One of the main questions I get from sellers is do I have to stage my house in order to sell it? Or, as one client put it, “Will I have to paint my walls gray?”
The short answer is, no. In this market, a house need not be staged in order to sell. It will sell. The question is, for how much?
Two Parts of Staging
Staging can be fairly easy with the right plan. There are usually two parts to getting a house ready for [...]
In a recent post, I shared some reviews from sellers I worked with in the past year, all of whom were very pleased with the sale price they got on their home. As I mentioned, getting top dollar for a home often requires an upfront investment on the part of the seller. Meaning, you may need to spend some money to shine up a house you’re about to leave. Believe me, this is not something anyone is eager to do.
When I meet with you about marketing your house, I’ll explain all your options. I will tell you what could be done to your house before listing it, and what type of return you are likely to see from doing those things. Similarly, I will lay out what it will cost to not do certain things. For example, that $1,000 paint job the seller opts not to do often turns into a $2,000 deduction they need to give the buyer to seal the deal. It’s almost always better for you if you get the work done yourself!
Even if you bought your home five years ago and you moved into a house that was perfect and newly done, that pristine space is now “lived in.” Before going to market, it is worth it to take care of the fingerprints on the walls and the dings on the cabinets —things you might not bother doing if you were going to stay in the house.
Together, my clients and I strategize how to best use their resources. It’s not unusual for a family to take out a short-term loan for $10,000 of improvements and have that yield an extra $50,000 in the sale. In fact, I just read a statistic about one of the big real-estate portal companies that has gotten into the home-buying business. This company will buy a home for, say, $310,000 and spend $10K doing painting and minor repairs. They then turn around and immediately sell for $350K.
This practice is not considered “flipping.” They’re just jumping on an opportunity to buy houses in which the sellers failed to do some very basic maintenance before going to market; they make a nice, quick profit on easy fixes.
Most everyone has the same initial reaction: I want to save my money and spend it on fixing my new house. As far as I’m concerned, you should not feel pressured to do anything you don’t want to. But as your marketing partner, it is my job to present you options and educate you on how you can benefit from this tried-and-true equation. This gives you the information to make the best choice for you.
And it is a choice. Once upon a time, making small improvements may have made a difference between a house selling and not selling. Not these days. In this market, Your house will sell whether you fix it up or not. Instead, it has become a matter of how much more you can get for it.
If you'd like to talk about how to squeeze out all the equity your home has to offer, call or text!
973-809-5277
Sold: Single-Family home in West Orange, NJ - July 2020
“We began the process early in 2020, meeting and discussing how the process would go. We signed the contract and set a date the house would go on the market. Unfortunately, Covid 19 hit and all our plans had to be put on hold. Throughout this time, Lina stayed in touch and kept us in [...]
1. Declutter
2. Declutter
3. Declutter
No one wants to hear this, because it’s not an easy thing to do. But if you’re thinking of moving – particularly if you’ve been in your home for a while – this is the absolute best place to put your resources.
Here’s my philosophy on this in a nutshell:
If you have the slightest notion that you may want to sell in the next five years, start the very liberating process of decluttering as soon as possible. If you end up putting your home on the market in a year, you’ll already be halfway to making your house ready to show. If you dont list your house for another five years, you can enjoy living in a calmer and more orderly environment.
We’ve all just spent so much more time in our homes this past year, doesn’t a more serene space seem so very appealing? It does to me!
Decluttering isn’t easy for many reasons, most of them having to do with memories. Besides the physical toll, it takes a lot of mental energy to make decisions about all our “stuff.” This is why, when I need to declutter my own space, I call in the big guns: my associates Jodi or Linda.
While my Scandinavian sensibility is very streamlined and spare, my actual living space veers from that ideal. Jodi or Linda can wrangle any kind of disorganization and clutter that may have crept into my space. They take what has become chaotic and make it make sense.
I’ve turned each of them loose on my garage, attic, and the closet into which I’ve been stuffing the loot from too much Costco shopping. For my clients, they have made molehills out of mountains in an impressively short time.
I know one obstacle to decluttering for many people is: How do I get rid of my stuff?
If you’re in Montclair or nearby, I just found out there’s a one-day Clothing Drive at Montclair High School (Chestnut St.) on April 3rd from 9AM-1PM. They’re taking clothing, shoes, accessories and household items like blankets and towels in good condition. (No furniture, only soft goods. Items must be in a plastic bag and you can drive through the circle and drop from the car.)
If you’d like me to send you a list of my regular top places to donate, drop me an email! Or reach out even if you just need a pep talk! lina@walkablesuburb.com
I talk a lot about the benefits of living in a walkable suburb – the ease of meeting neighbors and the way you can really engage with a community when you’re on foot.
