Preparing Your Orange County Home For Sale
When an Orange County family has made the decision to sell your home, it likely was not made like, nor hastily. In this present economy where homes generally are not receiving multiple offers, and many times receiving no offers at all – the prudent (practical commonsense, taking the trouble to think out what they are doing and what is likely to come of it) home-seller is wise in considering what sets their home apart from the Smith’s home four blocks away. Or, consider the Allen’s home across town with similar square feet. You (or your agent) might not likely even consider something as preposterous as the Allen’s being a fair comparison to your home. However, in this new day where almost all home searches are completed via search engines tied to the MLS. The viewer really has no way of comprehending or discerning different neighborhoods. They will once they arrive at their destination, but what if they arrive at the Smith’s and the Allen’s neighborhoods first?
What could lead to
such a tragic event? You were on the Orange County MLS, just as they were. You hired the best real estate agent in Southern California, just as they did. Heck, your home is
newer and nicer than both of them combined! But the buyer bought on theirs, not
yours – even though you will never know it. You might know that it sold, but
not that it was being compared to yours. Location, location, location. My
response to that is, price, price, price. With all real estate activity
gravitating towards the World Wide Web. With that being said, I feel that what
really carry’s the most weight, pulls at the buyer’s inclination to actually quit
starring at the computer and visit a property is perception, perception,
perception.
When preparing your
home for sale, the single best thing you can do to increase the overall
marketability of your home is rent a storage unit and clear out all of the unnecessary
clutter you have undoubtedly accumulated over the years. A great wealth of confusion,
chaos, muddle and rummage. When you combine this with a boatload of furniture
and other accoutrements that are useful
for comfortable living, it takes an environment meant to be pleasing and
appealing to the eye of the buyer, into one which is unable to see the real
picture, or can’t see the forest because of the trees. The potential buyer can’t
envision themselves living in your home because they can’t see a place in your
home for them to live!
Have you ever
walked into someone else’s home hat was bursting with furniture? I bet that was
the first thing you noticed when you walked in the door. Too much furniture,
clutter and chaos will reduce the chance of your home selling. It will bring
down your true market value. If potential buyers are viewing your home on the
internet, they might just pass on visiting your property – even if it was “priced
right.” It costs about $250.00 a month to rent a good-sized storage unit. My
advice is whenever possible; lift it, roll it, or ship it out – unless it is an
absolute necessity (ie.bed). If you need to use the storage unit for three
months, and in doing so, you increased the attractiveness and show-ability of
the home, and let’s assume this effort on your part increased the value of your
home by $10,000.00, that is a pretty good investment on your part. Even if it
was $5,000.00 – what if it was $30,000.00? You would never really know, unless
you waited ninety days into the process to get rid of the clutter – and then
saw the offers come in.
Perception
Perception Perception
