Santa Monica Home Selling
No matter what your reasons are to sell, remember
that
now is no time to dawdle, the process of preparing a Santa
Monica home for sale can take a month or more. So, here's how to start:
1. Take a Fresh Look at Your
Santa Monica home
Your Santa Monica home looks
great to you, but a buyer wants to see it as he and his family will
be living in it -- so take a fresh look at your dwelling. Hop in
your car, drive around the block, and then scrutinize your Santa
Monica home as a prospective buyer will see it for the first time.
First, consider what's called "street appeal;" does it need washing
or painting? Does the driveway need repair work? Is the landscaping
in good shape? Remember, be very critical; your buyer will be.
Next, pull into the driveway
and take a good, hard look. Is the yard neat and trimmed? What
about the view from the front yard? Then, walk inside and size up
the interior as though seeing it for the first time; take a tour
and imagine what your real estate agent might say about each room,
look into cabinets, open doors, check out the bathroom.
Then, make a mental note of
the things that might put off potential buyers, along with
another list of the things that first attracted you to the dwelling.
Remember, the Santa Monica home's become a great place for you, but a
new buyer will see things that you don't.
2. Clean Out the Clutter Before
You Start to Sell
Clean out all the extra stuff
to make your Santa Monica home as empty as you can,
before
your Santa Monica home goes on the market. When a buyer sees
a new Santa Monica home, they only see furnishings placed in the
models. Less is more, a place looks bigger without too much stuff
crammed into a small space.
Potential buyers are seriously
put off by clutter. You can give your existing home a fresh new look
by clearing out the kitchen cabinets & drawers, closets, attic
storage, bath vanities and shelves.
This is not the time for
sentiment. We tend to accumulate belongings and most of us drag a lot
more things through life with us than we really need. You won't want
haul everything you own to your new home anyway. A great way to
reduce the amount of stuff you've collected is to have moving sale
and use the proceeds to repaint the house or make repairs. You can
always put the item that you do want to keep into storage until it's
time to move into your new home.
3. To Sell, Sell, Sell --
Clean, Clean, Clean
After you've cleared out the
clutter, it's time to really clean. Have the carpets professionally
cleaned, strip and polish the floors, scour the bathrooms, go over
the laundry room, polish the furniture, scour out the cabinets, wash
the windows and window coverings, and spiff up the ceiling fans and
kitchen appliances. In short, clean everything.
Don't forget the exterior;
paint or pressure wash everything that needs the work. Remember, this
is a ceiling-to-floor, roof-to-foundation clean-up project.
4. Get More for Your Santa
Monica Home: Repairs Pay Off
After you've cleaned the place
to within an inch of its life, the next project is making all the
repairs necessary to attract a buyer.
So, patch up the roof, touch up
all the paint, repair the screens, spruce up the porch framing, and
make your entry area really shine. Don't forget to water the lawn and
landscape beds, and take the time to trim, mow, edge and get rid of
sick or dying plants. Inside, fix the grout in the bathrooms and on
tile floors, adjust any doors that need it, fix any scratches on the
walls, cover any stains, and be sure to fix any plumbing problems.
Remember, do what your home needs before the first buyer appears at
your door.
Also, it's a good idea to get
all this done before getting the real estate broker to make the first
listing -- a good agent will advise you on what needs to be done.
Also, if you have friends willing to be brutally honest about what
your Santa Monica home needs to sell, invite them to assess the
fix-up needs.
There is, however, an
alternative to the sweat equity you get from a total fix-up --but it
carries a price. An "as-is" sale keeps you from doing all this work,
but a buyer will assess about twice the price you would have paid for
the repairs. Expect buyers to deduct that amount from your asking
price when they make their offer.
5. Putting Your Santa Monica
home on the Market: Show It to Sell It
After you've, cleaned, shined,
mowed, and generally whipped your property into shape, it's time to
attract a buyer.
Regardless of who markets your
Santa Monica home, you or a broker, there are other, small things you
must do to attract buyers. For example, even if it's bright daylight,
open the blinds and turn on the lights. Also, open all the interior
doors to make the home appear more roomy. Be sure to remove all your
kids and pets -- they're cute, but a prospect wants to see your home,
not your pride and joy. In addition, make sure you pet's litter pan
is clean so the home smells clean and fresh, not like air freshener.
Remember, you need to make sure your home is available to be seen
by a prospective buyer with as little notice as possible. That
means less than an hour, or even five minutes, if possible. Also,
park your car away the property when it's time to show the house. A
buyer should not have to fight for a parking space when they show up,
it would leave them with just one more red flag.
6. Get a Sense of the Market
Before you put your home on
the market, take a weekend day to check out the competition:
Santa Monica homes with similar prices and in similar neighborhoods.
Remember, you don't have to go out and buy new furniture just to look
like that beautiful new model in the new development -- what you want
is the feel of that new model -- clean, uncluttered, and fresh.
Remember, after location, the
most important item a buyer is a well-maintained Santa Monica home.
Many flaws can be overlooked if the buyer knows he can move in without
a lot of trouble and expense.
Information provided by The American Santa Monica homeowners
Association, Copyright© 2003
Santa Monica Real Estate services offered by Santa Monica's Top
realtors:
|
