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Selling a Home
Disconnect Your Emotions
When conversing with real estate agents, you will often find that when they talk to you about buying real estate, they will refer to your purchase as a “home.” Yet if you are selling property, they will often refer to it as a “house.” There is a reason for this. Buying real estate is often an emotional decision, but when selling real estate you need to remove emotion from the equation. Selling a home in New Jersey is no different than any other region in the United States.
You need to think of your house as a marketable commodity. Your goal is to get others to see it as their potential home, not yours. If you do not consciously make this decision, you can inadvertently create a situation where it takes longer to sell your property. The first step in getting your home ready to sell is to “de-personalize” it. . Property appraisers like Abbe Edleman will be able to provide you a property appraisal to give you a starting point when putting your house up for sale.
Make Your Home “Anonymous”
If there are new homes for sale near your home, go visit them. It doesn’t matter what size the homes are. What you will find are some wonderfully (but sparsely) furnished homes that anyone could live in. The emphasis is on “anyone.” The houses should appear as anonymous meaning you can’t attach a name/image to it. There may be a baseball glove in the boy’s room, but there should be no family photos on the walls! You can give the house personality while not attaching it to an individual. Put away family photos, sports trophies, collectible items, knick-knacks, and souvenirs. Part of preparing a house for sale is to remove clutter.
The reason you want to make your home “anonymous” is because you want buyers to view it as their potential home. When a potential homebuyer sees your family photos hanging on the wall, it puts your own brand on the home and momentarily shatters their illusions about living in the house themselves.
Kitchen Clutter
The kitchen is a good place to start removing clutter, because it is an easy place to start cleaning up. First, get everything off the counters. Everything! Put the toaster in a cabinet and take it out when you use it. Find a place where you can store everything in cabinets and drawer while cleaning them out at the same time. The dishes, pots and pans that rarely get used should be put in a box and put that box in storage. Homebuyers will open all your cabinets and drawers, especially in the kitchen. They want to be sure there is enough room for their “stuff.” If your kitchen cabinets, pantries, and drawers look jammed full, it sends a negative message to the buyer and does not promote an image of plentiful storage space. If you have a “junk drawer,” get rid of the junk. If you have a rarely used crock pot, put it in storage. Do this with every cabinet and drawer. Create open space.
Beneath the sink is very critical, too. Make sure the area beneath the sink is as empty as possible, removing all extra cleaning supplies. You should scrub the area down as well, and determine if there are any tell-tale signs of water leaks that may cause a homebuyer to hesitate in buying your home.
The Back Yard
The back yard should be visibly appealing. If you have a pool or spa, keep it freshly maintained and constantly cleaned. For those that have dogs, be sure to constantly keep the area clear of “you know what.” If you have swing sets or anything elaborate for your kids…remove it if possible. They take up room, and you want your back yard to appear as spacious as possible, especially in newer homes where the yards are not as large.
The Front Door & Entryway
The front door should be especially sharp, since it is the entryway into the house. Polish the door fixture so it shines. If the door needs refinishing or repainting, make sure to get that done. If you have a cute little plaque or shingle with your family name on it, remove it even if it is just on the mailbox. You can always put it up again once you move. Get a new plush door mat, too. This is something else you can take with you once you move.
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