Imagine you’re shopping for a car. You find one that’s a suitable model, a recent year, and hasn’t been driven a lot. The price is right, too.

But, there’s a caveat.

The paint is worn off in several places. The driver’s seat upholstery is torn and requires repair. And, the tires needed to be replaced… a long time ago.

Would you still buy it? You might. However, unless you enjoy fixing up cars, you’d probably hesitate to make the purchase.

After all, in addition to seeing the car itself, you’re noticing the work that needs to be done to fix it.

The same holds true when selling your home.

The more “move-in” ready you make the property the more likely buyers are to become interested in buying it. Like when viewing a car, you want…

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When you’re selling your home, you want to promote those features that will be of highest interest to prospective buyers. After all, the more reasons a buyer has to love your property, the more likely they are to make a great offer.

Increasingly, one category of features that buyers are looking for is energy efficiency. So, if there are specific energy-saving characteristics of your home, make sure those are highlighted when selling.

When considering the energy-efficient characteristics of your property, consider the following:

• Appliances: Fridge, stove, washer, dryer

• HVAC: Furnace, air conditioner

• Insulation. (Especially in the attic)

• Home technology. For example, a system that automates heating, cooling, lighting, etc., to…

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There are several ways to make the selling process easy and relatively stress-free. One way is to create a selling timeline that fits your needs, lifestyle, and capabilities.

Say you’d like to list your home in four weeks and expect it to be on the market for an additional four weeks. That’s an eight-week timeline. How do you create a manageable schedule that works for you?

Try these steps:

1. Determine what you need to do to get your home ready for sale

2. Assign who will be doing what. For example, if you need to paint, will you hire a contractor? Do it yourself? Make a family day out of it?

3. Estimate the time it will take to do those tasks. Then add 50% as a buffer. (It’s easy to underestimate time on tasks)

4. Look at…

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8 Things Buyers Don’t Want to See in a Kitchen When prospective buyers visit your listed home, the room they tend to check out most closely is the kitchen. So, it pays to ensure it looks its best.

However, no matter how tidy, clean, and well-adorned you’ve made your kitchen, there are some issues — which can seem minor — that can distract a buyer from appreciating those positive qualities.

Here are just a few to watch out for:

1. Stained sink

 

Use a specialized cleaner for the type of sink you have. (For example, Stainless Steel Sink Cleaner.)

2. Garbage in the garbage bin

Buyers don’t mind seeing the bin, just not garbage in it! Don’t forget to also empty the organic waste bin.

3. Left-over cooking scents

…

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