Preparing Your Home For The Fall Selling Season

Someone at some point started a myth that selling your home during the fall and winter months is a bad idea.  Now I have written a blog dedicated to this, so take a look at this blog for some reasons why you should keep your home on the market during the next few weeks HERE. 

This blog is dedicated to some of the things you should do in and around your home to really make it stand out for the upcoming fall season. 

Outdoor Tips 

• Keep Up Your Curb Appeal -  Keep making sure your lawn and shrubs are being well maintained, if your like me most of your summer flowers are no longer looking so perky.  Either replace them with some fall perenials or simply take out the dead flowers, and store away the planter.  
• Outside Living Area - The outdoor area is still a great place to make your home stand-out, because many people are still very interested in taking a good look at it you should play it up.  Of course, if you are like me your pool will be closed pretty soon so be sure you just try to keep the area around the pool clean and tidy. Leave the patio area still accessible and set up as if you would be entertaining because many people are visual if they don't see it they can't picture it! 
• Keep The Lights On - With our days becoming shorter you will want to make sure that all your outdoor lights are working properly.  If you have a patio area or gardens investing in some small solar powered lighting is a great idea.  You can generally find these in 4 packs for under $30 at your local Lowes or Home Depot, this is a great way of highlighting those areas you may not otherwise take notice of! 

 

Indoor Tips 

• Switch Out Your Accent Pieces - With the fall months try bringing in some darker tone accent pieces, if you have guilts considering hanging them or simply switch out those light summer prints for some others.  This is great because you will be able to take them with you to your new home and you can find it these at your local discount store.
• Add Candles & Bring In Fall Smells - This is a great idea because most people like the typical smells of the fall: Apple Pie and Pumpkin are my particular favorite.  It also adds to the lighting aspect and gives it a bit of ambiance ! 
• Prep Your Fireplace - If your fireplace works now is the time to have it cleaned and ready for use.  I don't recommend ever leaving a fire burning for buyers to see but it should be ready in case they ask you if it works.  I have a son so therefore even though my fireplace works I have a 4 year old so it is not the safest to use, try putting some candles or arrange come pumpkins by it to spruce it up a little bit! 
• Change The Linens - Change over some of those light colored throws and pillows to darker colors, or hang your heavier drapes.  You can also set up your dining room table with some dark, rich linens with a nice accent piece to warm up your table. 
• Bring Out The Welcome Mat - The fall brings us some rain and cold weather so you will want to have mats for the buyers to feel okay with wiping their feet on.  You can offer them a place to hang their jackets while they walk around your home, you don't want them distracted you want them to take it all in! 

Fall In Love With The American Dream & Open House Tips

Let's take a moment and talk about open houses, over the passed few weeks that seems to be a very common question that sellers have been asking me about.  Perhaps it is brought about my the event Coldwell Banker is holding, called "Fall In Love With The American Dream".  Everyone wants to know what it is, and why is it something only we are doing.


This is our effort as a company to stimulate buyers for the fall season, those people who just couldn't find the right house over the summer will now want to make a deal and be in their new home for the holiday!   While most realtors and companies simply sit back and wait for the buyers to come back for the spring market, we are actively pushing the fall market! This open house event is promoted via email, print mail, television, and social media (ex-You Tube, Facebook).  For our event in October which is this weekend, the numbers are in and we have twice as many open houses as any other company!


People buy houses all year round, there is no cut-off date to when your home will sell!  I personally have found for my buyers shopping during the fall season is almost always more pleasant.   The most obvious reason is because who really wants to walk into a home that is vacant with no AC on, when the temperature outside is 90 degrees, I know that isn't my favorite house to go into, and I know that it isn't for my buyers either.


Here are some tips for what to do for your open house!

1. Pick the right date. When planning your open house, be sure to check the calendar for major holidaysand local events. Last thing you want is to have your open house scheduled on Mothers Day, City Festival date or the date of other important event. If you do, you will be disappointed.  If your company holds large campaigns (Like the Fall In Love With The American Dream Event), make sure your listing agent has an open house.   Also please do not call your agent on Thursday, for an open house that Saturday, you need to promote your open house for atleast a week to be able to take full advantage of advertising it! 

2. Create a welcoming feeling before they get to your front door. That front door that you never use... there are spiderwebs there (I'm not gonna tell anyone, don't worry. Just get rid of them!) Tidy up, get rid of those tired looking plants and replace them with freshly planted ones. With the fall and winters holiday's approaching most home-owners will be decorating, for more tips on how to sell your home in the fall and winter, there is another blog dedicated to just that. O

3. Take a look at your walls. Not everyone will love your dusty rose and hunter green. Even the yummy chocolate brown has to go. Light and airy is the way to go, you need it to be a blank canvas for buyers 1 not to be distracted, and 2 to picture their belongings in your house.  This doesn't mean your home needs to become sterile and bland, we don't want that either.  Neutral colors, on the walls and splashes of color in accent pieces will still give your home style and personality! 

4. Create a specious feel in your home. Move furniture around to create space and direct traffic and attention of your potential buyers to where you want it.  You want them to see the space not stuff!  This does NOT mean to get rid of your dresser and put your mattress on the floor, you want them to see the space being used efficiently.  

5. Get rid of stuff! Now your probably saying what are you talked about you just told me not to, I told you not to put your mattress on the floor, and live out of a laundry basket for the sake of space, if you did that you would have space, but it would have clutter.  You want key pieces of furniture to stay so they can see what can fit.  

Here are some examples.  In the bedroom you would want them to see it fits a bed, dresser, and even some nightstands.  You do not want them to see clutter on top of the nights stands, and un-made bed, the collection of your every picture of your 18 year old son from the time he was born on your wall!  The dining room is another always interesting space, you want them to see the dinging room table ONLY if it is in the dining room, do not advertise a formal dining room if your using it as a den!  Books, pictures, clothes on the floor, don't just store these in a closet because trust me they will be opening those doors too!

n house tips

10.Remove yourself, your family and your pets from the house and your cars from the driveway prior to the Open House.  Open houses are much different from when a realtor calls to show your home.  Sometimes you will need to be home, or the dog will just have to go into the yard because that is the only place for him/her.  But open houses are a different ballgame all together, and I will say it for you, moving a pet out of the house for 2 hours isn't always easy!  Trust me I know I have pets.  My suggestion take your dog to get groomed, schedule their appointment as the same time as the open house!  Take the kids to grandma and grandpas, tell them the open house is longer than it is and get some good alone time in while they are there, I won't tell! Or better yet pack up the kids, dogs, family and go and see other properties in your area that are having an open house!