Sellers

NJ Home Sale Tips


Tips for Preparing Your Home for Sale

Interior:
One of the most important things you can do to sell your home for top dollar is to remove clutter before its first showing. An important part of the price is based on the size, or square footage, of the house. You do not want it to look like you have outgrown your home because there is not enough storage or square footage for all of your belongings and furniture. Do everything you can to improve the visual apparent size of your home.

TIP: “High Wattage Lights Create More Space” It is very helpful to replace any low wattage bulbs with the highest possible safe wattage in every lamp and light fixture in the house. It is good to have at least three light sources in each room. The brighter a room is, the larger it will feel and appear. The more space you have to sell, the more money you will receive. In staying with the same concept, open all blinds and let as much light as possible into the home before an open house.

Quick Check List:

  • Get rid of unnecessary furniture.
  • Clean closets and clear off countertops.
  • Scrub all tile floors.
  • Clean all carpets
  • Make sure to wash all windows and mirrors in the home.

* Kitchens and bathrooms are also key factors in the purchase of a home. Make sure they are both spotless. Sometimes, something as small as replacing a bathroom curtain can make a big difference in a buyer’s perception of your house.

Exterior:

Creating the “Curb Appeal” that can sell your home from the street:
"Curb appeal" is the common real estate term for everything prospective buyers can see from the street that might make them want to turn in and take a look. Improving curb appeal is critical to generating traffic in your home. While it does take time, it needn't be difficult or expensive, provided you keep two key words in mind: neat and neutral.

REMEMBER: Neatness sells. New paint, an immaculate lawn, picture-perfect shrubbery, a newly sealed driveway, potted plants at the front door — put them all together, and drive-by shoppers will probably want to see the rest of the house.

Quick Check List:

  • Mow and water lawn
  • Trim trees and plant flowers.
  • Store all bikes, toys, etc out of site.
  • Sweep the Sidewalks.
  • Re-Paint all applicable areas.

TIP: Before putting your home on the market, give it a bath. (i.e. Rent a power washer from a local hardware store and clean all dirt, mold, etc from the exterior of your home.)

Don’t forget to “Freshen Up”:

Quick Check List:

  • Stop smoking in the house.
  • Bathe pets and clean litter box.
  • Empty trash and recycling bins.
  • Use baking soda in smell prone areas.
  • Place flowers, scented candles, potpourri around the home.

TIP: Before having a potential buyer into your home, you can create the illusion of fresh baked cookies by placing a dish of vanilla in a warm oven. You can also create a nice scent by sending a lemon through your garbage disposal.

The Benefits of a Third Party View:
Often times, it is hard to look objectively at something that is as large a part of your everyday life as a home. This is why we recommend you find someone else — a neighbor, friend or relative, or one of Daunno Development’s Senior Construction Managers — who may point out advantages or disadvantages to your house that you hadn't thought about. Third-party views will help you start thinking of your house as a commodity, with positive and negative selling points, rather then your own personal home. As we all know, a home is usually a person’s largest investment.

Be careful of Over Improvement:
While making large investments in your property can seem like an easy way to increase value that may not always be the case. Things such as adding central air conditioning, building a deck or patio, finishing the basement, doing some kitchen remodeling (updating colors on cabinets, countertops, appliances, panels, etc.) and adding new floor and/or wall coverings, especially in bathrooms can usually be recouped at sale time dollar for dollar. On the other hand, improvements that return less than what they cost are generally ones that appeal to personal tastes that not everyone may share, like adding fireplaces, wet bars and swimming pools, or converting the garage into an extra room.

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