12 Tips For Selling Your Home

By Nancy Minor

I  meet with future sellers every week. They may be selling next week or next year or five years from now. I love meeting with them now. It means I can help them make decisions that they can enjoy now and that will put money in their pockets in the future.

If selling is in your future, read these 12 tips. And feel free to email me if you have questions about a change you want to make to your home.  

Are you redoing your master bathroom? This is one room where I am seeing a big change in what buyers are looking for. The buyer is looking for an oversized shower. Dual shower heads are very desirable. The bathtub of choice is no longer the giant tub with the jets that shoot out, but is the soaking tub that reminds one of the old claw foot tub.

1. Buyers want crisp, clean and neutral. I have purple walls in my living room. I love the look but, to compete in this market I would have my home painted a neutral color. Is your carpet stained? Two of your best investments, with the biggest return, are paint and carpet.

2. Wallpaper! Get rid of it! I know you love it. I love it too. Buyers do not love it. They want a canvas where they can make it their own.

3. Walk into your kitchen and think about what you are seeing. Do you have Formica? Remember in the '80s when ladies wore giant shoulder pads and everybody loved the look. That was then. Would you buy a suit today with giant shoulder pads? If your answer is yes, then keep the Formica, if not consider granite.

Granite is preferred in all price points. What color are your appliances? Would it be reasonable for you to replace them? Stainless and black are the most popular choices.

4. Brass! Brass! Brass! We all wanted beautiful shiny brass in our beautiful shiny homes. Brass chandeliers, brass shower enclosures, brass hinges, brass faucets. What happened? No one wants shiny brass anymore. Check with your Realtor, maybe he or she can help you not be so brassy. There are things you can do such as replacing a few light fixtures that will make the brass not so apparent.

5. Remove personal photographs. Remove wall arrangements composed of lots of little pieces of art. This works for decorating but not for staging. The more you see of the wall, the bigger a room looks.

6. Throw rugs, all over your beautiful floors make your rooms look smaller. Eliminate the rugs or some of them and your rooms will look much larger.

7. Let the sun shine in. Open blinds. Replace blinds if they are yellow or the skinny ones. You need at least 2-inch blinds. You can buy the ones at Home Depot and they will be very inexpensive. They are not going to last a lifetime but they will improve the appearance of your home for selling purposes.

8. Furniture placement is critical. Think of the traffic flow when your home is being shown. If you have to walk around furniture then the room feels small.

9. Buy matching hangers for your closets. Make sure there is space between each article of clothing. Clear off shelves and put your belongings in matching baskets or decorative boxes.

10.  If you can smell it, you cannot sell it. Smells will kill you. Ask a trusted friend or your Realtor if your home has an odor. Two of the hardest to get rid of are pet and cigarette smell.  

11. Stand at your mailbox and look at your home with a critical eye. You should stage the exterior and a good Realtor will insist you do so. Make sure the area around your front door is pristine. Buyers will decide, as they stand at the door, if your home is the one. Oh yes, check that mailbox, it may need to be replaced as well.

12. DECLUTTER. Clutter will eat your equity.

Nancy Minor may be reached at 404-955-7653 or nancy@minor.net. Visit her website at NancyMinor.com

Homes in Norcross just listed for sale.

1023 Carroll Court priced at $314,900 shown by appointment.

396 Cochran Drive priced at $265,000 shown by appointment