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Want to Sell Quickly? Think Paint
by Michele Dawson |
It can't be overstated - when it comes to buying a
house, the first impression is everything. If you're selling
or getting ready to sell in the coming months, one of the
easiest and most dramatic ways to enhance that first impression
is through paint.
Fresh paint makes your house look clean, bright, and inviting.
"Painting your house's exterior before you put it on
the market give the biggest bang for your fix-up buck - if
you use colors that conform with your neighborhood's decorating
norm," says Eric Tyson and Ray Brown in their book "
House Selling for Dummies" (Hungry Minds Inc., 1999).
Agents agree that sellers shouldn't take curb appeal lightly,
especially when so many buyers are doing their homework and
looking at the exterior of houses before they even contact
an agent.
"Curb appeal is crucial," said Mary Sheridan,
an agent in Silver Spring, Md. "Buyers get a lot of
information from the web now and I find that often they have
already driven around with a list of addresses and have decided
which ones they want to see, giving curb appeal a lot of weight."
The Rohm and Haas Paint Quality Institute, an educational
resource for paint and paint-related coatings, offers the
following tips for painting before selling:
- If nothing else, paint at least the door, door frame,
and foyer or first room the would-be buyers will see.
- Use fresh, neutral colors. If you're painting the
exterior, make sure the color blends in with the neighborhood.
Opt for neutral whites, creams, or neutrals. The PQI says
these colors appeal to the greatest number of people.
- Whether you paint yourself or hire someone, make sure
all the prep work is done - washing all dirt away, and
patching and repairing any necessary areas on the surface
before it is painted.
- Paint railings, window frames, trim, and other accents
to freshen up the exterior.
- Promote any recent painting in your ads, flyers and
online descriptions of your house. Homeowners and buyers
place a high value on the painted appearance of a home.
Include the date the paint job was completed and the
quality of paint that was used.
If you're thinking about going with a different color,
the experts say you should consider the architecture of the
home. You should also consider:
- What the house is made of. You can easily paint wood,
brick, masonry, or aluminum siding. But if you have vinyl
siding, it should only be painted the same color or a
lighter color. Dark paint will absorb the heat and
ultimately cause the vinyl to warp in the heat.
- The fixed colors - roof color, wood, masonry, and stone.
- The surroundings - houses and other buildings in the
neighborhood. And if you don't to paint the whole house,
consider an eye-popper like the front door.
"It is very important to have a home looking its best
and that starts as soon as a buyer drives up to the home,"
said Paul Thury, a Connecticut Realtor. "One important
tip is to paint the front door if you cannot paint the whole
house. This brings a good feeling as you enter the house."
Another important tip is to get all your painting done
before potential buyers view the house.
"It is important to have all the repairs and paint
done before going on the market," said Julie Nelson,
a real estate consultant in Austin, Texas. "You need that
bam experience on day one on the market. Anything less than
bam and you're just helping the other homes in the neighborhood
sell first."
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Selling? Show Your House in the Right Light
by Michele Dawson |
If you're getting ready to put your
house on the market you're probably busy painting some of
the dingy walls, shampooing your carpet, and clearing the
clutter. But be sure you add something else to your
list - strategic lighting.
With the right lighting, the look of a room can turn from
mediocre to sensational, making it look bigger, airier and
more desirable.
The right lighting can enhance your skin tone, allow you
to see what you're doing, draw attention to focal points in
your d&#eacute;cor, and make a big difference in how you feel about
your home. And best of all, it's inexpensive compared to
other home decorating or remodeling options.
Lighting experts tell us there are three types of lighting:
general, which gives overall light to an area and allows
for safe function in your home; accent, which highlights
and draws special attention to details; and task, which
helps you to perform tasks.
Rosemary Sadez Friedmann, a member of the American Society of Interior Designers, says there are
three other categories of light as well.
Ambient light is a hidden source of light that washes a
room with a glow. Aesthetic lighting itself can be a work
of art, such as a neon sculpture. Natural light, (sunlight,
candlelight and firelight) is light that moves. Quality of
natural light, sunlight in particular, depends on many
things such as time of day, the weather, and what season
it is.
Lighting can also play tricks on the mind and enhance or
minimize the physical size of the room. For example, Sadez
Friedmann says that if a room is too tall, low luminaries
that don't allow light out the top help shorten high ceilings;
if a room is too small, visually push one wall open by
washing it with light; and if a room is too wide, illuminate
the narrow ends of the room. Conversely, if a room is too
narrow, illuminate the wide sides of the room.
