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7 Tips for Making the Living Room Look Fantastic to Buyers

The living room or family room is often a focal point for buyers who come to see your listing. They’ll look around and imagine relaxing evenings, family get togethers, and holidays celebrated in that room. So it’s important to ensure it looks its best. Here are professional staging tips for doing just that:

1. Neutralize the palette. Consider repainting walls in shades of beige, grey, or off-white. These hues will appeal to a broader range of buyers and allow them to visualize their own décor in the space. These colours will also make the room look bigger.

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4 Ways to Find the Time to Sell your Home

Are you thinking about selling your home this spring? If so, one factor that may be holding you back is time.

You might be worried that you won’t find the time in your busy schedule to sell your property successfully. If so, here are four strategies that will help:

1. Understand what needs to be done Do you know what you’ll need to do to sell your home? Do you understand the steps involved? Do you have a clear idea of how long it will take to complete various tasks, like getting repairs done and doing some “staging”? The more accurately you can anticipate your tasks and how long it will take to complete them, the better you’ll be able to plan and schedule.

2. Keep a “moving” calendar It’s a known time management fact that using a calendar and blocking out time for tasks will ultimately save you time. So, use your calendar, or create a new one just for moving-related items. With an up-to-date calendar in place, you’ll always have a view of what needs to be done and how those tasks fit into your weekly schedule. Maintaining a moving calendar also reduces stress.

3. Ask for advice How should you stage your main floor? Should you make any home improvements? How should you prepare for a buyer coming to view your property? You don’t need to guess or Google. Get professional advice. Doing so will expose you to the most current best practices and will save you time.

4. Hire help You don’t need to do everything on your own. Instead, consider hiring professionals to do at least some of the work for you. For example, hire a painter, a lawn mowing service or a dog walker. Hiring professionals during the selling period can save you countless hours. And, those costs may be offset by the sale of your home.

Should your Home be in “Move-In” Condition when you Sell?

Imagine you’re shopping for a car. You find one that’s a suitable model, a recent year, and hasn’t been driven a lot. The price is right, too.

But, there’s a caveat.

The paint is worn off in several places. The driver’s seat upholstery is torn and requires repair. And, the tires needed to be replaced… a long time ago.

Would you still buy it? You might. However, unless you enjoy fixing up cars, you’d probably hesitate to make the purchase.

After all, in addition to seeing the car itself, you’re noticing the work that needs to be done to fix it.

The same holds true when selling your home.

The more “move-in” ready you make the property the more likely buyers are to become interested in buying it. Like when viewing a car, you want buyers to focus on all your home’s wonderful features, not on the repairs and updates that need to be done.

That being said, how important is it that your home be “move-in ready” when you sell?

That depends, in large part, on the market. If it’s currently a seller’s market in the neighbourhood — lots of buyers but comparatively few properties for sale — getting your home move-in ready is less important. There is already high demand for your property. (However, getting all repairs done and staging your property effectively will still provide a significant advantage.)

In a buyer’s market, where there are more homes for sale than buyers, you’re in a competitive situation. So, anything you can do to give your listing an advantage is worth the effort. That includes making it as “move-in” ready as possible.

The Role of Energy-Efficient Features when Selling your Home

When you’re selling your home, you want to promote those features that will be of highest interest to prospective buyers.

After all, the more reasons a buyer has to love your property, the more likely they are to make a great offer.

Increasingly, one category of features that buyers are looking for is energyefficiency.

So, if there are specific energy-saving characteristics of your home, make sure those are highlighted when selling.

When considering the energy-efficient characteristics of your property, consider the following:

• Appliances: Fridge, stove, washer, dryer.

• HVAC: Furnace, air conditioner.

• Insulation. (Especially in the attic.)

• Home technology. For example, a system that automates heating, cooling, lighting, etc., to keep energy usage to a minimum.

• Lighting. Have you switched to LED bulbs or fixtures?

• Windows and doors. For example, did you replace windows in recent years to help lower heating and cooling costs?

If something stands out as particularly energy-efficient, it will be of interest to many buyers. And, obviously, if your home has a unique energy-efficient feature, such as solar panels, you’ll definitely want to point that out in the listing description. Want more tips on maximizing the appeal of your property? Let’s be in touch

Selling Later in the Year? Start the Process Now

Imagine in future when it’s safe, you want to take the “trip of a lifetime” in a fall timeline. Would you leave it until the summer to start planning, booking dates, and generally getting ready? Probably not.

A trip like that is a big deal. You’d want to start making arrangements now, so by the time you’re ready to go to the airport, everything will be set for you and your family to have a great time. The same is true when selling your home.

If you intend on listing your property in the spring or summer, now is the time to start making plans.

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Finding and Buying a Great Home in a Hurry

Imagine if, for whatever reason, you suddenly needed to find and buy a new home in a hurry. What if you had just a few weeks?

If you’re like most people, your first instinct might be to panic. Well, there’s nothing wrong with having some apprehension about having to find a new home quickly. But, there are steps you can take that will make the process a lot less stressful and, ultimately, make it more likely that you’ll find a great property you’ll love.

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