Sensory Solutions - Using Your Senses To Locate Problem Areas (Cont.)

Is there a leak in the bedroom ceiling or windows causing mold and mildew? Often banishing odors takes little more than identifying the cause – cigarette smoke and butts, old tennis shoes, pets, dead critters in the attic or basement, dirty litter boxes – then cleaning and freshening the area. Ban smoking in the house while it’s on the market, send pets to live elsewhere, clean drapes and carpets, and empty ashes from the fireplace. Open windows and doors to allow fresh air to come in, and replace odors with lightly scented candles or potpourri.

Just as one gets used to looking at certain problems – such as the stain your son made on the carpet when he spilled his barbecue chicken last summer – it’s natural to stop hearing minor sounds after awhile. Be certain, though, that the buyer will hear them. Most likely your trusted friend will point them out, too. Is there a chorus of squeaks throughout the house?

Perhaps it’s time to have the air conditioner and heater checked for dirty filters or loose fan belts. Or is one of the squeaks coming from a lose door hinge? Squeaky doors and windows can be silenced with a good spray of WD-40 applied to their tracks. Does it sound like an intruder is trying to break a window? It could be the tree that scrapes the dining room window when the wind blows. A quick trim would alleviate the problem.

Bathrooms have their own set of noises – does the toilet keep running after it’s been flushed? Does the tub faucet drip when not in use? These are often silenced inexpensively by replacing the float mechanism in the toilet tank and washers in the faucet. Often taking care of noises will also reduce costs in electricity and water.

How does one experience the sense of touch – or feeling – in a house? Certainly the temperature plays a part. You don’t want a buyer to shiver while walking through your house, nor do you want her sweating bullets, either.

If you prefer extreme temperatures in your home, look to your trusted friend for guidance in the temperature department. Buyers will also touch doorknobs and mini-blind levers, so make sure they all turn easily. The same goes for knobs and levers on any appliances and cabinets. Repair or replace those that require extra pressure to turn or open. And don’t forget that fingers also find hidden dirt, so while the white glove test may seem a bit trite, this may be a good time to use it. Buyers don’t want to feel dust and grime on their hands after using the banister, opening a cabinet or leaning across a window sill.

Now you know what you should experience during your sensory home tour. Take a few moments to prepare your mind for the experience: Go outside for a few minutes, close your eyes and take a few deep breaths – a home selling equivalent to cleansing your palate between dinner courses. Enter your home, close the door and tour your home the sensory way.

Sensory Solutions - Using Your Senses To Locate Problem Areas

When preparing your home for the real estate market, one needs a fresh and honest perspective about the total effect of the house – and not just your own. Prospective buyers notice everything because walking through your house is a totally new experience for them. They feel the air temperature, notice cleanliness and colors, hear noises and smell odors. As a seller, you need to create a similar experience for yourself in order to locate all problem areas that need to be corrected. So, you think your home is ready to show?

Give your house a sensory test by changing your perspective. Walk through and analyze your house twice – once during the day and once at night. You’ll notice those dirty windows more during the day but may miss the debris clouding the overhead kitchen light that’s more noticeable at night. Also, try crawling across a room on your hands and knees – you’re more likely to come across those grimy baseboards or unsightly bare electrical outlets when you’re closer to the ground. Lying on your back will provide a better look at ceiling fans, lighting, spots on the ceiling, cobwebs in corners or cracks at the top of walls. Fix what you find and then give the home one more test: Recruit a trusted friend to put it through the same scrutiny. Be sure that you and your friend each use your senses to analyze the house – sight, smell, hearing, and touch.

Sight is the most obvious sense to use when searching for problem areas. Before analyzing each room, make sure light bulbs are the appropriate wattage and work properly. Then, look closely at the walls for scratches, marks, cobwebs, missing or broken light switch plates, and mold or mildew. Are wall clocks dusted and set properly? Check ceilings for brown spots, water stains, dirt, cob webs and dusty fans. Analyzing the floor may seem ridiculous since you walk on it all the time, but often defects are overlooked during the course of the day. Search for uneven floors, worn or soiled carpet, and water stains. Do area rugs need to be cleaned or replaced? Does the wood floor need refinishing? In the kitchen and bathrooms, test faucets for leaks and replace if necessary. Also check the walls, shower, tub and sink for mold. Scrub with a mixture of bleach and water to eliminate mold and mildew. Everything should look clean and sparkling.