In his book Improve the Value of Your Home Up to $100,000 (John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2003), Robert Irwin says a dark
house is a definite turn-off to potential buyers.
"Not only will they keep you from getting a quick sale,
but they will also cut down on the amount of money you'll
get in offers," says Irwin, who has written more than
50 books on a range of real estate issues. On the other hand,
if you lighten up these dark spots, you can very quickly improve
the value of your property."
Chris Casson Madden, the author of 13 interior design-related
books and host of HGTV's Interiors by Design, takes a look
at how you can improve your lighting and attract buyers,
room by room:
- Any room: Use high-hats or recessed down-lights
installed in ceilings with a dimmer control.
- Bedroom: In addition to above, add a floor lamp or
table lamp and bedside lights for reading.
- Bathroom: Angle recessed lighting to bounce light off
the walls and ceiling and help reduce glare and shadow.
Use wall-mounted sconces or over-vanity lights beside
the mirror. Light your shower's interior with uniform
brightness.
- Kitchen: Task lighting is required here. Group down-lights
to focus more light on particular areas.
Today's decorative lamps and fixtures do more than
illuminate. You can choose from decorative sconces,
chandeliers, and table and floor lamps in a variety of
shapes, styles and finishes that take a room from drab
to dramatic with the flick of a switch.
If you're looking for a quick fix, Irwin suggests replacing
all the old fixtures - they typically run about $40 to $50
apiece. Be sure to get a fixture that produces 200 to 300
watts each.
"Now, no matter which room a prospective buyer walks
into, it will be lit brightly," he says. "And
the lighting fixture itself will be modern and attractive."
He also recommends buying six or so halogen lights and
placing one in each room.
"Yes, they use a lot of electricity, but the extra
light often makes the difference when a buyer is on the
fence and can't decide whether or not to make an offer
on the home," he said.
So once you've added a few strategic lamps and fixtures
throughout your house, don't leave potential buyers in the
dark. Be sure to turn on all the lights before you leave
your house in the morning - you never know when your
house may be shown to those potential buyers.
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Is Now The Time To Sell?
by Peter G. Miller |
The word on Wall Street -- at least
according to assorted seers, soothsayers and analysts -- is
that now is a very good time to have cash, lots of cash, so
that as stock prices fall investors will be well-positioned
to pick up bargains.
It's an interesting perspective and raises an obvious question:
Is now also a good time to sell real estate?
Home values have been steadily rising in most communities,
a stunning contrast -- and a relief -- when compared to what's
happening on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial average,
for example, closed at 8,019.26 on Friday, down more than
2,700 points from the final bell on January 14, 2000 when
the Dow topped out at 11,722.98.
So should you hoard cash with the expectation that property
prices will fall and real estate bargains will be available
down the road? And if you think prices will fall, is now
the time to sell?
Real estate is a local commodity and prices can go up and down.
But real estate and the stock market are vastly different
forms of investment, which means the strategy which works
for one may not work for the other.
How do real estate and the stock market differ?
- The "New Economy" produced a great stock
market ride, in some measure because it fed on itself -- if
a stock was valued at $10 according to whispers, rumors
and the phase of the moon, then why should it not rise
to $20? But with the loss of some $6 trillion in stock
values during the past two years, the ride is over. Meanwhile,
residential real estate has been used and continues to
be used for housing, something everyone needs and understands.
- Many once-burned shareholders are not going back into
the stock market for a very long time, regardless of where
prices rest. With real estate, whether prices rise or
fall people still want housing, a reality which establishes
some basis for value.
- While the stock market can issue more shares at any
time, there are no real estate IPOs where new acreage is
magically created with lawyers and paperwork. The old
joke about real estate -- they're not making any more of
it -- is both ironic and true.
- There are no real estate short-sellers looking to
make profits by holding onto homes as prices decline.
While the stock market has been floundering, the basic
elements which power real estate demand have not subsided -- people
still want to live indoors, the population is increasing, we
crowd around desirable areas, and there are significant leverage
and tax advantages associated with homeownership that are
unavailable with stock. Equally important, interest rates
are at the lowest levels seen in years and anti-development
efforts continue to hold down new supply.
