Real Estate

Olivia and Jacob’s sweat equity paid off, their home was now ready to get sold. Send the Buyers in they said! Hold on, their Realtor said! First, high quality photos and videos must be taken. In order to sweep a Buyer off their feet, they first want to see photos, lots of photos. In fact, over 90% of Buyers will search over the internet before they actually getting in their car to view homes. With this in mind, why do we see so many homes listed for sale without photos, with just a few photos or with low quality photos? And what’s worse is that most home Sellers have no idea of these photo nightmares. Sellers should always ask to see the many photos and videos taken by their Realtor. In fact, they shouldn’t have to even ask. These should be presented to the Sellers upon listing their home for sale. I know I do! Sellers should be raving about the photos and video. In fact, they may be wondering if they really should be selling their home as it’s presented so well in the photos! No, that doesn’t happen, yet they should be very happy with the resulting photos.

Blast home for sale across the Internet and Social Media networks We buy houses Joliet

Now Olivia and Jacob had the right price, homes neat and clean as a whistle, and their photos provided Buyers with enough visuals to really get a good feel for their home. Buyers will likely be champing at the bit to get in to see their home, as their home is now being blasted across the internet and various Social Media networks that their hired Realtor subscribes to and actively participates in, including her weekly Real Estate blogging. Olivia and Jacob remember this part of the home selling process very well when they had initially searched for the Realtor they ultimately selected. It seems as if everywhere they looked over the internet, their Realtor was there; a very good sign they thought particularly after their Realtor had advised that over 90% of Buyers start their home search over the internet. They knew they wanted to make sure their home was everywhere to be found and be seen!

Make showings easy for prospective Buyers

It seems to have been a long road to get to this point, Olivia and Jacob thought, but they made it. They’re now ready to open the front door and welcome prospective Buyers. They both work and they thought it would be easy to schedule showings for Saturdays and Sundays so they could be at home when the Buyers arrived. When they expressed this idea to their Realtor, their Realtor quickly pointed out that showings must allow flexibility for a Buyer’s schedule and it’s very important to be accommodating to their schedule. When you don’t allow this flexibility you’re allowing the Buyer to go and see your competition’s home that were accommodating to their times. She understood that it’s not easy to have Buyers marching through your home all the time, however the quicker the Buyers march in, the quicker an offer will come and the showings will stop. They understood and agreed to showings being given by an hours notice. They knew that when they left the home that the home would have to be tidy and clean for viewing Buyers. Their Realtor also offered some peace of mind to them to let them know that an electronic lock box would be attached to the exterior of their home where the showing Realtor’s identity and time of arrival/departure would be recorded. This way, they knew exactly who was coming to view their home and at what time and never would a Buyer come on their own. That was good to know Olivia thought as she was more concerned about the showings than Jacob was. They were now ready to have their home be shown.

Now it was time for Olivia and Jacob to prepare to sell their home under their Realtor’s guidance. Prior to getting their home ready, their Realtor had asked them specifics about their home, such as were there any needed repairs that they were aware of; what’s the condition of the roof, the A/C, any plumbing or electrical concerns or anything that she needed to be made aware of to avoid any later surprises. She even said they could have a home inspection prior to actually getting their home listed for sale. They really didn’t think that was necessary as they had been very diligent in maintaining their home and knew of no known issues.

Make your home’s exterior pop with excitement

They started with their home’s exterior. They hadn’t cleaned their driveway since last year, so they hired a company to come and power wash it, cleaned their roof, along with the home’s exterior walls, windows and doors. The trim was a bit faded so they freshened it up with a fresh coat of complementary color. The landscaping was spruced up by trimming back all the bushes and trees, including the removal of a dying bush that they’ve been meaning to get rid of for a several months now. Fresh bags of mulch were added and new summer bright flowers replaced the wilting flowers currently lining the home’s entry way. And lastly, the rubbed out, faded front door handle and knocker were also changed out. Now they were ready to welcome Buyers in the front door. Olivia and Jacob truly grasped the concept of grabbing those prospective Buyers at the curb with all the enhancements that they made! Their home’s exterior shouted “come inside”!

Get your home’s inside in tip top shape

Olivia and Jacob weren’t a total disaster in keeping a home clean – just a tad messy. They understood their Realtor’s recommendation to get their home’s inside sparkling clean and neat. They decided to take a Friday off and plan for a long weekend of getting their home really clean and clutter free. And it was a weekend, miraculously of no kids soccer matches, so it worked out just perfect. They thought of some of their friends who would have to plan for more than a long weekend to get their home ready to sell when that time comes. They packed up and removed the clutter that was piling up in corners of the home’s rooms and in their closets. They removed the clutter from their Kitchen and Bathroom countertops leaving out only decorative items and in the Kitchen leaving out only the necessary daily appliances such as a Coffee Maker. Thank goodness their Realtor didn’t say the Coffee Maker had to go!

The final tidiness made to their home was under their Realtor’s recommendation to move the furniture around to allow for more inviting living spaces and easy flow. They had a large sofa that was blocking a gorgeous outdoor window view of the lake and golf course and another that was blocking the flow of the room, so they made those adjustments. Even though it wasn’t a necessarily optimum space for their family, they made the change so their home was more suitable to Buyers.