Often odor is a more accurate indicator of a problem than sight. A carpet may look clean but after crawling across it you might detect odors from pets, smoke and ground-in food. A peculiar smell is often caused by mold especially in bathrooms, though unnoticed water damage my cause this problem in other areas of the house, too. Like other odor sources, mold can usually be removed but will return if the cause is not addressed. Do you need better ventilation in the bathroom?

Find Out More About Who Is Looking At Buying Your Home!

Why on earth would you want to know more about who’s looking at homes? Simply put, to help you sell it! The more you know about the types of buyers in the market, the better prepared you and your Realtor will be to package your house for sale.

In real estate there are some commonly used classifications that cover the bulk of home buyers. They are First-Time Home Buyers, Trade-Up Buyers, Trade-Down Buyers, and Empty Nesters.

First-Time Home Buyers:

More than one-third of all home buyers fit into this category. The homes they look for are modestly priced, often just enough to get them out of an apartment or other rental. This first home will hold them until their family or finances begin to grow and stabilize.

Coming from a rental situation, their requirements are privacy and storage space, although the true motivation is pride of ownership and getting away from paying rent.

Because this is a new experience for them, they’re more nervous about buying than someone who’s done it before. A special effort has to be made to assure them that they’re considering a sound investment, which they’ll have no trouble selling in later years.

Usually when you work with a first-time home buyer, financing is the biggest obstacle to getting the house sold. The key to this transaction is a great mortgage lender. Many people in this group who actually could buy your property don’t believe that they have enough money or good enough credit to own a home.

Trade-up Buyers:

This group is typically well-established in their careers and has stability in both their professional and personal lives.

With today’s economy and the influx of Internet entrepreneurs, many of these families are getting to this stage in their early 30s. Bearing in mind the shrinking family size, the trade-up buyer is motivated by prestige; therefore curb appeal and nice neighborhoods are high on their priority list.

Their principal goal is to find a larger home. Specific features that this group considers important include a formal living room with a separate family room, a formal dining room, extra closet and pantry space, and an impressive entry.

Price is not as important to this segment as the size of monthly payments, a motive that provides the opportunity for creative financing.

Trade-Down Buyers:

As the baby boomers head toward retirement and life span lengthens, there’s a growing category of buyers who are moving from large homes to smaller ones. This group includes those who because of divorce or financial difficulty have decided to move into a more manageable space. The other component is the people whose children have grown up and left a home that has become too large for two people – the Empty Nesters.

With the prevalence of divorce, there’s been an increase in single-parent households. Trade-down buyers often have the emotionally difficult task of facing a cut in their standard of living. These buyers want to have the shock minimized by being offered similar lifestyle statements provided to the trade-up buyers.

Empty Nesters:

Nearly 60% of people 55 and older who plan to move, do so to smaller homes. They want lower cost and maintenance, better security and more convenience.

They also prefer a more casual living space. They would opt for a great room over a formal living room and they prefer a combined kitchen and eating areas.

By emphasizing different features of your home, you can appeal to the special needs or desires of each market segment.

The unique skill of the Realtor is to match a home buyer with a home seller, so they both get what they need and desire out of a home. Chances are, as a seller, you’re also in one of these categories. What are you going to do after you sell? Move into a larger home, or move into a smaller one?

Questions That Buyers Will Ask Themselves About Your Home!

Before you list your home, think about the five questions that homebuyers will ask themselves about your house – and be prepared to answer them. If your house measures up the best against others when these questions are asked, yours will be the quickest to sell.

Is This A Good Location?

We’ve all heard the adage, “location, location, location.” There's a reason for that. No one wants to live in a bad neighborhood. They’ll even drive a little further to get to work if they love the neighborhood and/or their kids can go to better schools. Think about how many people live in Greenwich, Connecticut and commute into New York City. Why would they do this? The perception of better schools, cleaner air, more house for less money, more space, and people like themselves, among other things.

