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
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!!
I feel the weight off my shoulders since this afternoon.It obviously was the right time to leave our home as we have no regrets, only fond memories. You and your team were fabulous and helped me through a challenging time. I would be more than happy to give a referral by phone to prospective clients. Thank you for everything and I wish you continued success as you certainly deserve it.
Helen marketed my property quite well in that she sold my house in 30 days. Unlike other agents I spoke with or have dealt with in the past Helen focused on the positive aspects of my house and marketed to those strengths instead of dwelling on all the things I had to do to make my house more marketable. Obviously that paid off for me. I would strongly recommend the Helen Oliveri team to anyone wishing to sell 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’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!
We have just listed our home with Helen. She is very honest and upfront about the listing and selling procedures, very aggressive with getting the house marketed and has a wonderful staff working with her to get things going! My husband and I are very happy with our decision to list with her.
We were so very pleased to have Helen as our selling agent. We were especially impressed by her personal touch and concern for our interest, market in-puts and follow-up, quick turnaround time, and knowledge of the field. You should be proud of what you do as you definitely stand out as a highly qualified real estate agent. We never felt you ever let us down and were always looking out for our best interest.
We want to thank you for a job well done! In deciding who would list the house, we were very impressed with your knowledge, professional presentation, but most of all, your enthusiasm. We are Real Estate Brokers who relied on a broker familiar with the area and expected a high level of professionalism. You exceeded every expectation. We will recommend you at every opportunity.
Wow! What a whirlwind 5 weeks! I just want to take a moment and thank you both for all the hard work you have put in over the past several weeks. Your professionalism is to be commended. Tim and I both feel, if we had listed with you last summer, our home would have been sold then. I also want to thank you for the special gift, it was very thoughtful and I look forward to enjoying it! This house was Tim’s favorite home, so he was most thankful. We truly appreciate your thoughtfulness. …
Helen was very personable and passionate about wanting to work with us. We were exceedingly happy that our home sold so quickly when all other houses in our neighborhood (NOT being offered by Helen!) have been on the market for months, some for well over a year. Helen and her team are real “go-getters” and seemed to want the house to sell as much as we did. THANK YOU for making this such a pleasant experience for us, especially in this poor market.