Making a Strong First Impression

Making a Strong First Impression

by | Dec 4, 2023 | Buyers, Buying Conditions, Design, Helpful Tips, Home Improvements, Home Staging, Listings, Market Trends, Marketing, Property Updates, Property Value, Real Estate, Sellers, Selling Conditions

As we consider listing our home, what are the best, quick, and affordable changes we can make to enhance its sales appeal?

First impressions are pivotal when selling your home, and a fresh coat of paint is one of the most cost-efficient ways to make a dramatic impact. Choose neutral shades that not only provide a blank canvas for buyers but also complement any decor style they might imagine. Light hues can make small spaces feel larger and more open, while soft tones can soothe and welcome. If a full house repaint isn’t feasible, focus on high-traffic areas and any walls with noticeable wear. Pair this with strategic touch-ups such as baseboard polishing, door frame repairs, and elimination of scuff marks to convey meticulous maintenance.

Enhancing curb appeal is another transformative and budget-friendly strategy. Start with basic landscaping; prune overgrown bushes, weed garden beds, and add vibrant plants for color. Ensure your lawn is green and manicured, as a healthy lawn is synonymous with diligent upkeep. The entryway is also crucial—consider a new doormat, potted plants, and perhaps a fresh coat of paint on the front door to make a welcoming statement.

Internally, decluttering and depersonalizing spaces are essential. This process involves more than just tidying; it requires removing excess furniture and personal items to showcase the spaciousness and potential of each room. Follow this by deep cleaning every corner of your home, from steam-cleaning carpets to scrubbing grout lines, to present a spotless environment. Updating fixtures and fittings, such as doorknobs, cabinet pulls, and light fixtures, with modern alternatives can refresh the entire feel of your home. These changes, while seemingly small, can significantly modernize the space and increase its appeal to buyers who are often looking for move-in-ready homes.

In summary, a few well-considered changes can have a substantial effect on the appeal of your home. Fresh paint, curb appeal, and thoughtful interior updates are practical and financially savvy ways to enhance your home’s attractiveness to potential buyers. As always, if you’re looking for tailored advice or have specific questions about preparing your home for sale, don’t hesitate to reach out. With the right preparations, we can ensure your home stands out in the market and catches the eye of discerning buyers.

Experience Makes

The Difference

If you’re moving across town, from elsewhere in the state, or even relocating
across the country, I can help you find the perfect home! 

Connect With Kathe

The Power of Staging

The Power of Staging

by | Jun 23, 2023 | Buyers, Buying Conditions, Design, Helpful Tips, Home Improvements, Home Staging, Listings, Market Trends, Marketing, Property Updates, Real Estate, Sellers, Selling Conditions

Do you think it’s a good investment to stage our home before putting it on the market?

Home staging is one of the most important things a seller can do to improve their chances for a successful sale!  Staging is just as important as is getting the price right when it comes to attracting the most buyers and driving in the best possible offer.  The National Association of Realtors shares “Buyers want to easily envision themselves within a new home, and home staging is a way to showcase the property in its best light.”

Why is staging so important?  The overwhelming majority of buyers start their home search online and surveys show that buyers who see photos of a staged property online are more willing to do a physical walkthrough of the property.  81% of buyer’s agents surveyed indicated that staging helps their clients visualize life in a home.  A third say that staging boosts home value, particularly if the aesthetic fits the client’s tastes.  And nearly one quarter of survey respondents say that staging may help buyers look past property faults.

Home staging is typically done by trained professionals specializing in readying homes for the best possible outcome when they hit the market.  While Realtors can provide advice, a home stager’s expert eye can make a huge difference in the success of your sale.  Sometimes stagers can work with your furnishings, and sometimes they bring in rented furnishings. Yes, it is an expense, but in my professional opinion, sometimes it takes money to make money, and home staging is an excellent investment to generate the best possible returns!

Don’t just list your home, get it the attention it deserves by making sure it looks its very best from the outset!

Experience Makes

The Difference

If you’re moving across town, from elsewhere in the state, or even relocating
across the country, I can help you find the perfect home! 

