the corner.
The holidays are stressful enough with gifts to buy, dinners to prepare and relatives to entertain. Take a moment to remind yourself that if you don't sell now, there's always next year, which, luckily, is only a few days away.

Source HGTV


Shauna Quick
Realtor
Exit Realty Success
801-550-4419
shaunaqsellshomes@gmail.com
www.shaunaqsellshomes.com

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Declutter Your Home In Six Easy Steps

Does your home look like a storage locker or a pack rat's dream? If so, it's time to purge, declutter and refresh. It may sound daunting, but it doesn't have to be! Here are some quick, effective ways to declutter your home without feeling overwhelmed:

1. Set time aside. If you don't plan for decluttering, you'll probably keep putting it off. So, make yourself do it, whether you spend the entire weekend, one evening a week or just a few minutes or a few hours a day. If you're not sure how or where to start, a home organizer can help you create a game plan.
2. Make a list. A list will help you get organized, whether it's your entire living space that needs work or just one particular area. Creating a list of what needs decluttering will also help keep you motivated from start to finish.
3. Start in one spot. Never attempt to declutter all areas at once. Start in one room - or a specific area of one room - and work your way out from there, understanding that it may take a few hours to get it done. Some areas commonly in need of a good declutter include:

  • Counters: Get rid of any old appliances, decorative pieces and utensils you don't need or use.
  • Shelving: Remove old books, trinkets and toys -- anything that's just sitting there gathering dust.
  • Closets: Gather the clothes, shoes and accessories you never wear. Donate the items that are in good shape and toss or make rags out of the rest. Invest in closet organizers for what's left in your closet to ensure everything stays in its proper place.
  • Cabinets: Go through your kitchen or bathroom cabinets and remove everything that's been "stuck in the back" or is otherwise cluttering the space. Old dishes, dishtowels and other items can go to secondhand stores or the trash.
  • Drawers: If you have a junk drawer, dump it out on your bed. Then go through it and remove everything but the essentials. When you go to put the drawer back, organize what's left for easier access and retrieval.

4.Take it one trash bag at a time. You don't have to keep a box of trash bags on hand when you start decluttering. Just start with one and see how long it takes you to fill the bag. You might be surprised at how much trash and clothing you'll come up with. If you can't fit all of the secondhand store bags in your car, call one of the many donation groups that will pick the bags up from your home.
5. Give away slowly. If you feel that decluttering your space and giving things away will emotionally drain you, space out the process. Once you've rid the house of the absolute non-essentials - trash, junk, waste, broken toys and shoes, etc. - then it's down to those items you hold onto for personal, emotional reasons.
6.Work your way up to it one piece at a time. You might be surprised at how good it feels to give!
Designate a routine moving forward. Put a process in place to keep future clutter at bay, and include everyone in the house in that process. Kids should know where their clothes and toys go, and everyone may need to have a dedicated place for shoes and other items near the entryway. Developing a habit for where items go will help you keep your home better organized.

Source Sharper Agent

Shauna Quick
Realtor
Exit Realty Success
www.shaunaqsellshomes.com
shaunaqsellshomes@gmail.com
801-550-4419