Where to Begin when Selling your Home
So you’re ready to sell? Maybe the house is too small, large or just not what you want. The problem is not with your home, but it just doesn’t fit your family anymore. Something attracted you to it initially, and that something could be just what another family is looking for. But you need to look at your home new as if you were buying it all over again.
Sprucing up the house will leave a great impression on potential buyers. You need to grab attention and create excitement about finding a house that looks and feels well-cared for. Buyers know they’ll encounter fewer problems if they buy a cared for home, which will make it more appealing and stand out from the rest of the market. Preparing your home correctly will save you time on the market!
Looks are not the only thing that will draw potential buyers, but a good first impression makes an impact on a number of levels. A buyer considers how a home feels and smells, how their friends and family will react and how they imagine it would be to live there.
Simple improvements through your house can grab the attention of potential buyers. We’ll help you show them why your house is right for them.
Preparing your Home for Sale
First impressions make all the difference on a buyer’s decision-making process!
Home Styling or Staging is not about decorating, but turning your home into a model to de-emphasize its flaws and appeal to the broadest range of prospective buyers. When your home is on the market it becomes a product. You need to highlight the positives and make people feel like they could live there. The best way is to “neutralize” the surroundings.
REALTOR® Magazine Online has provided these helpful styling tips in their article “Setting the Stage” comprised of the best kept secrets from real estate pros and stagers for things you can do at little to no expense to put a home in prime showing shape.
- Clear out closets and clutter—sellers can give away or pack up toys, linens, and small kitchen appliances to store offsite. Buyers are also forgiving of storage boxes neatly tucked away in a garage or basement.
- Focus most on the most visible areas—the foyer, kitchen, living room, master bedroom, and family room.
- De-personalize the home by removing photos, mementos, and dated items.
- Use plants in colorful pots or inexpensive wicker baskets to fill in empty spaces.
- Look to home catalogs for little details on beautifying the home. For instance, group books, pictures, and objects d’art appealingly on bookcases.
- Try angling one or two pieces of furniture slightly and move furniture 4 inches to 6 inches from the wall to create more interesting room spaces.
- Put away large collections— porcelains, plates, and so on.
- Remove valuables, prescription medicine, collectibles, and breakables.
- Trim trees, prune shrubs, and make sure the lawn is mowed and watered regularly.
- In summer, turn on the sprinklers for five minutes, 30 minutes before the open house. It makes the lawn and driveway sparkle.
- Refrain from cooking anything that leaves a distinctive odor, such as fish, garlic, or cabbage.
- Hire a professional service to clean the home, including the carpets and the windows.
- Set the dining room table with attractive linens, dishes, and stemware.
- Arrange fresh or silk flowers throughout the home.
- Light a fire in the fireplace in fall and winter.
- A mirror in a pretty frame can make a small room feel more open.
- Use as much natural light as possible. Add extra lamps in dark rooms or corners.
- Make functional repairs—fix dripping faucets, sticking doors, and broken fences.
- Bring in another pair of eyes—even if it’s not a professional stylist. The person may see problems you and have missed.
To talk about your real estate goals, call or email us today!
helen@helenoliveri.com
847.967.0022
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Testimonials
Helen is very personable and gives you the straight answers that are needed in order to sell your house. She has a plan, and follows through with what she says. Her team is made up of wonderful people who are always pleasant and gets the answers to any questions or concerns that I have had. My husband and I are so impressed with Helen and her way of doing business. She listens to her clients, is honest, and addresses all concerns. It has been a pleasure working with her and her team! The word…
Helen was very service oriented. We enjoyed working with Helen. Helen did her best to sell the house and did. Helen is the expert in the Hawthorn Woods Country Club and we would recommend her to anybody in the neighborhood to sell their home.
I felt as though I had a trusted friend by my side each and every step of the way while buying my very first home. Helen is honest and genuine, an invaluable trait in a friend, so you can imagine how pleased I was to find it in an agent! She answered all of my questions and explained the things I didn’t understand without making me feel silly or inferior. When the time comes, I won’t hesitate to entrust the sale of my home to Helen. Working with her was truly a pleasure!
Dear HELEN, I just want to thank HELEN OLIVERI, your company is #1. I trust you, HELEN you are the BEST. Thank you again for everything.
Helen knows the real estate marketplace for our area and priced our home at a competitive price for the home to sell quickly. Any questions that I had during the sales process were answered in a timely manner. We had a number of showings on the property due to signs, and the internet postings that Helen provided. From start to completion of the sale of the home, all of the guesswork was handled by Helen and her team, making the process very easy.
Helen did a very good job. She was professional throughout the entire experience and always available with an immediate response turnaround time. I felt they had great marketing! It was a pleasure working with you Helen! Thank you for all of your assistance during our home purchase and our rental of our townhome.
We were beyond impressed with the quality of their service, their accessibility and their willingness to go above and beyond in ensuring that we did not have any issues during the entire buying process. If you are looking for someone to help you find your dream home, Helen and her team are the absolute best people for the job! Thank you again to the entire team. You helped make our dreams a reality! Thank you again for everything!
Helen and her team are simply the best real estate team I have ever known. Helen is always personally available and made me feel like her closest friend and confidant and she fought for me unlike anyone I know. I am so confident in Helen and her team and I would recommend them without hesitation. I will always use Helen for any and all future real estate transactions. Thank you for selling my home in such a tough market. Helen you are the BEST!!
Our entire experience with Helen was amazing. She knows themarket better than anyone and this is one of the many reasons she is #1 in sales. Helen did not just take our “listing”. She made sure we knew all the expectations of this emotional decision. Moving is stressful and we had complete comfort in knowing all along we had the BEST and most professional person to handle our real estate process. We are talking your HOME here, why on earth would you settle for 2nd best?
From beginning to end, Helen not only set the expectation for success but then followed through on her promise. Helen sets the bar very high for herself and still manages to go above and beyond. Even several months later, our respect and appreciation for Helen and her team’s efforts on our behalf cannot be adequately expressed. If you’re considering a move (either buying or selling), Helen truly is your best move!