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Archive for the ‘Selling your Home FAST’ Category

By: Dave McConnell

Today’s prospective homebuyers are increasingly interested in a property’s outdoor living space as they are its interior. Savvy agents understand this powerful trend and are staging homes on two fronts – the terrific indoors and the great outdoors.

The following tips will help ensure that your backyard is as distinctive at your home itself.

• Make your Backyard Homey: Create a conversation area with some furniture. The area needn’t be elaborate; just two chairs pulled close together with a table between can make even the most basic concrete patio special. Just the idea that an outdoor eating option is possible makes a property more inviting. Adding accessories like a small table, an inexpensive outdoor rug or a few pots filled with flowers will make the area even more attractive.
• Remember the Kids: If you have an old tree house, fix it up and paint it bright colors or add sporty designs that will make other kids fall in love with it. Just make sure the tree house is safe. Add a tire swing to a tree and keep an orderly basket of balls, flying disks and a jump rope so kids dragged along on the showing can play in the yard. Swing sets that are old and unsightly should be removed or refurbished to look new.
• Fire is Hot: There’s nothing like sitting around a fire and enjoying the company of friends and loved ones, which explains the growing popularity of fire pits and outdoor hearths. Few home improvements create the “wow” factor that a backyard fireplace will, and many homeowners are adding a fireplace to their outdoor landscape to recreate all the appeal of their home’s interior outside in the backyard.
• Simple Fixes: You needn’t go overboard with the changes in your yard. Sometimes, the easiest fixes will create a look that people will remember. Do a thorough inspection and replace any damaged boards on your deck or fence, and apply a fresh coat of paint, stain and sealant if the finish requires it. You should also weed and groom your garden and add some perennials for color.

Creating a backyard sanctuary is one of the smartest things you can do to make your home stand out, so make your outdoor space a destination to remember.

Dave McConnell can be reached at 573.449.6200. Prudential Vision Properties is an independently owned and operated member of Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc., a Prudential company. Equal Housing Opportunity.

Psychology of Color on your Home

Agents frequently suggest that homeowners paint before placing their homes on the market. Don’t be offended!

Agents understand “color psychology,” which focuses on color’s effect on human behavior and emotion. Since people’s reaction to color is immediate, color has a tremendous influence on the choices they make every day.

“Color choices are very personal and when selling your home, it’s critical to appeal to the greatest number of potential buyers,” said Allegra Dioguardi, president of Styled and Sold Home Staging in New York. “With so many people beginning their search for a home on the Internet today, your home and listing photos must stand out from your competition. Color is one very simple way to do this.”

Added Eric Brown, one of the authors of House Selling for Dummies: “Painting your house’s exterior before you put it on the market will give the biggest bang for your fix-up buck, as long as you are using colors that conform to the neighborhood’s decorating norm.”

Colors affect human beings in many ways, and by using the principles of color psychology, you can make your home stand out from the competition, sell more quickly, and at a higher price. In short, the stimulus and effect of colors normally cross cultures. Blues will feel cool, reds and oranges feel warm. Deeper shades of color imply intimacy and serenity.

Your home’s exterior color is the first thing most potential homebuyers see when they drive up or inspect the property on the Web. The correct color may be the most powerful and cost effective design tool at your disposal.

What is “correct” these days? Brown’s research shows that homes painted in pale yellows with cream or beige accents have sold fastest during the past few years.

In general, lighter colors are favored for exterior as they make the property seem larger. Conversely, painting your sideboards with a darker color will make the house seem smaller, though dark colors can draw more attention to home’s details.

For those painting an older home, you may want to consider historical accuracy, as this could be a big selling point as well.

When choosing interior colors for the home, consider the purpose of each room. Kitchen and dining areas painted in “food colors” such as coffee browns, celery greens and scrambled-egg yellows will make the rooms feel more natural.

Hallways are a great place to bring in the exterior colors for overall harmony.

According to Jeanette Fisher’s book Joy to the Home: Secrets of Interior Design Psychology, since, deeper shades of color imply intimacy and serenity, she recommends painting master bedrooms a medium shade of green or blue for warm selling seasons, and rouge red for cooler weather. Other bedrooms can be painted in creamy tones of green, blue, or a pale shell pink.

For your bedroom and bathroom, cool colors can form a relaxing atmosphere with paint. Consider shades of blue, green or even lavender.

Of course, common sense should help you with any color choices. You need to match other things in your home and keep a comfortable environment as well.

Amanda Johnson can be reached at 573.449.6200. Prudential Vision Properties is an independently owned and operated member of Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc., a Prudential company. Equal Housing Opportunity.

By: Norma Kinder

When it comes to preparing your home for sale in an environmentally friendly way, Kermit the Frog had it wrong. It is easy being green.

With so many home-buyers seeking green features in the homes they consider, sellers should create an eco-friendly atmosphere for the buyer, and that doesn’t always mean costly fixes.

It’s always nice for a home-buyer who’s been touring houses all day to find water or a snack waiting for them in your kitchen. Instead of leaving the customary bottled water, go the eco-friendly route and have a pitcher of filtered tap water at the ready. Add some organic fruits and vegetables and keep trash minimized. Also, use glassware and plates instead of plastic cups and paper plates. This practice is not only green, it shows class.