You have to create the perception of a great neighborhood – that you're “next to” the ritziest area of town, or near a great park or museum, or in the best school district, or have great access to the highway or metro for commuters, or that it’s the “new hot place to live.” Think of the benefits and create a “headline” of the benefits.

What Does It Cost?

Be realistic. You’re competing with other people who have a three-bedroom, two-bath home to sell. If you ask much more than the market will bear, it will take longer to sell your home.

When you sit down with a Realtor to list your home, you should ask what other homes have sold for in your neighborhood – and what homes in similar condition, with similar features, are selling for in your area.

How Does It Look?

Make your home the jewel of the neighborhood – the place that everyone wants to be. Assuming nothing is majorly wrong, here are a few things that you can do to give a great first impression.

Fix the driveway. It’s the first thing they see close-up, and sets the tone for how the buyer will see the rest of your home. If it’s cracked or stained, they’ll look for similar problems inside your home.

Mow the yard, trim the shrubs and plant some flowers – this gives a warm, inviting feeling. Think about how new homes are always so perfectly landscaped and strive to be the same.

Paint the front of the house – or at least the front door. This is the first actual contact that a buyer has with your home; give it the feel of a well-tended home.

Lastly, unclutter the place. Start packing the knick-knacks and moving your furniture into storage. This gives you a head start on moving, and gives the buyer a chance to imagine their own “stuff” in the house, leading them one step closer to making it their own.

Spend A Little Get A Lot!

• Improve safety by ensuring that windows and doors can’t slam shut; fixing loose handrail on porches, decks, and stairways; and removing dangerous tools, sharp objects and hazardous materials from the garage.


• Rent a bank safe deposit box to store cash and small valuables as long as your house is being shown.


• Consider replacing hinges and springs on the garage door. They’re relatively inexpensive and improve safety.


• If you’re three or four months away from marketing your house, consider reseeding the lawn instead of laying sod. Reseeding takes longer, but is much less expensive than sod.


• Replacing a cracked and broken walkway with cement stepping stones purchased from a home improvement store is an inexpensive but attractive way to create a new path to the front door.


• Your house should be comparable to others in the neighborhood. For example, if most of your neighbors have granite counter tops or tiled floors, consider upgrading yours.


• Begin the repair process by making your own home inspection. Walk around the yard and through the house and take notes about the problem areas, needed repairs, items to discard or store, and things to replace.


• Crayon and marker on walls require treatment before painting the room. Sand the marked area with sandpaper; seal it with shellac and then paint over the spot. This will enable the paint to stick and cover the marks.


• As you self-inspect your home, make notations on Post-it Notes and stick them in the area that needs attention. This gives an instant visual reminder of what needs to be done in each room.
• Use the proper type of paint for each surface you need to cover. Kitchen and bathrooms require paint that can withstand heat and moisture. Consult a professional at a paint store for advice.
• Create an information booklet containing property tax statements; records of maintenance, service work, warranty work and improvements made to the house; utility bills; and warranties for the roof, pool, spa, electrical systems and major appliances.
• Immediately before showing the house, make the home inviting by cleaning windows, opening the drapes, turning on lights and playing soft music.
• Keep under-the-bed storage containers handy for last minute clean up. Fill them with clutter and shove them out of sight.
• Light a couple of lightly scented candles to give a feeling of warmth and add a nice aroma
• If basement stairs lack a handrail, then add one. It’s safer and, in most states, required by law.
• Revitalize a tree or bush by trimming dead leaves and branches.
• Get rid of odors by cleaning drapes and carpets, scooping out the cat’s litter box daily, and emptying ashtrays each day.
• Keep a log of all improvements made and appliances purchased so you can remember what to include in the real estate listing.
• Adding closet organizers, building shelves, and adding rooms are not cost effective and won’t add to the sale price of the house.
• To save money, fix a leaking roof instead of replacing it.
• Professional window cleaners suggest donning rubber gloves then washing windows with a commercial window cleaner and newspaper. The newsprint creates extra sparkle.

The Kitchen - Heart Of The House! (Cont.)

mileage out of fewer dollars.

