Use This COVID19 Quarantine to MAXIMIZE Your Home's Showing Potential

Working from home right now because of the Coronavirus? Or, maybe you can’t work from home, so you’re on furlough. We all need ways to maximize our dollars today; keeping or getting our home in top condition is one great way to do that. Not everyone can afford to replace the roof or paint the outside of their house, but there are lots of things you can do either regularly, seasonally, or just before you list that can help your home show at it’s best and in turn sell for top value. In this post, I’m going to address some small items I’ve noticed when showing homes that a buyer has to overlook to see the value in a home, but keep an eye out for my next post that will cover ways to help specific rooms show at their best.

If you’re going to put your home up for sale, and you want to get the best price possible, there are lots and lots of small things that you can do to make it look and feel better when showing. Of course, there are plenty of things that you could do that cost a lot of money that would help, but I’m talking about things that don’t cost a lot and some that are even free! If you’ve ever sold a home, then you have probably heard a real estate agent say things like “simplify your decor” or “fix that sticking door.” However, if you haven’t sold a home yet, but may in the future, then you should know that is part of our job. We aren’t doing this because we love to give orders and watch people try to fulfill our every demand; we do this to maximize your home’s sale price. That being said, in this post, I am going to address specifically the things I have noticed recently when showing homes or things that have recently come up in conversations with clients.

As we have all heard time and again, first impressions are the most important, or you only get one chance to make a first impression. I can’t express this enough, but I hope to cement it in your brains when I tell you I showed a home recently that is listed for just under a million dollars, and the client was less than wowed. Can you imagine having a million dollars on the line and blowing your first impression! That’s an epic fail on an agent’s part and a huge disservice to a client. First, when we drove up to the property, we were greeted by an outdoor fountain, and instead of being a beautiful statement it was algae-covered and screamed: “no one is taking care of this place!” If you will not be living in your home while it is on the market and no one will be keeping it up, the best thing to do would be to empty the fountain and unplug the pump and store it inside. Simple and free, doesn’t take long, no upkeep worries, and clients don’t immediately get turned off by unsightly algae. These types of things are probably going to become more and more important as we adjust to living in a world where we are increasingly hyper-alert about germs.

Children’s rooms are often a sight that brings mixed emotions. You can go from joy brought about by adorable furnishings in tiny sizes to horror at the destruction that these pint-sized creatures can do. Products marketed for children can often be misleading, as any parent knows, from “washable markers” to “non-stick” stickers, try not to allow these sweet looking items to turn a child’s room into a not so sweet selling point! Oftentimes, we don’t do the research on these items until cleanup time, and then it’s too late. My suggestions with these items are
1. Read all instructions before giving them to your children, test them ahead of time, and attempt to restrict where they use them.
2. If you do need to remove items from walls and some of the drywall comes with them, fix it. Skimming with a little joint compound is fairly easy and cheap, just Google how to repair drywall damage.
3. Most parents will tell you that Mr. Clean Magic Erasers are their best friend. They help with so many different things, keep some on hand.

Young children are not the worst offenders, that would have to go to the teenage girl. Along with the world record for putting the most nail holes per square inch into a wall, they can clog a tub, toilet, or sink with enough hair and makeup to have to pull out all the plumbing! If there is a teenage girl living in your home, I would suggest putting some safety measures into place before this happens. For instance, there is a variety of drain protectors to protect your plumbing from that hair and makeup. Area rugs over carpet, no matter how redundant they sound, you’ll be happy you did it. Countertops tend to suffer greatly at the hands of girls wielding their favorite torture mechanism, nail polish! You can use non-acetone nail polish remover to get nail polish off of cultured marble, granite, and Corian. You can likewise use acetone nail polish remover to get nail polish off of quartz and laminates. If the counter is stone, use a razor blade to scrape most of the polish off first, and no matter which product your countertop is, use the removers sparingly and rinse with water afterward.

Things like unfinished can or pendant lights in a room that is anything more than a year old, is blatant proof to a buyer that you didn’t care the entire time you lived there. Look at the difference here, and most people have a spare ceiling cap just lying around. Dust, polish, and refinish anything that doesn’t take long and is inexpensive, these things will add incrementally to your bottom line. Another seller lost the chance to make a better first impression when my buyer was greeted by these numbers, and actually mentioned them to me. They might have even had the product to take care of this under their kitchen sick already, and if they didn’t, they surely had what it takes to make one themselves because there are many common household items that can be used to make a brass polish. This is something that could have been easily avoided with regular simple upkeep or a last-minute fix before listing.

While many of us are home right now due to COVID19 and looking for more projects, simple upkeep now can have your home looking list ready! Wiping down baseboards, shining brass, patching walls, and replacing caulk in bathrooms are all things that take minimal money and talent, but also make your home stand out. Why not use this time to maximize your biggest investment?

Real estate agents can do a lot with marketing and their network, but nothing can convince a buyer of the safety of their investment when they are continually greeted by proof of neglect when viewing a home. When this happens, you will pay for it with your bottom line! If you are okay with dropping your price to pay for the work that needs to be done, be ready for that to actually happen. However, you must understand that even if the things you refuse to take care of are cosmetic only and inexpensive to fix, they will leave an impression on a buyer that makes them fearful. Fearful that you may not have taken care of the larger, more expensive items, like the HVAC system or roof leaks. This, in turn, is going to cause them to either walk away or want more than enough to just cover cosmetics. So, if you keep getting low offers on your home and are convinced it’s worth more, take another walk through and look at it as if you’re the buyer and you want a smart investment.

There are so many things to cover on this topic so make sure to read my next blog where I’ll discuss more tips for specific rooms. I would love for you to comment below with your DIY, home tips to help me and others keep our homes showing their best.
Give me a call if you’re considering selling your home, you’ll be sure to get an honest opinion on how to make it show it’s best and get top dollar.

Julie Fanelli
Real Estate/Leasing/Property Management
Julie.Fanelli@AgentOwnedRealty.com
843-513-8319