If you are like many couples currently experiencing the difficulties of the recession and trying to sell your home you just can not afford to do both this year.  If this is your situation, I have the PERFECT solution: give your home a hug by spending Valentines Day staging your home.  And do it with your lover.

Spend Valentines Day staging your home and reward yourself at the end of the day with a nice bottle of wine and dinner at home. Your house will love it, you’ll like the look once you’re done and with luck you will have increased the value of your home and made it easier to sell

One of the great things about staging your home is that it can be done with little or no money. No matter what your budget is, even if it is zero, you can use staging techniques to increase the appeal of your home.

When it comes to selling your home you want it to really appeal to buyers in a positive way. You want buyers to love your home, to look around and go, “Ooh, look at that,” or “Wow, that’s beautiful.” Your home should have some pizzazz, some sizzle. In other words you want to trick your home out and give it some bling!

Here are my tips for home staging:

1. Get Rid of the Clutter
   One of the most important things to do when it comes to making the inside of your home look desirable is to get rid of the clutter. After living in our home for a while we tend to accumulate stuff. I have heard professional home stagers recommend that the average home owner clear about 1/3 of their possessions out of the house before putting it on the market. Definitely remove any collections of dolls, spoons, Star Wars figures, or any other dust catchers.
   Some sellers put their stuff into storage, which can be a great idea. You could try Kiwi Self Storage in Constellation Drive, we have used these guys before and I recommend them, or Smartbox. Smartbox is a super service; they deliver a storage box on a trailer, you fill it and lock it and they store it in their warehouse ready for you to pick up when you are ready. It will cost less than you think!
2. Windows
   Make sure your windows are clean! Sparkling windows show off your view or garden and let the sunlight in.
   It’s a good idea to have window treatments on every window in the house, if they make sense. A combination of blinds with curtains is best. But here’s the catch, you also want to let lots of light into the house. So the blinds should be raised and the curtains fully open. This creates a nice framing effect on each window.
3. Lighting
   In addition to letting in natural light you want to add plenty of artificial light. The trick that home stagers use is to layer the lighting. They use a blend of light from ceiling fixtures, lamps, wall lights and task lights. You want to make rooms bright, without being too bright and not have any single light source overly stand out.
4. Doorknobs, Switch Plates and Outlet Covers, Oh Boy!
   If you are going to go to all of the trouble to make the walls and doors look great, you should finish the job by replacing all light switch plates and outlet covers with new ones. I also recommend replacing all of the doorknobs if they look at all worn, because it’s so inexpensive to do it. The reason this is a pet peeve of mine is that freshly painted walls with painted over switches and outlets looks like a cover up job to me. Replacing all of the switch plates and outlet covers in your home should cost you about $100.
5. Arranging the Furniture
   If you’ve ever seen a professional home stager in action they seem to have this great ability to take the existing furnishings you have and rearrange them, sometimes into different rooms and make your home look completely different–and so much better. Because the furnishings you have and the layout of the rooms in your home will be completely different for each person there aren’t a lot of general tips I can give you for arranging your furniture. Look in home magazines. It doesn’t cost anything to go to the bookstore and look at them. They are full of photos that can give you great ideas. These magazines share tons of useful tips and tricks for making your home look great. If you run out of ideas, try Homebase, they have a service where they will visit your home and give you a plan, for a few hundred dollars. What I don’t recommend doing is going out and buying whole new furniture sets for key rooms in your home just for staging.
   There are a few commonsense tips I can offer that apply, no matter what furnishings you have and how the layout of a room is.
   1. Don’t leave large dead spaces.
   2. Clearing the clutter applies to too much furniture as well.
   3. Don’t have everything pushed up against the walls.
   4. Add some greenery, nice fresh growing plants in the entry or in a strategic spot add drama.
6. Master Bedroom
   The master bedroom is the ultimate refuge. It is the haven within the home. No matter how large or small your master bedroom is, you want it to appeal to the buyers as a place they WANT to spend their nights. If your master bedroom is cramped, it’s time to move some of the furniture out.
   And please, if your home office and computer are in the bedroom, now is the time to put that office stuff away to help create that restful refuge!
   Also, closets are a big selling point for houses. Clear out your closets out. If your master bedroom closet is jam–packed, buyers will look at it and decide there just isn’t enough room, even if your closets are huge.
7. Bathrooms
   Your bathrooms should be so clean you can eat off the floor (but no need to test it this way!). There shouldn’t be any mildew, soap scum, toilet rings, body hair or anything else that makes the buyers think they are buying your dirt. Make sure the mirrors sparkle.
8. Kitchen
   “Kitchens and baths sell homes.” Pretty much any real estate agent in the country will agree with this. Making your kitchen look the absolute best it can is well worth it when you are trying to sell your home. The beautiful thing about staging your kitchen is that you really don’t have to spend any money to do it.
   Clean out any food that is past it’s “use by” date, and sending old plastic and glass jars to the recyclers. Check that your cupboards, refrigerator, and stove are clean, now is the time to spring clean, don’t wait til settlement day!

