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How To Sell Your Home During The Holidays (We Promise It Can Be Done)

November 12, 2018 by admin

Unfortunately, the real estate market has a tendency to slow down during the winter months. However, that doesn’t mean you should lose hope if you need to sell your home during the holidays. There are ways to make your home attractive enough to buyers that they’re willing to brave the cold. We’ve listed our best tips below. If you implement the right ones you could have a holiday buyer in no time.

Do your best to keep holiday decorations to a minimum. Image: Louise de Miranda – 30’s Magazine

Minimize holiday decorations

Yes, decorating is an essential part of the holidays. Your decorating style, however, is bound to cater to your personal tastes. When trying to sell your home, it’s important to keep personalization to a minimum. Ideally, your home will be as neutral as possible in order to appeal to a majority of buyers.

Buyers are easily distracted. Sometimes they have trouble looking past things like dated wallpaper or carpeting. Overly-personalized holiday decor will stick out like a sore thumb and buyers may have trouble putting it aside in order to see how great your home truly is.

Keep in mind, we’re not telling you to have no decorations. We’re simply suggesting that you keep things simple. Try to keep overtly-religious decorations to a minimum, as well as anything that feels a little over-the-top. For the period of time that you’re trying to sell your home, opt for a classic, minimalist approach to decorating.

Use textiles to keep your home feeling cozy. Image: Jennifer Pacca Interiors

Keep it cozy

If there’s one thing that everyone can relate to in winter, it’s wanting to escape those colder temperatures. One way to help sell your home to buyers is to make your home feel like a cozy and welcoming space.

There are a few different ways you can go about it. Here are some suggestions:

Keep it warm: Despite what it may do to your heating bills, there’s no better feeling than coming into a warm house after being out in the cold. If you know there’s going to be a showing on your home, turn the heat up to a reasonable level. You want buyers to be able to focus on how great your home is, rather than how chilly they feel.
Display plenty of textiles: Textiles like blankets and pillows are synonymous with warmth and coziness. Make sure to display plenty throughout your home. Doing so will help buyers subconsciously associate your home with cozy nights in.
Get scented: Everyone loves a home that smells great. Before showings, try infusing your home with warm, inviting scents like cinnamon or fresh-baked cookies. You can do this by burning a scented candle or by cooking up the real thing.

Be sure to price it to sell. Image: Introspecs LLC

Price it right

Like it or not, pricing is a huge factor in how interested potential buyers are in your home. While you’ll obviously want to get the highest possible sale price, the best way to entice buyers to brave the cold and come to see your property is to price it right. We’re not saying to give it away, but you should be open to negotiating.

As to how to go about pricing it fairly, the first thing to do is look at comparables, or comps. These are similar properties that have sold in your area recently. Your real estate agent can provide them for you. They give you an idea of a realistic price range to list your home and help you figure out your bottom line. You can do this by looking at how much you owe on the property and how much you’ll need if you’re buying a new home. Any offer at or above your bottom line is worth entertaining.

Work hard to accommodate any showing requests. Image: Abby Hetherington Interiors

Be flexible with showings

For most of us, the holidays are one of the busiest times of the year. Every day, it seems like there’s a celebration to prepare for or an event to attend. Odds are, the buyers who are interested in seeing your house are going to be busy, too. Since they likely have a limited time to schedule showings, you should remain especially flexible in order to accommodate them.

While this may seem tough, considering that you’ll have holiday obligations of your own, it’s non-negotiable. Selling in the winter often means having a limited pool of buyers to choose from. Therefore, it’s especially crucial to work with the ones that are available. Accommodating showing times, even when they’re inconvenient to you, is part of that. After all, no one wants to submit an offer on a house without seeing it first.

With that in mind, there are a few things you can do to make showings easier. The first is to have a showing plan in place so that everyone in the family knows what their responsibilities are before walking out the door. Additionally, try to keep your home as neat and show-ready as possible. The less picking up you have to do, the easier it will be to accommodate those last-minute requests.

Do you have any other tips for selling a home during the holidays? Let us know in the comments.

The post How To Sell Your Home During The Holidays (We Promise It Can Be Done) appeared first on Freshome.com.

