Annette Lipkovits

Setting the Stage: A Sellers Guide

Presentation counts! Your home needs to appear welcoming and comfortable. It doesn't have to be a show place but "setting the stage" can help achieve a quicker sale and potentially a higher price.

1^st Impressions.... Tour your home as if you are a prospective buyer

Starting Outside...Curb Appeal

The first look of your home will be from their realtor's car, so step across the street and look at the overall view of your home. Look at the yard, fences, windows, doors, roof and walls.

• Start with picking up and removing any papers or garbage that may be on the street.
• Tidy any flower beds, pots or gardens, keep the lawn mowed and shrubs trimmed.
• Sweep driveways, patios and decks, remove any extra clutter and arrange outdoor furniture attractively to give the impression of openness and leisure.
• Have any minor repairs done; sticky gates, doors or windows, loose door knobs, etc.
• Clean doors, windows, screens and awnings.
• Keeping garage doors closed look tidier and if you own a dog try to take it for a walk during the time of showings.

 Moving Inside...Make it easy to explore

The hardest thing to do is to step back and look at your home from the buyer's perspective. After years of living in your home you become emotionally attached to things but remember cluttered houses appear smaller and unclean, which leads the buyer to imagine bigger problems or defects.

Prospective Buyers often don't know what to do while looking at a house so they tend to flick switches, flush toilets, turn on faucets and open cupboards and closets. Therefore you want to create as much clear space as possible; every little extra thing needs to be cleared away.

• Make the entry way welcoming and attractive by adding a healthy plant or picture, ensuring the doorbell works and the doormat is clean.
• Raise blinds and open curtains letting in as much light as possible, also ensure light fixtures are clean, that all switches work and wherever possible use 100 watt bulbs.
• Clean marks of the walls, remove stains from baths and basins and ensure tiles in both the kitchen and bathroom are sparkling.
• Repair dripping taps, squeaking doors, broken or lose tiles.
• Avoid leaving dishes in the sink or draining rack.
• Arrange furniture to make the room easy to enter and to appear larger.
• If you have pets remove the kitty litter trays or dog/cat food bowls.

     Dynamizing your home...little things make a big difference

• Place a book or novel beside the bed
• Table settings like fabric placemats, attractive place settings or center pieces
• Fresh flowers around the house, like it is a special occasion.
• Soothing music softly played in the background
• Attractive perfume bottles, pretty soaps or a bowl of fragrant dried petals in the bathroom
• Brew a fresh pot of coffee or have some freshly baked goods with apple or cinnamon to add a pleasant aroma that permeates throughout the house
• Put cushions and soft toys on the children's beds

The final touches

• Put all valuables and personal items away
• Be prepared at all reasonable times for potential buyers to view your home
• If possible it is best to leave during a showing but if you are there and a prospective buyer asks questions about the home or neighborhood answer directly and honestly. However refer any questions about the transaction; price, inclusions, dates, etc. to your realtor.

A Buyers Guide-from start to finish

1. Making the Right Choice...who should I work with?

For most people buying or selling a home only happens a few times in their life so choosing the right Real Estate Professional to assist through this process is crucial. Start with a little research; never choose a Realtor just because they are the first one that came your way or because you don't know anyone else. Choose the agent that is going to fit your needs and expectations and you can only do this by asking the right questions.

2. The Mortgage Broker? Know your Mortgage options and Save Money!

Get Mortgage Pre-approval? Before you start your home search, you need to know how much money you are qualified for, nobody wants to find the home of their dreams and then find out they can't afford it! Plus it is an excellent negotiating tool when presenting your offer to sellers! Finding the right mortgage planner means you will have someone that is going to assist you with all your mortgage needs! Custom fitting a mortgage plan with the best rates, terms and features.

3. Finding the Perfect home...negotiating the best price!

In todays market it is a little easier to do this with over 90% more homes on the market this year than last. As your realtor I can assist you by narrowing down that home search, sending you daily updates on new homes that have your list of criteria plus the added bonus of often receiving information on homes before they even hit the marketplace. Then comes the offer to purchase; what conditions (subjects) and terms should be included in the contract? I will assist and advise you on what will make your offer more appealing to the seller. Most importantly negotiating the lowest price! This is an art in itself and is the part of being a real estate professional I truly enjoy!

4. Completion; inspectors, lawyers, notaries, insurance and subject removals!!!

All this can be overwhelming! Home Inspection or not? Lawyer or Notary?...With sound advice and a great team of professionals working for you this process should be easy and painless.

5. The Move In!

Use our free client courtesy moving van! A clean, modern moving van at no charge. Just a few easy steps that we will need to take to make sure it is available for your move in date.