These tips will help to save you money while trying to sell your home and allow you to still spend time with your loved one on Valentines Day. A well-staged home that is competitively priced consistently outsells non-staged homes, even the do ups. By the way don’t forget the flowers! If you would like more tips for do-it-yourself home staging techniques call Ariel Levin on 021 528 318 or check out  Wendy Patton’s book  Rent-to-Sell by clicking HERE. she has some great ideas that might just help!

Love your house (and your spouse)
Published with thanks to Tony White and www.movenorthshore.co.nz.

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Of course, being a real estate agent the first thing I’m going to tell you is to talk to an agent in your area and get on therealestate.co.nz as most homebuyers are starting their search on the Internet and realestate.co.nz is the most trusted source for consumer Real Estate information.

However, if you simply can’t afford the commission or have your own reasons for not working with a Real Estate professional, there are some things you can do to make your house more attractive to buyers and to expose it to more of them.

THINK LIKE THE PRO’S – Don’t try to save money by taking photos with your digital camera or putting up a sign you created with a felt pen.

For about $200 you can get a professional photographer to take high quality photos and a good signboard should cost you a similar amount.

CLEAN YOUR HOUSE – Get it so clean your in-laws wouldn’t recognize it.

Polish all shiny surfaces, hardwood floors and granite are especially impressive when they sparkle.

Hardwood and granite polish can be purchased at any standard retail store like Mitre 10, Hammer hardware, Place Makers etc.

Bathrooms and kitchens need to be spotless, no dirty grout, no dirty dishes, no food sitting out, no dirty clothes or towels or dish rags in sight.

Vacuum and mop your floors, no dust bunnies or scuff marks should be visible. Dust displays and trinkets on shelves, a dusty house makes people sneeze and frown.

Rely on the fresh smell of a clean house, don’t over-perfume with candles, sprays or plug-ins. Many people are sensitive to perfumes and will wonder what you’re trying to cover up.

MOW THE LAWN – The first thing a potential buyer sees is the view from the street, make sure it’s a nice one.

Mow your grass, weed your flower beds, prune dead foliage and trim the hedges.

Do not leave toys, trash cans, tools or other distractions lying out.

DECORATE TO SELL – You want your potential buyers to see their future home, not your stuff.

Take personalised pictures and hangings off the walls, remove fake plants or sculptures and other personalized art, minimize furniture, get a storage unit if you have to.

Make sure an implied flow of traffic is present so that when potential buyers walk through the front door they feel compelled to make their way through the whole house.

This is achieved by arranging furniture and light in a way that is inviting.

From the 1973 Bloomingdale’s Book of Home Decorating (Source nadja.robot at Flickr)

PUT THE HOUSE IN THE PUBLIC EYE – Advertise your home for sale.

The most effective ways are on well-known and frequently visited websites.

Be sure to emphasize important features like the floor area, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, size of the section the house is on, new additions and benefits (new kitchen appliances, new roof, recent bathroom remodels).

Refrain from wasting readers’ time with long narratives or overly-descriptive “flowery” words.

GET YOUR REPORTS DONE EARLY – Get a home inspection, Then advertise that the inspection has been done.

