Staging is all about dressing up your home so that it looks its best to buyers. This can involve anything from rearranging furniture and doing some home improvements, to painting and redecorating, to even replacing existing furnishings and other items. The goal is to make key rooms look worthy of a magazine cover!
But is it worth the effort? Can’t you just clean and tidy and, perhaps, do a little painting? Sometimes you can — especially if your home is in high demand and likely to get multiple offers. However, in most cases, staging can help sell your property faster and for a higher price. In fact, studies done by the home staging industry consistently reveal that staged homes sell for an average of 5-23% above list price. (That varies, of course, depending on the local market.)
Keep in mind that you don’t necessarily need to do extensive staging. You may, for example, be able to focus on only key rooms on the main floor — where buyers tend to form their lasting impressions — and then simply clean and declutter the other rooms. When it comes to staging, you have many options. Each home is different and will have different staging needs.

Want to find out how staging may impact the sale of your property? Call today.

When you’re shopping for a home, you may become interested in a property for sale that someone else is also considering. In fact, there may be several other buyers entertaining the idea of making an offer. In such a competitive situation, what should you do if you really love that home? Obviously, you’ll need to move quickly and make some fast decisions. Start by making certain the property fits within your price range. The last thing you want is to have an offer accepted and find out it is beyond your budget. That’s why it’s a good idea to arrange for financing before you go home shopping. Next, you want to make an offer that is so enticing to the sellers that they’ll put your offer at the top of the pile, if not close to it. So, what makes an offer enticing? Obviously, price is a big factor. You want to go in at a price that’s attractive to the sellers, without overpaying. Imagine finding out later that the nearest offer to yours was $15,000 less. Ouch!

Chances are your offer price will need to be at or slightly above asking. Find out what similar homes in the area recently sold for — what real estate agents call “comparables” — and use those as a guide. It’s also important that your offer contains few, if any, issues that may be concerning to the sellers. The ideal offer will feature:
- No conditions.?
- A closing date that’s convenient for the seller.
- A deposit amount that shows you’re a serious buyer.
- Acceptance of any of the buyer’s “exclusions”. (For example, they want to take the fridge and stove with them.)
- Evidence you can get financing. (Many lenders offer a “Mortgage Pre-approval Certificate”.)
Although a “no conditions” offer is the most attractive, including a condition on passing a professional home inspection is usually not a problem, so long as the inspection is done quickly. Avoid adding other conditions, such as “subject to financing approval” or “subject to the sale of buyer’s existing property”. If you want to increase the likelihood that you’ll find — and, more importantly, get — your next dream home, call today.

If you’re going to be out-of-town but need to sell you home, you might be concerned about listing your property while you’re away. After all, you won’t be around to show your property, schedule viewings, consider offers, etc.

While it’s ideal that you be close to home when you’re selling, there’s no reason why you can’t list your property, even if you’re going to be out-of-town.

When it comes to communications and document sharing, technology is a wonderful thing! While you’re away, you can utilize phone, email, file sharing apps (such as Dropbox), e-signing apps (such as DocuSign) and, online meeting apps (such as Zoom).

For viewing appointments, a secure lock box (with your key inside) can be installed so buyers can be shown your property.

Even services such as staging, painting, repair work, and cleaning can be done while you’re away.

Sure, the selling process can become a little more challenging if you’re going to be out-of-town, but certainly not impossible. In fact, homes are sold all the time under these circumstances.

So, if you’re thinking of selling but worried about being away, give me a call. I’ll show you how to make it work.