When the basics are completed, invest in good cleaning supplies and scrub every inch of that kitchen like it’s never been scrubbed in the house’s history. Remove magnets and everything else from the refrigerator door. In fact, clean out the inside as well. Use a sponge and antibacterial cleaner to scrub dirt, grease and food particles from the surfaces. Unless you have a self-cleaning oven, use oven cleaner to make the oven spotless inside, including the door.

Use antibacterial cleaner to clean the stovetop and any other spot you can reach. Clear off all counters in order to clean and disinfect them. Replace only the items you use every day and limit them to three.

Remember to clean small appliances before returning them to the counter or cupboard. Everything else should be packed away and stored.

If your kitchen also serves as “command central” for the family, be sure to take care of this area as well. Clean the phone with antibacterial cleaner and a paper towel. Remove outdated notes from the bulletin board or remove the entire board and store it in a closet. Sort through items in the mail organizer and throw out as much as possible and file everything else. If you can do without the organizer for awhile, clean out the letters and store it with the bulletin board. If there’s an alternate space to locate your command central, then do so. This will make the kitchen area look more organized and functional.

As long as your house is open to prospective buyers, be extra careful to keep the kitchen free of dirt and clutter. Wash and put away dishes, pots and pans after each meal.

Never, ever leave dirty dishes in the sink for others to see. Clean and store small appliances, such as food choppers, immediately after each use. Be sure to wipe down the counters and sink following each meal.

Sweep the floor daily and wipe up any spilled food as soon as it hits the tile. Give the floor a good mopping at least once a week or whenever it looks less than spotless. Keep the towel and dish cloth clean and hanging on rails. If the kitchen is put back into top shape after each use then it will eliminate frantic, last-minute efforts to clean leftover messes.

Just before prospective buyers arrive to look at the house, double-check the details. Have you turned on all the lights? Are the towels clean and hanging on a rail? Do you need to give the faucets a quick wipe? Does the garbage need to be taken outside? Everything is ready? Light a gingerbread-smelling candle, put on some soft music and wait for the doorbell to ring.

The Kitchen - Heart Of The House!

The kitchen. Yep, it’s the room that holds the refrigerator, stove, dishwasher and assorted smaller appliances. But it’s also the center around which the house revolves – a gathering place, communication center, and a warm and cozy room to receive nourishment. As such it must be spotless, sparkling and spacious. Potential homebuyers want to feel they can eat off the floor or the tops of appliances even though they would never do it.

While massive kitchen remodeling isn’t a good idea when you’re preparing to put your home on the market, replacing old, inefficient appliances may be a good idea. Not only does this make the kitchen seem updated without a lot of work, but also “new appliances” looks good on the listing.

Make sure your garbage disposal is in good working order. If it doesn’t work properly, have it fixed or replaced. You don’t have one? Have one installed. Many a cook has said that the garbage disposal is the one appliance they must absolutely have in their kitchen!

Check your sink, pipes and faucets for leaks. Replace chipped porcelain or a rusty stainless steel sink. If faucets leak, replace them with an inexpensive set with a simple design. If your faucets are in good condition, this is a good time to replace the washers to keep them from wearing out while your house is on the market.

For heavy duty plumbing issues, call a professional plumber.

Sellers need to “lighten up” when preparing their kitchens for the onslaught of potential buyers. At the very least, clean the walls until they sparkle by scrubbing them with detergent and a sponge. However, spending some extra money on a light shade of paint will make the room look fresh and clean. Paint the walls and trim. If your cabinets are dark and out of style, paint them, too. Go with neutral colors like beige or white because they make the room look bigger and brighter.

Keep rooms bright with natural sunlight and light fixtures. Keep windows clean and curtains open. Install lights over counters, food preparation areas and the stove. This is a convenient time to reset the stove clock, too. Replace light bulbs in existing fixtures and increase wattage if necessary. Allow maximum light to shine by cleaning anything the light shines through – domes, shades, chandeliers, etc.

Adding new accents instead of making major changes will save time and money. New handles on cabinets and drawers will complete their updated look. Ditch dark window treatments and replace them with an inexpensive, airy-looking valance in a pale color. If flooring is damaged and must be replaced, opt for a simple pattern no-wax floor or neutral tile. The idea is to get the most