As we move into the Labor Day weekend, we put away our white pants (maybe) and pull on our favorite football team’s sweatshirt & hunker in for autumn. If we update ourselves for the new season, what can we do to roll our marketed home over as well? You don’t want your home to scream, “I’ve been on the market since spring” so follow these few steps to reap an Autumn harvest of your home being sold!

• Remove all your dying summer annuals (that you’ve been dead heading to get them to last longer) and replace them with colorful mums. The great thing about mums is that they come in many colors so you can choose those that blend best with your home’s extrior.
• Replace your summer plaques, wind chimes, doormats and other exterior decor with autumn focused items.
• Don’t break your bank buying ‘special’ autumn decor. Use pumpkins and colorful squash to create charming, attractive ‘curb appeal’ near your home’s entryway.
• When showing your home, light a couple of pumpkin scented candles or use fragrance plug-ins. It’s been proven that the pumpkin scent is very inviting, calming and creates positive sensory reactions.  Nothing feels like home than the smell of a pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. You don’t need to bake a pie…just provide the fragrance.
• Another great way to add the autumn fragrance into your home is to have a pot of hot apple cider with cinnamon sticks simmering on the stove…mmmm…nice!

Again, don’t break the bank just to change the season. Sow simple seeds to reap a bountiful harvest!!

Just like a heart that has stopped beating, sometimes you have to jump start…electrify your marketing to bring your listing back to life.  CPR has 3 components: Airway…Breathing…Circulation. Let’s use that same concept to revive your home marketing.

Airway: After your home  has been on the market for awhile, you can feel the air of excitement become blocked by time…other homes that have come on the market at a lower price… your unwillingness to lower your price or accept that the market will not accept your valuation…reduction of showings…and just an overall blockage of results.

Breathing: Breathe new life into your listing by: lowering your price…increasing your marketing… holding a “Fresh to the Market Open House”…being completely available for showings and willing to at least listen to all offers…open to agents showing your home and offer a strong buyer’s agent commission (if you haven’t already done so).

Circulation: Circulate the news that your home price has been lowered, that you’re willing to negotiate, that you are having an amazing Open House (review some great ideas in previous blog posts, etc. Do this via social media such as Facebook and Twitter asking your friends to please share…via flyers on local community boards, in coffee shops and mailed to HR departments of police and fire departments, universities & hospitals…these all bring in new employees all the time who will be looking for housing…bring attention to your sign when other open houses are happening in your neighborhood by adding balloons and attaching flyers.

It’s very easy to become discouraged even fearful when your home is not selling as you’d hoped it would. Take a deep breath, determine a new strategy and perform CPR on your home’s marketing campaign. Then proceed with confidence into your desired future!

You’ve heard it over and over again….curb appeal is critical when selling your home. First impressions are important but what if you can’t afford to landscape or paint your home? Are your selling hopes diminished? Not if you take advantage of the following tips!

• Clean up weeds, sticks, leaves and other distractions from the landscape areas around your home. Keep your lawn mowed and trimmed so it always looks crisp and attractive.
• Buy mulch at the big box store for $2-3/bag.  You’re doing this for aesthetics so it’s not necessary to purchase the more expensive mulches. Choose a color that is either neutral or blends well with your home’s exterior.
• Buy flats of flowers that spread quickly or buy enough to fill in your area if you’re looking for a quick fix. Don’t want to plant? Buy container plants (this is a more expensive option) and disperse them throughout your area to add color and beauty to your finished look.
• Use a rake or hoe to turn the dirt and create a fresh work pallette.
• Before putting down any plants cover the dirt with plastic to impede future weeds from popping up. You can buy sheets that are specific to this purpose or a cheaper option is to buy a box of generic black garbage bags, cut them into full sheets and then cover the exposed dirt with them.
• Once you have the ground covered, pour and spread out the mulch so that all the plastic is covered. Go all the way up to your bushes and plants or around your containers if you’ve chosen that route.
• Add hanging baskets and additional container plants to your entryways, porches and patios. Try to use bright summer colors that enhance your home’s exterior and add splashes of color visible from the street. If possible create little sitting areas that reflect a great natural place to relax.
• Does your home’s exterior need painting but you can’t afford to have it done and aren’t able to do it yourself? You have a couple of options: (1) Boldly offer an allowance in your advertising for the exterior work that needs to be completed. (2) Make it clear in your advertising that your price reflects the work that needs to be done. (3) Paint or power wash the trim, gutters and soffits around your home and entry ways to provide a fresh look OR paint/power wash the parts of your home that are visible from the street to give you an advantage with drive-bys. Then note in your advertising the allowance you’re offering for the work to be completed or again, note that your price reflect what needs to be done.

Once you’ve done what you can, take great photos and get your home out to prospective buyers in the marketplace confident that you’re now one step closer to SOLD!