Prepping & Selling a Home

Thinking about selling your home next year? Here are a few things to get a head start on! *Bonus* Work on your “to-do’s” now to fully enjoy the fruits of your labor through the winter months.

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1. Select Your Realtor. Doing so well in advance means you’ll have access to all their tricks of the trade before the holidays. See #3 below to understand the benefit of this valuable advice. Since the market is ever changing, you’ll want want a professional monitoring your neighborhood’s inventory for you so don’t miss a great opportunity between now and your target list date. Timing can be everything!

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2. Do Your Homework. Whether your goal is to sell quickly and/or to sell for top dollar, your Realtor should give you a list of to-do’s to truly make your home shine. Typically, these things don’t cost much money, but they do take time. Since it’s so important that you put your best foot forward from the very beginning, give yourself plenty of time to complete these items before your home hits the market. First impressions are crucial, and once a buyer has already toured your home and said “No Thanks”, chances are slim that they’ll come back once you complete that (fill in the blank)  project.

3. Why Wait? Spruce Up Now! I recently received the best (accidental) advice from a client after helping her family stage their home. Astonished at the huge impact that our simple suggestions made, she wondered why they hadn’t taken on these small projects sooner to enjoy it themselves. My takeaway? Act as if you’re selling your home tomorrow. Spend the time to see your space through a buyer’s eyes & make the changes now. If you’re going to invest the time at some point for a future sale, why not get a head start so you can enjoy it yourself?

4. Call The Professionals. Will you have projects for professional contractors? Catch them during this slower season to ensure timely completion. Great contractors can book out several weeks (or months) depending upon the size of your project and the season.

Listing your Madison WI Area Home? Net more with Roost Realty! We’ll market your home with style, vision and boundless energy. Looking to buy a Madison WI Area Home? Let us be your property matchmakers! We’ll get you in the community, lifestyle and home of your dreams – because we know a home is so much more than a house.

9 Mini Home Makeover Tips

Whether preparing your home for sale or the parade of holiday visitors, here is our list of 9 tips to make your home shine.

1. Commit to the deep clean. It may not be spring, but a deep and thorough cleaning will make you see and feel a difference in your home! Tackle these often neglected areas or consider hiring a pro to do the dirty work. --Steam clean carpet --Wash windows, sills and trim --Wash walls --Wash baseboards and floors by hand --Take down overhead light shades and globes and wash them up in hot soapy water --Clean cabinetry, especially around the hardware --Do a cobweb sweep of ceilings throughout the house
2. Eliminate the clutter. Donate or sell what you don’t absolutely need. You will appreciate what remains more and it may even free up some mental space too!
3. Hide the necessities. Stash your to-do piles and everyday gadgets like phone chargers and keys in decorative containers. Making the functional more beautiful may not only brighten your mood but also help keep your life organized everyday of the year. (Pictured right: Wood boxes hide countertop clutter and cloth napkins.)
4. Pare down the furniture while making the most of what you keep. Can a cedar chest also serve as seating in an entryway or under a window? Can you use a bookcase for storage and as a room divider?
5. Touch up your walls, trim and baseboard if you still love the colors. Consider painting your ceilings if it’s been a while, it can make a giant impact! You could freshen up your white or get adventurous with the color.
6. Repaint if you're ready for a whole new palette. Choose complementary paint colors for rooms that connect to improve the flow of your home and make spaces feel larger and more cohesive.
7. Update your window covers, rods and/or brackets. Hang rods slightly higher than and farther out from the window trim to give the illusion of bigger windows. Floor length curtains also make ceilings feel taller.
8. Update your lighting. I love Cree LED bulbs. They give the appearance of higher wattage. I recently put these bulbs in all of my ceiling fixtures and lamps. What a difference!
9. Replace bland artwork with pieces that make you happy and help tell your story. Consider framing snapshots from your last vacay, favorite cards from friends or even your child's artwork. (Pictured left: Collages made from items collected on an extended cross-country road trip.)