If you are trying to sell your Lake Forest home, please take a good look at the way your home is being presented. If your home is listed on the MLS, the photos are critical to make a good first impression and make buyers want to come over to see it in person. (And if you have good photos, make sure the house looks as good when buyers really do come through!)
Our market is difficult right now and the buyers aren’t in any hurry. You need to take advantage of every opportunity you have to make a great first impression and show the buyers that you are serious about selling! All the photos in this post were taken from the SoCalMLS, where somebody’s agent put them! If your home isn’t ready to look its best, don’t let your agent put these out for the whole world to see!
- De-clutter : if you don’t need it in the next 6 weeks, pack it, give it away, or sell it. Get it out of your living space!
- Clean – Clean – clean! (Windows, floors, bathrooms, kitchen, all horizontal or vertical surfaces!)
- Maximize curb appeal – trim, mow, over-seed the lawn, sweep, wash, touch-up trim, plant flowers.
- Neutralize : Get rid of wallpaper, and any “interesting” or flashy colors that may turn buyers off. (Fresh paint is the cheapest upgrade with the biggest return on your investment!)
- Re-arrange furniture to make rooms look larger (maybe put some in the garage).
- Get good (or great) photos! Take as many as it takes to present the house in an attractive way. Use good lighting, & a wide angle lens. Never use cell phone photos!
- Understand the market & know your competition – what choices do the buyers have & how many buyers are out there? If there are 50 homes in your price range (plus or minus about 8% of your price) but only 10 sell per month, your house needs to be better than 80% of them to sell within a month!
All wonderful ideas and makes sense. I tell this to our clients who are trying to sell there homes but they don’t usually want to spend to much on a home there moving out of. They just don’t understand how important these steps are I guess?
One tactic I’ve seen used effectively, at least in relatively strong markets (I stress the word “relative”) like OC, is to price 5%-10% below market. Pricing is a tried and true method to motivate buyers to come to the table! There’s nothing that says you have to accept the first offer that comes your way, but at least this will help you QUICKLY discover the true market price. There’s nothing more satisfying to a seller than to have multiple buyers compete for the property.