Talking with clients this past year about what they’re looking for in a house – or a in a town – I’ve had more conversations about mental well-being than I think I’ve had in [...]
Many sellers are taking advantage of the increased interest in moving from city to suburbs, streamlining their belongings and trying to get their home into “move in condition.” This is really smart. When my colleagues and I discuss big picture issues in the market right now, we are all seeing an even stronger desire in buyers for turn-key experiences. The less work they have to take on, the more valuable the home is to them.
The other most valuable aspect of a home these days is “nice, private outdoor space.”
What I’ve been seeing is that you don’t need a grand or fancy yard to hold appeal for a buyer. Recently, there was a house listed that was the size of a 2-bedroom apartment, but it was on a nice enough piece of property and the owners had turned half the 2-car garage into home office space. The yard was not huge. It was big enough to eat outdoors, toss a ball, maybe grow a vegetable garden. They received 8 offers, which is more interest than a house like this would typically attract.
Right now, most any home with a little green space is a sought-after commodity. Even homes with pools, which are sometimes slightly more difficult to sell, now hold extra appeal.
This is the time to attend to your outdoor space, either for putting on the market now or for selling in the future. Patios and decks are a plus, but not a necessity. String some lights and buy a fire pit for a cozy evening vibe.
My biggest piece of advice: Plant some trees! Trees and shrubs are some of the few investments you can make in a home that actually get better with time.
If you’d like to take a tour of your yard together, I’m happy to offer my perspective on what exterior improvements will pay off. Talk or Text: 973-809-5277
People have been asking what I’m seeing in New Jersey real estate these days.
There’s been a noticeable increase in people from the city interested in moving to the suburbs. People want to leave their apartments and are looking for lower density population areas and with more outdoor space. This is especially appealing now that so many [...]
If you’re thinking about selling your home, this is for you.
I just had a conversation with a client that made me realize some sellers may not understand why a real estate agent (namely, me) might dig in her heels about certain home improvements. Why we may seem unrelentingly insistent about paint colors or getting rid of the wall-to-wall [...]
I was talking to a potential client – someone who wants to sell next year – about how to get her home ready for sale. She was surprised when I advised her to remove her underground oil tank. “It was decommissioned,” she said. “I have the [...]
If you own your own home, you know that landscaping can be expensive. This is one of the reasons that sellers who attend to their exterior – as well as their interior – add more than just curb appeal. They add actual value to their home.
Obviously, a backyard with terraced bluestone patios and a custom brick pizza oven offers that much-coveted Wow Factor. But there are plenty of small improvements that can make a big difference in how even a modest house shows on the market.
Here’s my top advice for clients – whether they’re listing their house next month or making landscaping decisions for the next ten years.
Stay On Top of Trees – Get your trees inspected regularly and deal with any that are dead or dying. West Orange now requires a tree inspection in order to get a certificate of occupancy before a home sale. If they find any dying trees or large dead limbs, they will require that you take them down. This may become a practice in other towns as well. Regular care can greatly improve the health of your trees.
Keep Foundation Plantings Small – Besides obscuring the house, tall or expansive plantings around your home’s foundation often limits the natural light that comes into your rooms. If you have foundation plantings that are overgrown and blocking windows, I usually advise having them removed before listing. Trimming rarely works unless you’ve pruned them back yearly. No one wants to hear this advice, but it makes a huge difference. If you’re considering tall plantings for privacy – on a busy street, say – you’re better off with a hedge by the sidewalk.
Make Your Walkway Night-Friendly – Homes are often shown after dark, so you want to make sure your buyers can find their way easily and safely to your front (and back) door. If you’re on a budget, there’s no need for either extravagant flood lighting or even hiring an electrician. Places like Home Depot carry solar powered lanterns that you can stick in the ground yourself.
Don't Worry About Planting Bulbs – If you’re planning to list in the spring, you might envision your house with dozens of tulips or daffodils brightening your front beds and be tempted to spend a lot of money on bulbs for the occasion. However, unless you’re happy to tend the garden, I usually say, don’t bother. Bulbs look great when they bloom, but their majesty is not only short-lived, they look pretty awful on their way out. Also, it’s hard to coordinate an open house with the weekend the tulips are in their prime. Instead, find some flowering plants that you can put in the ground as needed.
Clean Beds, Dark Mulch – This simple advice can truly transform the exterior vibe of a house. Edging your beds and applying fresh mulch signals that a yard is being tended to. And dark mulch provides a pleasing aesthetic.
If you’re considering selling in the next year and want to do an exterior walk-about, give me a call. 973-809-5277
