Pinetop White Mountain Blog

Good Evening Everyone,

I've been negligent this last week with my posts but I have been busy.  Yes, the buyers are back in the marketplace and they are looking and better yet, they are buying!  

If you are selling, now is the time to reexamine your property and your pricing to get it is the best position you can be to stimulate traffic.  I know many sellers are very discouraged because they haven't had much traffic, they are getting pressured constantly to lower their prices, and they feel that they are wasting their time trying to sell.  I don't think that is true any longer.  The Buyers are returning to the market but you need to position yourself so you will get the traffic you need to sell.

Here are a few tips to help.

1) Spiff up the place.  Get all that winter debris out of the yard, get some flowers planted so you have some color, and work hard on that curb appeal.  Remember the first thing a buyer sees is the front of your home.  If it looks neat, clean and welcoming they will be eager to get inside.

2) Get out the Dust rag, the mop, and the Window Cleaner and clean out all the dust and indoor pollution from the home being closed up all winter.  Open the windows and get some fresh air in the house.  Have   the carpets cleaned and maybe even get out the paint brush.  A home that is sparkling clean and has fresh paint is going to appeal to a buyer.

3) Eliminate the clutter.  We are all pack rats by nature and we like our things.  However, if a home looks cluttered or crowded, it will feel small to a buyer.  Even if you have spacious rooms and lots of square footage, if there is something sitting on every available surface it will look small. 

4) Consider hiring a professional stager.  Someone who will come in and help you rearrange furniture, reduce the clutter, and help make the home feel more like a model home.  Stagers are not terribly expensive and the effort of making just a few changes could make the difference for that buyer.

5) Clean out the closets and the garage.  If you haven't used it in two years you don't need it.  Pack it up and take it down to your local charity shop and get rid of it.  Clean off the shelves in the garage, get rid of all those practically empty bottles of bug spray, weed killer, old paint, anything that is just sitting there and is of no use.  Sweep the floor and hose it out so the garage looks clean.  After a winter of driving around in the snow and the slush, I'll just bet your garage floor is a mess.  I know mine is and it is one of our projects to get done this Spring.

The whole purpose of this post is to get you to think about your home as a buyer would.  If you were looking at your home from a buyer's perspective, what would you see?  We all get comfortable in our space and we like our things.  Depersonalizing a home can help the buyer see it as their own. 

So get out of the recliner and get to work.  It could pay off big time the next time that buyer comes to call.

Have a great week everyone.  I look forward to hearing from you soon. 

SANDRA PAULOW, ASSOCIATE BROKER, GRI, SFR (928) 242-0300

Your High Country REALTOR®