Connect With Kathe

Tub or Shower? That is the Question.

Tub or Shower? That is the Question.

by | Jun 13, 2023 | Buyers, Buying Conditions, Design, Downsizing, Helpful Tips, Home Improvements, Property Value, Sellers, Selling Conditions

Both our bathrooms have claw-foot tubs which I am thinking of replacing with walk-in showers.  What is the value of having a tub in the bathroom in place of a shower or in addition to a shower?

Every home must have at least one bathtub.  A prospective buyer might have kids or just like a good soak and many will reject a home if there isn’t a tub available.  More often than not, if there is only one tub in a home it is in a kid’s bathroom, and this is most commonly configured as a tub/shower combination.  There could be a tub in the master bathroom as well, but only if there is abundant space. If you have to choose between a large, luxurious (spacious) shower in the master or a tub/shower, ditch the tub and go for a pure shower.  If there are multiple kids bathrooms, then only one needs to have a tub.  Typically, that tub is not a claw foot tub unless it has a shower ring (which is not tremendously appealing).  When claw foot tubs remain, they are typically in a bathroom that has plenty of room for both a shower and a tub. Re-glazed, these antique tubs can be the focal point of a remodeled luxury bath.

As far as value goes, value is really only recouped if you remodel the entire bathroom.  In other words, if you put in a new shower but leave the old floor tile and old vanity, you really have added no value.  If you redo the whole bathroom, you will likely recoup more than what you pay to remodel the bathroom, as long as you shop smartly when doing your remodel and sell your home while the bathroom still feels current (under 15 years). It is also very important to make choices that are classic and stand the test of time if you don’t want your home to feel dated sooner rather than later. I suggest, given the age of your home, that you make classic choices — Carrera marble, white subway tile, and silver-tone fixtures would all be timeless choices appropriate for an historic home.

Of course, I am available to provide on-site advice if that would be helpful to you as you have many options – give me a call – I’m happy to provide my free advice!

Experience Makes

The Difference

If you’re moving across town, from elsewhere in the state, or even relocating
across the country, I can help you find the perfect home! 

Connect With Kathe

The “In” Color

The “In” Color

by | May 8, 2023 | Buyers, Design, Helpful Tips, Home Improvements, Home Staging, Listings, Market Trends, Marketing, Property Updates, Property Value, Real Estate, Sellers, Selling Conditions

We are planning to update the color palette in our home.  What are the “in” colors these days?

Gray (and its many shades including greige) have been in-style for so long now that its hard to imagine it still holds its alure, and many homeowners are venturing into different color palettes.  However, gray is still extremely popular with buyers – homes painted in a gray/greige and white color palette almost universally fly off the market.  And if you have to choose between gray/greige and any other color (except white), always choose gray! If you need a break from gray, however, the incoming trend is strongly leaning towards the whites.  White comes in so many shades – and even straight out of the can white is quite a nice and refreshing color.  In some cases white is being combined with an accent wall in a gray tone or other neutral, and this can work quite well.

Of course, like any other color, it is critical that you choose the correct shade of white to compliment your trim. It is easy to end up with the walls clashing with the trim if you are not careful! An easy solution is to paint the walls the same color white as your trim!  Don’t let the whites fool you – there are so many shades of white, and before you paint be sure to look at the undertones in the white to determine which undertone you prefer – a tiny hint of gray? Pink? Green? Unless you use the white straight out of the can, there will always be an undertone.

Where to start your painting?  Strong colors and yellow tones are not currently where the buying market is, so its best to start be repainting rooms that are currently wallpapered (also not popular with buyers unless the wallpaper is pretty new and very trendy) and rooms that are painted the strongest colors.  In an ideal world, you will ultimately create an interior aesthetic that, while ever room does not need to be the same, the colors blend nicely together.

Experience Makes

The Difference

If you’re moving across town, from elsewhere in the state, or even relocating
across the country, I can help you find the perfect home! 

