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
Testimonials
Thank you for your professional and speedy sale of our home in Hawthorn Woods . We tell all are friends to use you when they put their homes in the market. Have a great year.
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…
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!
Helen has a great business model. She does what she knows best, and her team does what they know best. Communication with the office was great, and we always felt that Helen was just a phone call or email away. I would highly recommend Helen for the selling of your home.
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.
Helen Oliveri and her team represent the highest professional level of expertise and customer service skills. Helen’s knowledge of the current market helped us sell our house in a very short period of time. She not only knew the specific requirements of the market, but also handled the transaction with attention to detail to fulfill the needs of her clients. We will recommend Helen and her team to anyone looking for a qualified agent to sell their home.
Helen’s knowledge of houses in the Countryside area was invaluable when obtaining statistics for my Mom’s house and the eventual sale in Glenview. My overall experience was excellent. They were great to work with and always had my best interests at heart. I was very impressed by how they all had a very positive attitude, in spite of the economy. I would definitely recommend The Helen Oliveri Team to anyone who would be interested in selling their house!
Helen is a pleasure to work with. She is very knowledgeable about the current market and gives good and honest advice regarding pricing. She responds to phone calls and email in a very timely way. She has surrounded herself with a great team of professionals and they get the job done! I will recommend her to anyone looking for a great realtor.
Helen is an expert at marketing your home and takes full advantage of every marketing channel available. She is responsive and knowledgeable and a pleasure to work with. They really pull out all the stops to get your home sold. We really appreciated the professionalism of the team, even when we got cold feet and were in a panic, they talked us off the ledge. The team took us through the sale of one home and the purchase of a new home and we couldn’t be happier. Well done Helen Oliveri Team!!!
Thank you so much for all your help with my new condo! It has been a wonderful pleasure working with both of you. My new home is beautiful! Thank you also for the gift basket! The items will certainly come in handy and they were all on my shopping list! In addition, the closing was painless! I will miss working with all of you. I certainly will recommend your team to friends and family every time the opportunity arises! You make a great team!