If any of your report notes a problem with a particular system in the house, get an additional inspection done by a specialist and fix whatever may be wrong (ie If the builder notes missing tiles on your roof or evidence of water damage in the attic, have a roof specialist assess the integrity of the roof and have it repaired or replaced if you can afford it).

Remember, if you have knowledge of any material facts affecting the property or its marketability, you MUST DISCLOSE THIS TO A BUYER.

A LIM report from your local council will be appreciated by prospective purchasers and may save you time in the negotiation and conditional contract periods.

A QV e-valuer (estimate of market value) valuation is an affordable way the may help you underpin your asking price.

I would like to wish you the best of success in your selling endeavors and hope to service you as a buyer when you finally sell.

If you ever need assistance please remember I have helped many private sellers in the past so feel free to contact me.

Good luck with your sale
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This post is based & adapted with permission from a post by Jessica Murr. Jessica Murr is a Realtor in Far Northern California specializing in luxury homes, ranch properties, real estate sales consulting, social media and networking, first time homebuyers, and real estate investment planning.

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..Finally, we’re priced right, our house looks so good we are considering keeping it and not selling after all, but we STILL don’t have any buyers looking at it!! What gives??….

I hate to say it, but maybe your agent isn’t using the right tools to market your home. Is your home on the agent’s website? Realestate.co.nz? Trademe.co.nz?

Are all the pretty new photos up there? (The more pictures the better!) Is the price correct?

Is your agent writing about your listing in his/her blog? Is your agent using online social media to share your listing with savvy buyers?

YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, these are all places you should be able to find your listing. Pictures of it, links to it, descriptions of it, lots of info! Social media is not a trend that is going away.

It is not a “phase” and it’s not a thing the kids are doing.

It is the newest way to connect and communicate and share with the world.

Newspapers around the globe are going broke because people are going online to get their information and news.

Buyers want the newest, latest, greatest knowledge and they want it as fast as a click of a mouse.

They don’t want to search through a dozen magazines and as many newspapers to find their home. They want that information to be accessible and online media is the place they look for it.

So if your agent isn’t using social media to market your listing, he ought to be.

If neither of you is familiar with it and you would like some help, email me.

I’ll be glad to share my knowledge and give you some tips that will help move your property from “For Sale” to “SOLD”.

This has been adapted with permission from a post by Jessica Murr. Jessica Murr is a Realtor in Far Northern California specializing in luxury homes, ranch properties, real estate sales consulting, social media and networking, first time homebuyers, and real estate investment planning.

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Alright, we’ve gone over the comparable sales, we’ve priced our home competitively, we are ready to be fair and reasonable, but we STILL don’t have any buyers touring our house!

Why isn’t our house appealing to buyers?

Take a look at your photos first. Is there clutter? Are there bright distracting colors? Is there a dead lawn out front, broken or dirty windows, kids’ toys lying around? Those have got to go. Clean your house – I can’t stress that enough. If your version of clean is that everything is stacked in the corner or that the pile of papers is under the desk instead of on top of it, HIRE A CLEANING SERVICE. They’ll come to you; they will clean EVERYTHING (even the nasty crud growing behind the toilet); they get it done in one day; they bring their own supplies. Where’s the down side? For $100 it’s done and your home will now be more attractive to buyers.

But my house is clean! It’s spotless; the cleaning service said there was nothing to do here.
Okay, why else might your house not be appealing? Dated furniture? Questionable paint schemes? Is it just ugly? Maybe not to you, but you’ve been decorating this house and putting things in it that you like, not what a buyer is going to like. Use a critical eye, ask your agent, ask some friends and neighbours, and if no one can give you any helpful tips, call a professional stager.

Stagers will come to your house, take a tour, prepare a quote, work with you to see what you can afford, and get the most important things taken care of first.

To be continued.
This post has been adapted with permission from a post by Jessica Murr. Jessica Murr is a Realtor in Far Northern California specializing in luxury homes, ranch properties, real estate sales consulting, social media and networking, first time homebuyers, and real estate investment planning.