Connect With Kathe

Holiday Decor When Trying To Sell

Holiday Decor When Trying To Sell

by | Nov 14, 2022 | Blog, Design, Helpful Tips, Listings, Marketing, Sellers, Selling Conditions

Our home is on the market – is it ok to show it decorated for the holidays?

Decorating for the holidays while your home is on the market is not a bad idea – homes often look their best decorated for the holidays – as long as a few basic guidelines are followed. Briefly stated, when decorating this holiday season, keep your decorations more neutral and reasonably simple.

Start by taking a more minimalist approach. You may have bins and bins of holiday decorations like I do, but when your home is on the market, its best to leave some of those decorations packed away. Choose decorations that have less of a religious theme. Snowmen, evergreen wreaths, poinsettias and nutcrackers, for example, have broad appeal. Be careful that the decorations that you do choose compliment your décor.   You may have changed the color scheme in your home since buying your holiday decorations and it’s important that they don’t clash! Don’t over-decorate the exterior of your home either. A few well placed, tasteful strands of lights or an attractive evergreen wreath can add sense of warmth to your home, but keep your inflatables packed up!

If you bring in a tree, make sure it doesn’t overwhelm the room. This year a tall, skinny tree might be the best choice so that the room doesn’t feel small. And of course, consider using decorations to highlight some of your home’s special architectural features, such as using candles to draw attention to an attractive fireplace.

When showings are scheduled, a brewing pot of mulled cider or a plate of freshly baked cookies is not only seasonably appropriate but will go along way toward creating an inviting feel for your buyers. And don’t forget – even if you normally keep your thermostat down, be sure to turn it up for showings so that buyers are comfortably warm!

Experience Makes

The Difference

If you’re moving across town, from elsewhere in the state, or even relocating
across the country, I can help you find the perfect home! 

Connect With Kathe

Timeless Updates

Timeless Updates

by | Aug 8, 2022 | Buyers, Buying Conditions, Design, Downsizing, Helpful Tips, Home Improvements, Home Staging, Inspections, Market Trends, Property Updates, Property Value, Real Estate, Sellers, Selling Conditions

We aren’t ready to move but want to update our home – what are the best choices for paint colors and flooring changes, assuming we may want to move in the next few years?

New paint colors must harmonize with the rest of your home, unless you plan to repaint the entire interior of your home, so any suggestions need to be taken in the context of what else is going on inside your home. My best suggestion for a currently fairly timeless paint color is Benjamin Moore’s Edgecomb Gray. This color blends with virtually every shade of white that might be on your trim and nearly every color flooring that might be in your home.  It is really more of a greige than a gray and, like a chameleon, changes color a bit depending on what is in the space and what kind of light is filtering in through the windows.  However, if your home is a palette if golds, for example, this color might not be the right choice!  Trending now is white on white (with trim and walls painted the same or nearly the same shade of white), but this is a design style that is best incorporated throughout the entire home, and not just a singular room.  If you have wallpaper in your space, then it’s a very good investment to have it removed (do not paint over it, no matter what the painter tells you) and painted in a color that coordinates with your design aesthetic. Wallpaper overall remains a difficult sell.

As to flooring, real wood floors remain the best investment you can make. They are timeless and easy to refinish if they become worn or if the buyer prefers a different color. I highly recommend choosing a medium tone brown, not too yellow, red or dark and preferably in ¾” thickness.  If engineered wood floors are what your budget requires, choose one that the manufacturer indicates can be refinished at least once, and keep a few extra pieces on hand in case you damage any through normal wear and tear. Bamboo is another great option and there are on-line suppliers that offer a variety of shades in ¾” planks – it is very resilient, environmentally friendly and installed can look like hardwood. I do not recommend that you choose the latest trend, “LVL” (luxury vinyl flooring), for anything beyond the basement level of your home. These are plastic floors, and if your home will likely sell for over $500,000, these floors will not be appreciated on the main or upper levels. Finally, carpet in a neutral tone plush (no berber, no mixed colors) is acceptable as long as they are clean and stain free.  If you stain them during the remaining time in your home, you would need to replace them again before you sell your home.