Marketing Your Home for Sale: Find Some Time and Some Distance

Marketing Your Home for Sale: Find Some Time and Some Distance

Source: Jon Nunan, Home Advisor

 Many detail-oriented tasks and larger decisions will be made when you're putting your house on the market for sale. One of the most important things to remember, however, to successfully sell your own home is that there's a difference between the building as a property and the building as your home. While moving out can be emotional, being able to look at your house objectively is crucial for good house staging. Here are some tips that can help you attain that ever-beneficial objective eye, and hopefully lead to a good selling price, too.

House Staging Step 1: Thorough Cleaning
One of the most important facets of home staging is cleaning. Your house staging scouring should include the basic spring cleaning list:

• Washing walls, floors, countertops, and other surfaces.
• Cleaning blinds and curtains
• Removing clutter

You'll also want to begin to empty your house of items you don't need for daily use. Any items you want to keep but don't need, you can store at a friend or family member's place or storage.  Once you consider your property thoroughly cleaned, it is a good idea to have a friend or co-worker come in and give your house a once-over; chances are he or she will be better able to spot areas where more attention is needed.

 Remodeling to Sell Your Home Faster
Bathroom and kitchen remodels are always among the most common home improvement projects, they also tend to have a significant impact on the final value of your home. Take the time to focus on these rooms and see what can be done to make them more appealing. While completely remodeling is a bit of an extreme for simple house staging, be sure to fix any leaky faucets or appliances that don't work. Paint walls that are dirty or chipped instead of just trying to clean them. You'll also want to walk around the rest of your house and identify areas that need to be worked on.

Home Inspections for House Staging
While much of house staging is focused on appearances, there are benefits to hiring a service professional to complete a structural inspection of your home. Many home buyers will ask for this inspection anyway and this will allow you to ensure the buyer upfront that you're not hiding anything. A typical home inspection will include a general structural evaluation including:

• the foundation, roofing, gutters, and siding and windows on the exterior
• electrical, heating and air, ducts and vents, insulation, and smoke alarms on the inside
• Not Typical: asbestos, termites, and other specific issues.

 

Putting Your Home on the Market

Just before your house goes on the market, go through everything again. Remove any worn or cumbersome furniture and rearrange the furniture that remains to make it look more attractive. Shampoo your carpets and stop wearing shoes inside. Once your house staging is complete and you begin showing the house, don't let your diligence go to waste! Continue to vacuum and dust everyday.

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Carbon Monoxide Poisoning: Avoidance and Prevention

One of our great home inspectors sent this very informative checklist to avoid and prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.  According to the checklist: 

Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, colorless gas produced by the combustion of fuels such as natural gas, oil, and propane in mechanical unit including furnaces, water heaters, and stoves. These items are normally designed to vent the CO to the outside, but harmful interior levels of CO can result from incomplete combustion of fuel, improper installation, or blockages, leaks or cracks in the venting systems. Very high levels of CO can lead to incapacitation or death, with victims sometimes never having been aware they were being poisoned.

As always, please contact me, Mynor Herrera, for expert advice on everything real estate. I am licensed in D.C., Md., and Va., and I specialize in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, as well as the subdivisions of Rosemary Hills, Rock Creek Forest, East Bethesda and Whitehall Condominium.

The “Ins and Outs” of Home Inspections

Whether you’re buying a lovely old “fixer-upper” in Silver Spring or brand-new construction in Rock Creek Forest, you need a home inspection inside and out.

Knowing what repairs need attention allows you to negotiate them into your offer, and the seller may then pay for some or all of the fixes. Or you can decide to keep looking. From the RealtyTimes website, here is some general information on inspections.

A home inspection will vary with the kind of property you are buying.  According to the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI), a standard inspection will cover the following areas:

·         Heating and central air systems

·         Interior plumbing

·         Electrical systems

·         Roof, attic, and visible insulation

·         Walls, floors, ceilings

·         Doors and windows

·         Foundation and basement

·         Structural components

However, if an issue is hiding under yard debris, plants, or snow, the inspector is not required to move those things and isn’t liable for missing the hidden problem. Nor are inspectors required to identify latent defects or to check systems not readily accessible. It’s also worth knowing that inspectors do not have to note potentially harmful plants or animals such as termites and molds.

Remember that you don’t have to reject a house just because it needs repairs. Every house needs something. You must decide what you can spend and/or how much work you want to do.

The bottom line is to find an inspector you trust and who is ASHI licensed, so that every issue that can be identified, whether in or out, will be spotted and noted. This will give you peace of mind as you make one very large investment.

Contact me, Mynor Herrera, today for expert help buying or selling in the DC, MD, & VA areas! I also specialize in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, as well as the sub-divisions of Rosemary Hills, Rock Creek Forest, East Bethesda & Whitehall Condominium.