Selling Key West Real Estate

Selling Key West Real Estate - Preparing your home for sale

Getting Ready To Sell "Do's and Dont's"
Those Little Things Can Mean a Lot

Sometimes a sale is lost due to the smallest item. If you overlook easy-to-fix cosmetic improvements, chances are the buyer won't. It could result in an attempt to negotiate a lower price, or worse-the buyer might just walk away. Here are suggestions to make inexpensive fixes to items that make significant impact to 'the buyers' eye'.

Before your home goes on the market, it is in your best financial interest to give it a good 'detailing'. You should not do anything too drastic or expensive unless it happens to be absolutely necessary. Try to go through your home and correct as many things as possible that may leave a negative impression. This will mean a faster sale for you at a higher price. Your house won't command a high price if it is perceived as a 'fixer upper' when it is not.

Suggestion: Print out this form and walk through your house with it and see how many items you can address.

Imagine your home is a builder's model home; Clear counters, spacious closets, gleaming bathrooms and kitchens with fresh towels, all the lights on, nothing stuck to the refrigerator, clean windows, no trash cans in site, not a lot of 'family' photos (you want them to picture their family in the home, not yours), and tastefully decorated.

If buyers see lots of little items that have been neglected, it gives the idea that the home is not well maintained. They become worried about what else is wrong with the house that they can't see and are turned off.

With that in mind, it is in your best interest to consider the following items:

A homebuyer's first impression is based on his or her view of the house from the curb or a photo. That first impression is called 'curb appeal'. If your home does not have it, they won't want to see the inside. They assume that if the outside is not taken care of-the inside isn't either.

So, let's start on the outside and work our way in.

The Exterior:
Go across the street and take a look at your home's 'curb appeal'. The entry of the home should be as clean and sharp as possible. Refinish or repaint the area if you have to-especially the front door. Does the doorbell work? Make sure the door is easy to open with its key. Door locks that are difficult to open leave a bad first impression. Replace the doormat with something new, clean, and inviting. An updated light fixture can cost as little as $15. A pot of flowers by the entrance always says 'welcome'.

If your house paint looks faded and tired, buyers will notice immediately. Use a neutral house color that blends with the neighborhood and style of the house. Don't forget to clean the roof if it needs it.

Any outdoor furniture should be clean and in good condition. Coil hoses neatly.

The Front Yard:
Now is not the time to plant trees. New, young trees don't have any character so your money is wasted here. A few strategic bushes, flowers and fresh mulch beds will give your home tremendous 'curb appeal'. Dead or dying plants should be removed. Established plantings should be trimmed neatly. Brown spots on lawns need to be fertilized or resodded. If your grass needs attention, do this first as it may take a few days or weeks for repairs to blend in with the existing lawn. Your local home store has fertilizer that can give you a quick 'greening' for very little money. Keep lawns trimmed and grass cuttings out of sight.

Landscaping is an area that returns 100% of your cash investment in it.

The Back Yard :
Neatness is the number one factor here. If you have a pool or hot tub, make sure it is clean and free of debris. If you have a dog, keep the yard free of any remnants. Remove unnecessary items. In the Keys, yard space is a rare commodity. You want every inch of yours to show.

The Interior:
Take out the trash -- Nobody likes to see garbage, especially someone else's. The kitchen garbage is most important since that is often one of the rooms buyers will spend the most time in.

Get rid of the clutter -- This is the first and most difficult step in the process because of the emotional attachment people have to things they have collected over the years. You may believe you have organized your 'clutter' and no longer see it as the mess it may be. Buyers will see it that way and it can greatly affect their perception of the home.

Counter tops, closets, shelves, drawers, and all storage areas need to be as clear as possible. It will create the appearance of more space. Having your garage sale before your home goes on the market will help reduce the clutter and open up your spaces. Make donations now. Pack up unnecessary closet items and put in a temporary rented storage facility, if necessary. Jammed closets are a 'no-no'. All closets need to have room for even more clothes than they show. This gives the subconscious impression of ample closet space-a huge plus for any house.

Cleaning - Make the beds, get rid of dirty dishes and empty drinking glasses laying around, pick up newspapers and toys, dust, vacuum, mop, sweep the front, clean the bathrooms (no hair in the sink, please), hang fresh towels, hide the garbage, put dirty clothes in the washer, etc. A clean house makes a lasting impression. A dirty house makes an even longer lasting impression. When homebuyers think back to the homes they have seen, they seldom remember "the dirty one" with fondness.

Pets - Remove pets or at least keep them out of sight when perspective buyers drop by. Try to remove any harsh pet odors as well. If a buyer has allergies, it could present a huge obstacle.

Odors - Don't use scented air fresheners. Many people do not like them, are allergic to them, or may think you are covering up an unpleasant odor. Most don't really smell that good anyway. Natural scents, like flowers, fresh fruits, or cooking smells are best. Bake cookies, make a pot of coffee in the kitchen, light vanilla candles or put a drop of vanilla on a few warm light bulbs to fill the air with a pleasant, but not overwhelming aroma.

Odors from smoking are the largest problem when we are showing a home. If you are a heavy smoker and have been smoking inside your home for years, you need to have it cleaned professionally. This is a big job. Walls, fans, window treatments, carpets, cabinets, and air conditioning components all need a deep cleaning with effective cleaning agents to remove the yellow nicotine coating on the home. Move a wall picture. If there is an obvious clean mark behind where the picture hangs, you know you have a serious re-sale problem that will turn off most buyers-even ones that smoke!