7 Things to Look for When Buying a New House

October 31, 2018 by admin

Shopping for a new house means looking past that fresh coat of paint and doing a little digging to see if any big repairs or deal breakers are lurking beneath the surface.

Sure, it’s likely a few issues will surface during your inspection, but it’s smart to check things out before you put in an offer. Finding a problem doesn’t mean you can’t buy the house. It just helps you get a better idea of what to offer, and what you can live with. A new house is a big investment, and you want to make sure that your dream home doesn’t turn into a nightmare.

Knowing the age and condition of your new home’s roof is key to understanding upcoming, potential home maintenance costs. Source: Peter Zimmerman Architects

1. Damaged roof

The first thing you need to know about your potential new home is the age and condition of the roof. The realtor should be able to tell you. Do a visual check of the roof by walking around the house. Look for damaged or missing shingles, rusted flashing, moss or dirt and any other spots that worry you. A damaged roof could seriously impact the interior and exterior of your home. If you have concerns, let your realtor know so they can discuss them with the homeowner when they negotiate your offer.

When you have a home inspection, be sure to have your air Ccnditioner and Furnace are thoroughly evaluated. Source: Superior Living by Design

2. Heating and cooling performance

Few things are worse than needing A/C or heat, and not having it. So make sure you check the heating and cooling system to see if it’s in good working order. Ask the age of the system, turn it on and off, take a look at the ductwork if possible and see if the filters fit snugly. Don’t forget to look outside, too. Listen to how your air conditioning and heating units sound when they’re running. Look for rust and dirt on the equipment. If you’re satisfied with your initial look, pay close attention to the inspection report. Your inspector will test the system and can give you more thorough details.

If you think the system might need replacing, your local HVAC dealer can give you a quote for installation, labor and equipment. If you need to replace any equipment, you may be able to get the homeowner to reduce the selling price by amount of the replacement cost.

Checking for leaking faucets, shower heads or signs of leaks like stains on the ceiling can also be good clues when evaluating the home you are interested in purchasing. Source: Kitchens By Clay

3. Water damage

Inside the house, look for water stains on the ceiling. Check under sinks in the kitchen and bathrooms and test all of the faucets and showers. You’ll also want to check out the basement, garage or crawl space to see if there’s a sump pump. These could all indicate past or future problems with poor water drainage which could lead to flooding. Outside, look for sloping areas in the yard, standing water, french drains, water marks on the foundation. Even if the water issues aren’t active anymore, it’s good to know past problems and what could pop up in the future.

Foundation, or lack there of can really be a good indicator of structural issues you may encounter later down the road. Source: Keuka Studios

4. Foundation faults

If you’re serious about buying a house, be sure to check out the foundation. Walk around the exterior, go into the crawlspace or basement and look for cracks and other red flags. Your inspector will also give you a thorough report on these issues.

Look beyond the cosmetics of an updated kitchen to make sure your appliances and outlets are updated as well. Source: SOD Builders

5. Working appliances and electrical outlets

Don’t let cosmetic repairs distract you from potential problems, especially in a freshly painted kitchen. Look at all appliances to make sure they’re in good shape. Turn on the stove, run the dishwasher and peek into the refrigerator. Look for grounded GFCI outlets in your kitchen and baths — the ones with the red and black reset buttons. Also, give the circuit breaker a look and flip a few of the breakers. If this is going to be your new home, you want to make sure everything works as it should.

Beyond the beauty windows reflect, be sure that they are all operational in case of an emergency. Source: The Sitting Room Studio

6. Working windows

It’s a simple thing, but check all the windows in the new house to make sure they open properly. This is important for fire safety, as well as for comfort on a warm day. Asking the homeowner to get a handyman to fix the windows is easy.

7. Bugs and pests

You may not see any critters during the day, but look in corners and cabinets for mouse and roach droppings. Again, this is another easy fix. You can ask the homeowner for a pest control treatment as part of your contract.

Understanding potential problems will make you more confident during the home buying experience – and allow you to enjoy your new house rather than worrying about what’s wrong. It’s up to you to decide if any faults you find are deal breakers or an opportunity to get a better deal on your new home.

The post 7 Things to Look for When Buying a New House appeared first on Freshome.com.