April Hay
http://www.greatmissionviejohomes.com/
http://www.socdreamhomes.com/
Often I am asked what can be done to a home to make it sell quickly and for a better price. As we all know, home prices have dipped due to more short sales and foreclosures being on the market. If you want to sell your home, you must compete with those listings by having your home stand out in a very positive way.
Sparkling move-in condition may put Mission Viejo homes ahead of those foreclosures that are not nearly as pristine. Not all buyers want to paint and make repairs when they buy Mission Viejo homes; many are inspired to put in offers on homes that they can imagine moving into immediately. Some sellers make the mistake of thinking their collection of stuff is going to be appreciated by buyers. This in not usually the case. Personal items and knick-knacks are very distracting to buyers; they start wondering about the seller more than thinking about living there themselves. So what can you do to make your Mission Viejo home make the very best impression on the greatest number of buyers? There are several things you can do that can make a real difference.The most common advice is to remove all knick-knacks, personal photos, excessive furniture, etc. This is great advice, and I completely agree with it, but I have found that most of us have a hard time discerning how much stuff is too much and what stuff if a turn-off to buyers. Often sellers benefit by a professional staging consultation to identify items that should be removed.
Try this mental excercise:
Imagine walking into a 4-star hotel suite and looking around. You would expect to see only the basics in the way of furniture, minimal yet tasteful decorations, impeccable cleanliness, no evidence of personal items or trash, beds made neatly, everything in its functional place. You know others have stayed in the room, but there is no obvious evidence of it. Imagine the suite has tasteful decor, only a few pictures on the wall, the curtains are clean and open, and there aren't any personal items of someone else sitting around. Take a deep breath and you expect that clean smell of fresh linen and fragrant cleaning solutions. You also expect the glasses (dishes) to be clean and put away, the kitchen sink clean, the bathroom to be spotless with the toilet lid down, sparkling sink, a clean shower curtain or door, and no wet towels hanging on the rod. You expect the walls to be clean and fairly recently painted. You don't expect to see fingerprints on doorways or by light switches. The closet doors are closed, and so we cannot see whether there are clothes in them.
Now see how close you can make your home match this image.
It's true, our Mission Viejo homes are not hotel suites and this may seem like an extreme staging goal. We all have normal lives with the need for normal personal items in our homes. Nonetheless, during the selling period, you will benefit greatly by making the sacrifice of trimming down your possessions, by moving them to storage, by packing them for the move, or by selling them or giving them away to charity. The 4-Star Hotel Suite image may be extremely difficult or impossible to achieve, but keep it in your mind as a do-your-best goal to attract the greatest number of buyers. Don't beat yourself up if you can't quite get the look, but aim for the uncluttered, ultra-neat-and-clean look for your home and buyers will be impressed and more willing to put in offers.
The three most important factors in getting a home sold are: Price, location, and condition. You may not be able to fully control the price or market value, and you can't control the location of your home, but you do have control over the showing condition which can affect the price and the length of time on the market.
Call April Hay for assistance in selling your home. If you mention this blog when you list your home, I will provide a free staging consultation by one of Orange County's top interior designers.
