The 30-Second Rule All Home Sellers Should Know

Buyers decide whether or not they want to purchase a home within the first 30 seconds of going into that property. I have a few 30-second tips to make your home appeal to buyers.

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The 30-second rule is something I tell all of my clients about when they’re planning to sell their home. What is the 30-second rule?

Research has found that buyers decide whether or not they want to purchase a home within the first 30 seconds of going into that property. What can you do to make your home more appealing to buyers? Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes.

Park your car in the driveway, not the garage, and walk up the sidewalk to your house. Do you see gaps in the sidewalk that could be a tripping hazard? If so, you need to fix that. If you have overgrown weeds pouring over to the sidewalk, pull them. 

Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes.

As you approach your front door, check out the steps. Are there cracks in any of them? Is your doorbell clean? Don't forget to also check out your patio or porch. Is there a bird’s nest hanging over your patio? If so, get rid of the nest. If the birds made a mess on your porch, you need to power wash the porch. You can also power wash your front door. We can even lend you a power washer.

These are very simple things that people usually don’t think about when preparing their home for the market. These 30-second tips will make a big difference in how buyers will perceive your home.

If you have any other questions about getting your home ready for the market, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

5 Tips for the Perfect Home Staging

Staging your home before listing it is very important, and we have five essential tips for staging it correctly.

Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report.  

Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.

Here are the top five things homeowners should do in terms of staging their home before listing it:

1. Allow in as much light as you can: Pull open all the blinds and make sure all the lights are on. Shadows can make a room look smaller. The more natural light you can feature, the better.
2. Make sure the interior is not overcrowded: Consider simplifying the layout by removing some of the furniture. You don’t want to give off the impression that the house is being lived in.
3. Properly arrange the furniture: Avoid setting furniture pieces against the walls. While this may seem like an obvious trick to make a space look bigger, it actually has the opposite effect. It’s always better to group them together.
4. Consider window treatments: For example, make sure the curtains are touching the ground. If they aren’t, it can make the ceiling seem lower and the room smaller.
5. Declutter and simplify: Take everything off the countertops and clear away the face of your refrigerator. You want people to be looking at the house, not your belongings.

Staging your home properly can make a huge difference in determining its saleability. Along with staging, professional photography also greatly improves your home’s aesthetic appeal.

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The more natural light you can let in, the better.

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If you have any questions about home staging, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to helping you in any way we can.

The Benefits of Hiring a Real Estate Team

A common question we hear from buyers and sellers alike is, “Should I work with an individual agent or a real estate team?”

For the best shot at accomplishing your goals, work with a real estate team. A team is a group of specialists. For example, it’s the buyer specialist’s job to look for the right house for you. They are scouring the MLS daily to find new listings.

If you’re dealing with a solo agent, they’ve got a lot more on their plate than just helping you find a home to buy. They are also trying to deal with listings, paperwork, lockboxes, signs, you name it. Right now, we are in a strong seller’s market and if you’re buying, your buyer’s agent needs to be in tune with that’s going on. You’ve got to be able to get to that dream house first so you have the best shot at writing an offer.

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A team gives you more specialized, individual attention.

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A team helps when selling in many different ways. Our office manager’s job is to make sure the listing gets input in the best possible light. We also hire a professional photographer to capture your home’s unique beauty. We make sure all paperwork is accurate and compliant. Our specialists are here to make sure everything is where it needs to be and done when it needs to be done.

We’ve also got a marketing director who works with both the photographers and home stagers to make sure homes are shown in their best possible light and appeal to the highest number of buyers possible.

Another thing a team is able to do differently than a solo agent is prospect. Instead of just waiting for buyers to find your house, we are actively engaged in finding them. We are on the phone on a daily basis looking for new buyers and receiving their information from our website. We know when buyers are looking at your property, how long they are looking at it, and we are following up with them.

That’s the benefit of using a team; you get specialized and individual attention that you simply can’t get with a solo agent. If you have any questions for us about working with a real estate team, give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you.