TIPS FOR SELLERS

YOUR HOME will be Multiple Listed.  Agents from many real estate companies will wish to show your home.

OUR OFFICE will always call to ask for an appointment.  Please allow the agents to show your home at the suggested time.  We will keep your home key here, if you wish, however, it makes for friendlier relations with co-op brokers if there is a lockbox for their convenience.

PLEASE BEAR IN MIND that the colors you have chosen for your home aren’t always the ones that a Buyer would choose.  We have a saying in our business, which is “Merrill Lynch beige”.  Its origin comes from Corporate Relocation business. When the Sellers take the corporate buyout Relo comes in and “neutralizes” the home, on behalf of the client, for resale.  The object is to neutralize everything to appeal to a broader spectrum of people.  It can be a critical part of the market strategy on the sale of your home.  YOU NEED TO MAKE YOUR HOME LOOK LIKE A MODEL HOME.  Merchandise your spaces – put things in storage if you have to, but clear everything out and let the home “shine” - not your personal possessions.

OPEN ALL your draperies, window shades and blinds during daylight hours.  Your home will look bright, cheerful and sunny.  Turn on bathroom lights.  The agents should be professional enough to turn off the lights as they leave each room.

FOR EVENING showings, turn on all lights in the home – especially the bathrooms.  Again the agent should shut off lights when leaving an unoccupied room.

I CAN’T STRESS how important it is to have clean WINDOWS.  INSIDE and OUT.  You can scrub the rest of your home until your fingers are raw to the bone, but dirty windows will make your home appear dirty.  And that includes the tracks and the area between the
window and the screen.  If the eyes are the window of the soul, clean windows say that this home is “clean”.

BATHROOMS  Clean ceramic tile, regrout or recaulk the tub area, clean the track around the shower door, polish mirrors and provide lots of light.  Replace dim bulbs…. Bright!!!

THE KITCHEN   Clean.  Stove, floor, refrigerator front, (that includes the little ones art work and magnets).  The kitchen is the heart of your home and should show love and caring for the food and the people who gather there.

FRESH FLOWERS – in abundance – on the kitchen table, a potpourri simmering on the stove or by itself (pet and grease aromas are an instant turnoff) – a fire in the fireplace on chilly days – soft music playing – a clean, freshly painted front door and entranceway – your favorite pet confined or restricted – all important items for creating a pleasing first impression.  Don’t forget to clean out closets and reorganize.  Make your closets appear bigger. 

RENT a storage bay for all of your collectibles.  Space is an all-important issue in previewing a home. It’s so important to depersonalize your home so your buyer can imagine their things in your spaces.  IT’S IMPORTANT TO HELP THE PROSPECTIVE BUYER SEE YOUR HOME IN HIS WORLD.

YARD and bushes neatly trimmed and watered.  Some flowers (annuals in pots) add color and cheerfulness to the view. 

PLEASE PUT all valuables in bureau drawers or out of sight.

THE BASEMENT may be a storage area to you, but to potential buyers it is additional living space.  Clean out all trash; rebox and consolidate items; keep boxes away from the walls;  paint the walls and the floor, if needed or retile the floor;  A coat of wax on a tile floor does wonders for appearances.  IN SHORT – clean it up and fix it up.  SAME GOES for the garage.

IF POSSIBLE, step outside while your home is being shown – but only if the weather permits.  Otherwise, just make yourself scarce in your home.  And if outside, take your pet with you.  We all know that our homes are for kids and our furry friends, but buyers need to imagine their family in these spaces.  If the agent has any questions, he/she’ll find you.  And the HIGHLIGHT SHEET that I prepare is designed to answer a lot of the prospects questions.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW where you can be reached at ALL times.  If you plan to be out of town, please leave me a number where you can be reached, even if on vacation.  In this day of fax machines, email and voicemail, it’s even easier to conduct business wherever you are.  Even overseas. 

REPLACE any items, such as chandeliers, not included in the sale, or tag them with “to be replaced with …” or “not included”.  The Highlight Sheet, Seller’s Disclosure Statement and the MLS ticket are attempts to address these items.  But there are times when an added assistance is appreciated.

STAGING The latest trend is to have our Sellers use a “stager’ who will come in to your home, make recommendations as to how to place furniture, remove clutter and generally give your home that “wow” appeal. Even to rent furniture in an unfurnished home to give more impact.

OUR OFFICE will keep a record of all showings. We will contact each agent for feedback, comments and suggestions. This may take a week so please be patient.   Please keep showing agent cards until we can pick them up.  Their card is their TICKET of ADMISSION.  MAKE SURE THEY GIVE YOU ONE. 

Reprinted in part from the Detroit Free Press – Sunday, July 31, 1988