Talk with your agent about using recycled paper for all your brochures and advertisements around the neighborhood. Someone who is environmentally conscious will appreciate the effort.

Another way to act “green” is during your de-cluttering stage, where you remove furniture and other items from your home prior to the home’s listing. Instead of simply throwing out all those things you no longer want or need, you can recycle, resell at a garage sale, donate to a charity, or give away the items at the popular website Freecycle.com.

Big fixes around the home can go a long way, too. In this age of global warming and high-energy costs, more buyers are looking for houses that embrace energy conservation. The simplest upgrade is to replace all the light bulbs in the home with CFLs (compact fluorescents), which use a quarter of the electricity as regular bulbs.

To help with heating, make sure cracks are tightly caulked and leaks are sealed. Doing so can reduce your annual heating bill by $100, according to Department of Energy figures.

Justin Barnes, a policy analyst for the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, said some of the easiest green fixes deal with appliance replacement. Most of today’s appliances are highly efficient and will reduce your energy bills. They’re also more attractive than their worn-out predecessors.

Barnes also suggests replacing doors and windows if the budget allows, and looking for better ways to insulate the home.

Also consider tankless water heaters, which are energy efficient and ultimately use less water during the heating process.

Don’t be afraid to boast about your green home and any recent enhancements. Working with your agent to highlight your eco-friendly features may just be what makes the difference in completing the sale.

Norma Kinder can be reached at 573.819.9912. Prudential Vision Properties is an independently owned and operated member of Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc., a Prudential company. Equal Housing Opportunity.

By: Karen Bataille

With spring in the air, the exterior of a home becomes even more important when putting your house on the market because buyers now will spend more time outside looking at your property and envisioning what their summer barbeques and family playtime will look like.

The addition of any amount of usable real estate to a property increases value. Customized decks and personalized outdoor living areas are a hot trend in home improvement upgrades, and a great-looking deck may entice more people to come see your home.

Building or updating an existing deck isn’t simply a great investment; it also provides opportunities to personalize your backyard and customize the look to your taste. And with many families staying home this summer to save money, why not think about creating the perfect location for entertaining?

Deck experts agree that multi-level decks are the most popular now. These are a series of decks connected by stairways or walkways, which are aesthetically pleasing and can be used for different purposes. One level can be used to catch the sun, one level can be positioned for shade and another can be set close to the house for entertaining and barbequing.

Wood decks have always been the most popular, but caring for them is tough. They will rot over time, are subject to insect infestation and require a great deal of maintenance to keep the wood from fading. Accordingly, people are embracing composite materials for their decks, which cost significantly more but will last longer with less maintenance.

For those homes that already have a deck, it’s important to make sure that it’s still in good shape and adds to the attractiveness of a property. You can change your deck’s appearance with interesting balusters to match other decorative accents on your house or in your yard and really add unique touches to make the deck a personal haven. Meanwhile, railings offer a good opportunity to pull in color and ornamental detail that complements the house.

By designing your deck with accents, lights and unique accessories, you can transform your backyard into an outdoor retreat one will never want to leave. Whether you’re catching up with friends over a grilled dinner in the evening or are curled up with a book in a lounge chair on a sunny afternoon, a deck is the perfect place to be.

Karen Bataille can be reached at 573.808.4480. Prudential Vision Properties is an independently owned and operated member of Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc., a Prudential company. Equal Housing Opportunity.

By: John Geha

They say a picture paints a thousand words and when it comes to selling your home, you want those words to end with “sold.” It’s no secret that better-presented homes get more traffic and more buyer interest, therefore selling faster.

That’s why it is essential that you showcase your home through images in the best way possible.

According to the National Association of REALTORS^®, nearly 90% of all homebuyers begin shopping for homes online. Many flip through photos of the homes and send a list of those they want to see to their agent. In fact, homes with few or no photos are often passed over simply for that reason, even if the home’s description matches a buyer’s ideal listing.

Many agents believe that apart from staging, no other marketing investment is as important as professional photography in marketing a property effectively. So, to generate more buyer interest, there has been a dramatic increase in the use of professional real estate photographers in the past few years.

The best photographs are most likely to come from someone who has an eye for the underlying beauty of the home’s structure and spaces; has specialized equipment and techniques for lighting and perspective control; and uses workflow processes for post-processing of the images for use on the Web and in publications.

Let’s face it, as much as we all like to think we take great photos, a professional has an eye for seeing the best vantage points and lighting options and also has better equipment to make the photos bright, clear and sharp. A professional photographer will most likely use a 10mm lens that can capture up to 85% of a room and lighting that can illuminate the entire room.

The same holds true with taking video of your home to add to a website listing. An amateur can show what each room and yard looks like, but a video professional will make the strongest elements stand out and provide a much better video narrative of the home. Plus, you don’t have to worry about any shakiness or dullness that someone not that experienced with a video camera may give you.

Before bringing in someone to photograph or video your home, it’s essential that it is clean and de-cluttered so the pictures entice a buyer to want to see the home in person. You don’t want clothes, pets or anything else distracting people from the photo at hand.

Indeed, homes showcased with the best photographs and videos will attract more sellers and help speed the home-sale process to a successful conclusion.

John Geha can be reached at 573.424.3300. Prudential Vision Properties is an independently owned and operated member of Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc., a Prudential company. Equal Housing Opportunity.