If you have been smoking for awhile, your sense of smell is probably impaired. Trust your agent's comments on this. If they don't address the issue voluntarily and you are a smoker, ask about how bad the smoke odor really is. Some agents avoid this subject because they are afraid of offending a client. This is not the time for dancing around this serious issue. You may actually have to paint the interior of your home to remove this instantly-identifiable and often overwhelming odor.

Stay Away - Buyers don't want to feel like they are intruding. If they walk in on you and your family, they will feel rushed to get out of your way, or worse, they may not want to stay to see the house. If you cannot leave the house, try to stay out of the way. DON'T volunteer information, show the house yourself, answer nosey questions from buyers or let strangers in off the street. An agent will ask questions of you if they need to. Otherwise, you may actually interfere with the showing and selling procedure the agent is using with the buyer.

Lighting - Turn on all the lights. A dark and dreary home, especially at nighttime, is not inviting to most buyers. Install higher wattage bulbs if necessary. Open window coverings where possible to a good view and always, always, clean windows. A bright and cheerful home makes your visitor feel welcome and creates a feeling of "homeiness".

Dropping the price - A good salesperson will not overprice a home. It is not in your best interest. A decrease in the asking price gives the impression that there is something "less than desirable" about the house and buyers will be turned off.

If you do manage to find a buyer that gets caught up in the emotional aspect of buying and offers a high price, you still will have to deal with an appraisal. Recent sales and current market conditions cannot be ignored-because they won't be by an appraiser.

When your home is first listed, it is marketed to other Florida Keys agents in the area who market it to qualified buyers. Seasoned agents know that they will have trouble supporting the asking price to their buyers when it comes time to make an offer and they know there will be appraisal problems too. Most agents will avoid potential "problems", and therefore your overpriced house. Wouldn't you? Another problem with an over-priced property is that buyers will expect to see more than your house offers and will be disappointed. This is a waste of your time in prepping your home to show to a buyer that really won't be interested in it. Overpricing your home will help to sell a buyer the 'other' house that offers more for the same price.

Walls, Ceilings and Paint -- Eliminate all water stains on ceilings, walls, and floors. Water stains mean leaks. Even if they have been repaired, it gives the subconscious impression that there is an active leak and that will stay with potential buyers as a negative. Active leaks need to be repaired before painting.

Clean bright walls make a big impression. A fresh coat of paint can be a great investment since it is inexpensive and you can do it yourself. Use colors that appeal to everyone, like white or off white. Very bright or dark colored walls need to be neutralized. Most buyers look at them as nightmares to paint over and leaves a negative impression in their mind. Tip: Prime first to prevent 'severe color' bleed through.

Windows and Doors -- All windows and doors should open and close easily and without creaking. A few squirts of WD-40 should take care of this. Also, make sure there are no cracked or broken windowpanes and clean all the glass. Clean windows brighten a home significantly. This is a must.

Doorknobs need to be cleaned, polished and easy to turn. Remember, buyers will be turning every knob in the house. Sliding doors need to move smoothly. Make sure they are property seated on their tracks. Clean the tracks and grease with WD-40 or candle wax. If the wheels on your sliding doors are broken, replacement is a minor cost.

Louvered closet doors need to be adjusted if they come off their track when they are opened.

Cabinets -- Cabinet doors that don't close all the way can usually be adjusted with a simple screw driver. Drawers with bad gliders are a hazard to buyers that open them. You don't want a drawer coming out and falling on a buyer's foot. You can be liable for buyer's injuries in your home.

Carpet and Tile -- Clean carpets or replace outdated or hopelessly stained carpets with something inexpensive and neutral in color. Cracked floor tiles should be repaired or replaced. Don't spend too much here. All you are trying to do is eliminate a few negative impressions.

Plumbing and Fixtures - In addition to opening and closing all your doors, everyone interested in buying a home turns on light switches and faucets. Many people even turn on showers and flush toilets to check water pressure. Buyers will notice if your fixtures are dirty and worn and this will affect the impression of the house. Clean fixtures, replace obvious out-dated or fixtures in bad condition with inexpensive new ones. Make sure light switches and switch plates are spotless and in good shape. Cracked switch plates signal 'danger' in peoples' minds. That is not the impression you want to create. These are relatively small expenses that could pay off big for you.

Will a few small items needing repair spoil a sale? Probably not. But a property that has a number of little things wrong may spend more time on the market and sell at a lower price than one where the seller has attended to as many details as possible. There is no need to raise 'little' questions in a buyer's mind. Buyers also tend to overestimate how much it will cost to do a repair and reflect that in their offer price. A buyer may estimate that to re-paint a home it will cost $5000, when in actuality it will only cost $2000. If they think it will cost $5000, they offer $10,000 less.

Also, since most homes these days are sold "as-is", the less an inspector finds wrong with your home during the inspection, the better chance your buyer will be happy with the results and continue on with the sale without trying to renegotiate the sales price.

Case Point
One particular client of mine had a home that was very dated and not well maintained. The plus was that it was a large space in an area of relatively small homes. She was convinced that her home was a real prize and would sell high and fast without attending to any details. She refused to do a thing. After 4 months on the market, she finally agreed to give the home a fresh coat of paint and replace severely dated light fixtures with more modern ones. Her home was listed at $699,000 and she spent all of $2000 to help sell that home. Within one week of these changes, we had a contract for almost full asking price. As you can see from this example, you will be rewarded in making minor repairs and updates by selling faster and for more money.