Find Out What Repairs And Fix-Ups You SHOULD Be Doing Before Selling

Often people call us up to list their house or condominium and say "I've just installed brand new carpet throughout my home" with the intention of course of increasing their home's value. After questioning, I find they just installed it over reasonably good hardwood floors!

Or they've stripped off all the shingles and reroofed the entire house when it was only the front porch that needed some repairs.

The problem with that is they now expect to regain that money they've spent back again on the sale price.

Rarely will they get back dollar-for-dollar in this situation but more often just 50 cents or less on the dollar spent!

The solution... do ONLY cosmetic repairs which enhance the value (or perception of value) in the eyes of the purchaser.

The Four Critical Principles To Maximizing Your Sale Price

There are four critical principles... Pricing, Presentation, Promotion and Negotiation... which, when carried out diligently, ensure that you will get the highest price possible for your house or condo.

The first principle... Pricing... should be done in conjunction with your Realtor after looking at recent comparable sales, but the bottom line is that it’s your decision to make.

The third and fourth principles, Promotion and Negotiation, rest entirely on the Realtor to provide. Quite simply, the better the promotion for your home AND the better negotiator your Realtor is, the HIGHER the sales price you'll get.

Although the responsibility for carrying out the second principle, Property Presentation, rests exclusively on the homeowner, it should NOT be done without some coaching from an experienced Realtor who knows what cosmetically-improved features are most likely to attract a buyer and entice them to pay a higher price!

Proper Presentation IS Critical...

After 29 years of helping homeowners maximize their sales price, we realize why proper presentation of your home really is crucial!

Why is it so important? There are three critical reasons...

First, most buyers have NO experience in fixing up a home, however minor those repairs are. They often can't "see through the dust" as it were to visualize how your home might look once it has been fixed up.

The problem with that is many buyers, through their inexperience, tend to exaggerate the extent of the repairs and attach a 'price tag' which is often 3-4 times what the actual fix-up cost really is.

Therefore they've effectively REDUCED the value of your home in their mind by several thousands of dollars!

Second, quite a few home purchasers are buying with a limited down payment and are 'scraping' their pockets to make up the closing costs.

These buyers just DON'T have the cash to do repairs or fix-ups once they move in.

Third, singles and couples these days are often working many hours in their careers. Once they do get home, the last thing they want to do is pick up a paint brush or a hammer.

This is why COSMETICALLY ENHANCED homes always sell for more money and in a shorter time!

How Do We Advise Our Clients?

We act as valuable consultants and advisors to assist home owners with maximizing their sale price. The Room-by-Room Review helps a condominium or house owner prioritize what to do to stage their home for the buyer’s eyes, by working on the big things first. The goal... to make your home show better than all the other competitors in the market!

When’s the best time to have a Room-By-Room Review done? The earlier that you do your Review prior to your ‘ideal’ moving date the better.

Why? Most sellers are in the same position as the buyers... working hard and don’t have the time to do a lot of work or don’t have the skills necessary to do the work. In either case, having a longer cushion of time allows those ‘cosmetic only’ repairs to be carried out at a more leisurely pace over several weeks or weekends. That cushion of time also allows a bit of time to fit your fix-ups into a handyman’s busy schedule.

A typical Room-By-Room Review takes about 20-30 minutes of your time, and you’re encouraged to follow along with pen and paper in hand.

We’ll do a walk-thru of every interior room and around the exterior to discover the areas in your home where we can suggest cosmetic enhancements which will catch (or avoid catching) the buyer's eye.

We'll create a cosmetic fix-up list that you can either do yourself OR we can even recommend a couple of 'handy-men' contractors who specialize in getting homes ready for sale.

Once you’ve completed your cosmetic repairs, we have a Home Stager ready to come over and make the final suggestions on how to maximize your selling price.