But if you're concerned about the economy in general -- and
it is reasonable to be concerned -- there are some prudent
steps you may want to consider:
- Reduce credit card debt -- the rates are high and
the interest is generally not deductible.
- Get a line-of-credit home equity loan so that if
you need cash it will be instantly available.
- Check out today's mortgage rates. Should you refinance
to a lower rate? Go from a 30-year loan to 15 years? Speak
with local lenders for details.
- Watch economic trends in your community. Is the population
going up or down? What about the job base? How are sale prices
compared to six months ago? Is sale volume rising or falling?
Local brokers can help with real estate questions.
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Inexpensive Ways To Make Your Home
Leave A Great First Impression
by Michele Dawson |
Once your home is listed and the for-sale
sign is firmly implanted in your front lawn, all is ready for
would-be buyers to tour your home. Or is it?
As anyone in the real estate industry will tell you, it's
important to make your home look its best when it comes
time to show it. That first impression is everything. Even
if you're in a market where homes are selling quickly and
for full asking price, it's still key to spruce up your
home and prove that it's worth every penny you're asking.
And it doesn't have to cost you a fortune.
In fact, a great first impression, coupled with the decreasing
amount of time the typical home is on the market these days,
is sometimes all it takes to see a speedy offer come your way.
"In 2001, the typical home was on the market for only four weeks,"
said David Lereah, the National Association of
Realtor's chief economist. "In 1999 it was five weeks,
but throughout most of the '90s the typical selling time
was eight weeks."
Lereah attributes the reduction to the lean inventory.
So, if you're in a market with few available homes for sale,
you're probably less likely to spend a lot of money on major
aesthetic improvements. But there are a lot of simple, fairly
inexpensive things you can do to make a good first impression
and attract offers as quickly as possible.
Some things you can do to ensure your home's exterior lands
favorable first impressions include:
- Stay on top of your lawn mowing and maintenance and
tidy up your front landscaping.
- Plop a new, colorful welcome mat in front of the door.
- Embellish your door area with a nice, big potted plant
to the side of the front door.
- Slap a fresh coat of paint on your door.
- Move all the toys, bicycles, and scooters away from
the front of the house.
- Clean all your windows until they're sparkling.
- Invest in a new doorknob and lock - this will jazz
up your door and provide greater security.
- Make sure your street numerals are polished and in
place. Or, invest in a nice new set that stands out among
your neighbors' standard numerals.
- Place a seasonal wreath or arrangement on your door.
- Repair any loose shingles - the last thing a potential
buyer wants to worry about is the roof.
- Paint and repair your gutters.
Once the exterior wows your potential buyers, you'll need
to continue to make an impact on them when they make their
way inside. You can almost think of it as preparing for a
formal dinner party. For starters, you can:
- Remove all the clutter - make sure kitchen and bathroom
countertops are as clear as possible, try to keep toys
organized in closets and shelves, temporarily remove
any excess knickknacks or family photos if you tend to
have a lot.
- Hang fresh clean towels in the bathrooms.
- Touch up your paint if your walls have a few rough
spots. You probably already have the extra paint sitting
in your garage.
- Vacuum your floor each morning. You may also want
to think about getting your carpets clean before potential
buyers view your house.
- Make sure all your faucets are drip-free.
- Replace any nonfunctioning bulbs in your light fixtures
and vanities.
- Thoroughly clean all your appliances, including the
inside of your oven and microwave.
- Place a beautiful centerpiece in the center of your
dining room table.
- Eliminate odors as much as possible - place potpourri
in the bathrooms, use air freshener and deodorizer, especially
if you have indoor pets or there's a smoker in the house.
- Let the light in - open all your blinds and curtains.
If your house's natural light leaves some rooms dark
during certain portions of the day, turn on the lights
if you know your house may be shown that day. If you
have any decorative or track lighting, be sure it is
on.
- Clean your fireplace.
- If you have too much furniture, place some of it
in storage.
- Add some final touches, a couple of fresh bouquets of
flowers and some nice potted plants in decorative containers
can do wonders.
Basically, just use common sense. Remember that everyone
has his or her own style. You're not trying to impress with
your particular brand of d&#eacute;cor. Rather, you're trying to
present a simple, clean, attractive home that exudes
potential - an empty, yet enticing, palette for your home's
next owners.
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