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Well, if you’re selling in Auckland, I can tell you it’s probably one of three things:

1. You’re priced too high
2. Your house is not appealing to buyers
3. Your agent is not marketing your house in the right places.

So, how do I tell if I’m priced too high? I’ve learned from my own experience as well as the feedback from buyers, sellers and agents all over Auckland that houses sell faster when they are priced competitively. Before you decide “competitive pricing” is pricing below comparable properties, understand that competitive pricing is listing for a price near what comparable properties have SOLD for recently.

Look at comparable properties and consider what criteria truly make that property comparable to yours. Basics like floor area, number of bedrooms and bathrooms and geographic proximity. If you have a two bedroom, one bath, 75 square metre home, it is not comparable to a four bedroom, two bathroom, 200 square metre home just because it’s only two houses down. Also, just because you own a 350 square metre home 40 kilometres from the closest town does not make it more valuable than a 120 square metres home in a suburban part of town 5 minutes from the commercial district. You need to ask your agent what features make your home comparable to others and only look at properties similar to yours.

Next, look at the SOLD price of those properties. It doesn’t matter what these people were asking for their houses, and it doesn’t matter what comparable properties that haven’t sold are listed for; all that matters is the bottom line – the sold price. If you price your home near that dollar amount, you are saying to buyers, “I am fair and reasonable” and buyers will be fair and reasonable also.

Lastly, when looking at these comparables, make sure they are homes that have sold recently. You should not consider homes that sold more than 6 months ago because an appraiser won’t and neither will your buyers when they decide what a fair and reasonable offer is. I don’t care that your house might have sold for $350,000 in 2005. You didn’t sell it in 2005, this is 2009. Let go of the past. If comparable properties are selling for $220,000 then your house needs to be priced close to that. Remember, the value of ANYTHING is only what an able buyer is willing to pay. If you are determined to list your home for more than 15% above what comparable properties are selling for, don’t waste your or your agent’s time. Wait it out, hang out for another 5-10 years when things are on a steady rise.

To be continued…
This has been adapted with permission from a post by Jessica Murr. Jessica Murr is a Realtor in Far Northern California specializing in luxury homes, ranch properties, real estate sales consulting, social media and networking, first time homebuyers, and real estate investment planning.

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Many buyers approach the home buying process, probably the biggest financial transaction in their lives, unprepared. They then deal with real estate agents, bankers, mortgage brokers, lawyers and others who are accustomed to property deals and in may times end up confused and frustrated.

The solution?

First, create a strategy that’s right for YOU!

Ask yourself these questions:

1. What am I trying to achieve? For some it is being in the right school zones, for others it’s about living stumbling distance for the local bar.
2. How long will I live in this house? Long term solution or just a step onto the property ladder.
3. Is my lifestyle going to change? There is no joy in buying a house and committing to a mortgage if you can’t enjoy overseas holidays and going out to a restaurant like you were used to.
4. Do I still want to travel or work overseas? Than buy a house that would be easy to rent out and maintain.
5. What type of ownership would suit my requirements, straight ownership, Ltd company or a trust? Speak to lawyer or accountant on how to best protect your assets.
6. Do I want to buy an investment in 2,3,5 years? Than buy a property that would allow you to create or generate enough equity for future leverage.

Second, create your own team of experts, people who can advise you on the many aspects of home buying.

These experts may include a solicitor or legal executive, a building inspector, a finance / banking adviser, a buyer’s advocate an accountant and a town planner.
Talk to them about what you should look out for when buying, how to structure your purchase, how to structure your finance and what you can or can’t do with your future house or land.

Third, become your own expert. Choose a suburb, an area or a building style and immerse yourself into it.

Study its the history, recent sales, common titles, average prices, better streets etc.

Connect with the local agents – they are a source of valuable information.

Drive and walk the streets and talk to the residents.

They will be flattered and proud you have chosen to buy in their neighborhood and tell you everything you’d want to know including properties that may be coming on the market soon.

Once you know the area and a property opportunity presents itself, you will be well prepared to snap it up quickly for the right price.

Part 2 (understanding Auction, tenders and price by negotiation) and part 3 (working with real estate agents ) coming soon.

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