Buy Owner Blog

Most sellers discover several minor repairs that need to be made before they can sell their house. Oftentimes it’s things they’ve lived with for years—closet doors that jump the tracks, doorbells that don’t work, window screens that are torn or faucets that drip if the handle isn’t turned just right. But even if you’ve lived with a broken doorbell for years, a potential buyer won’t want to. So now is the time to do something about it.

To get you started, here are some specific things to focus on as you survey your home for repairs:

• Repair anything that has been visibly damaged: Nicks in walls from that time you moved your desk, corners of the carpet that have pulled away from the wall and woodwork that’s scratched or dented all need to be repaired or replaced before you show your home to prospective buyers.

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With Buy Owner, you pay NO commissions. Period. But if you wonder what this means exactly, we’re here to help. Understanding real estate commission can be a bit confusing and may warrant a lot of questions. When do you pay? Who do you pay? Who pays: the seller or the buyer? While commission rates vary, depending upon how many real estate agents are involved, the sale price of the house and other negotiations, here is a general explanation as to how commission works.
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Before my grandma died, she began getting rid of things: the guns my grandpa made before he’d died—sold in a garage sale; the box of silverware he’d given her as a present—mine to take; the knick-knacks, the books, the furniture—all gone—sold, trashed or passed on to someone. Before she moved into my family’s house, where she’d live for a while, we had to sell hers, and that meant getting rid of things.

In a way, this was very hard, a beginning of the end, so to speak, when she said goodbye to the home she’d known for decades. But in another way, this was good, selling her house before she died and not after. We didn’t have to wonder how she’d want us to do things or sort through a lifetime of possessions.

This is a process familiar to many, whether selling a home for a loved one who is ill or for a loved one who’s passed away, and it’s never easy. The important thing to remember is to take things one step at a time and to have help whenever possible.

To help navigate you through the experience, here are a few tips from Buy Owner:

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When searching for a new home, surveys have shown that homebuyers mostly focus on the kitchen and the master suite. Because the master suite is in the spotlight, home sellers tend to upgrade this room while forgetting about the others. However, chances are, if a homebuyer purchases a home with multiple spare bedrooms, it’s because they plan to fill them. Instead of only focusing on the suite, make sure all the bedrooms are staged to sell.

Even if you use a room for storage, clean it up for a sell.

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If there’s one keyword to keep in mind when you’re planning a home showing, it’s this: detail. And we don’t just mean in the sense of focusing on the details or decorating with attention to details. Instead, we’re suggesting you go back to the word and examine its other implications:

For example, what happens when you get your car detailed? You take it to people who are entrusted to shine, clean, vacuum it so thoroughly that every spot is removed and every stain gone. The idea is that when your car has been detailed, it’s been fixed up, brought to its best possible appearance, perfected.

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Do individual features make or break the sale of your home?

Take swimming pools, for example. Buyers shopping for a house in a warm climate may shriek with excitement when they see you have a swimming pool in your backyard. They’ll be able to keep cool on a hot day. However, those looking for a house in a location that boasts chilly winters may think twice before purchasing your poolside abode. Why would they need a pool when it’s 10 below and snowing for three to four months out of the year?

Here are some things you need to consider before adding a swimming pool:

• Location: Think about how the climate is in your area on a month to month basis. Can your pool be used year round? Some locations are quite cold during certain times of the year, forcing residents to utilize a swimming pool for only three to five months.

• Neighbors: Do other homes in your neighborhood have pools? If you’re the only one on the block, you may have an advantage.
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1. Money. Because there are no commissions to be paid, there’s more money going in your pocket, not to a broker.
2. Motivation. Rather than being one in a long list of clients an agent represents, your home will be marketed by you, the one person most motivated to see it sell!
3. Better Pricing. Because you don’t need to factor in extra money for commissions, you have more flexibility to price your home competitively.

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Here at Buy Owner, we have given you tips on staging your home for the summer. But what about the backyard? Chances are that potential buyers will want to spend a lot of time outdoors if you have a patio, a lanai or a swimming pool. So why not make the space fun and inviting?

Lanai/Patio
• Create the same feeling you would inside the living room; comfy outdoor furniture is a must.
• A dining area, with a table and chairs, is essential if you want to entertain outside.

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If you are selling your property during the summer season, it is important for prospective buyers to be warmly welcomed into your home. Buy Owner has also expressed that it is vital for sellers to stage their homes, to give potential buyers an idea what their furnished, decorated home may look like. So how do you get your home ready for a summer open house? Here are some summer staging tips:

Foyer

• If your foyer boasts tiling or hardwood flooring, keep the floor open. Remove any area rugs, as layers create unnecessary warmth when the weather is already hot.
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Selling your home is part work, part creativity and part persistence. But what it isn’t—or at least, what it doesn’t have to be—is difficult. Or expensive, for that matter. In fact, when you sell your home yourself, eliminating costly commissions, you’re already on your way to a less expensive sale. Couple that savvy decision with some of the following low-cost tips for further savings!

1. Eliminate unnecessary clutter, trashing, donating, storing or selling whatever you don’t need.
2. Put away all personal mementos and photos.
3. Clean everything, from top to bottom: floors, walls, surfaces, windows, etc.
4. Vacuum daily.
5. Clear off all counters and flat spaces!
6. Empty all trashcans.
7. Repair what needs fixing!

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