The Two Most Influential Rooms in Your Home

Which rooms in your home make the biggest difference to potential buyers? The KW Blog has the answers! According to buyers, the kitchen and the master bath are the most important rooms in your home. When deciding to undertake a remodeling project, the article advises to invest your money where it matters: by updating appliances and fixtures in these two rooms. For a kitchen, this may mean installing updated lighting, wooden cabinets, and stone or granite counter tops. To turn your master bath in to a spa, the article advises turning to decorative mirrors and updated faucets. For more information on how you can catch buyers' eyes with an updated kitchen and master bath, read the full article on the blog here.

How to Avoid Buyer's Remorse

Jim Weiker, writer for The Columbus Dispatch, shares some survey results that could provide valuable lessons to buyers. A Trulia survey was issued this spring to 2,130 Americans. Here are the results:

52% of those surveyed expressed some regrets about their current residence

34% wish they had bought a bigger home
27% wish they had done more remodeling
22% wish they had known more about the home before deciding to buy it
18% wish they had put more money down
16% wish they had been more financially secure before buying.

Concerned about buying the right home? Contact me to see how I can help!

Staging Your Home to Sell

According to a 2011 study, staged homes sold in 42 days, on average, while their non-staged counterparts remained on the market after 156 days (The SRES Professional). That's greater than three times as long. Cleary, staging is important to selling your home. Follow some basic tips, and sellers can improve their competitiveness in no time.

The simplest way to stage your home is to declutter. This is best done before you begin cleaning. Throw away what you don’t need, and store the rest so the buyer doesn’t see all of your belongings upon entering your home. This will optimize your space and make the home appear larger. Try to get your home to resemble a hotel room: spacious, clean, and welcoming. A crowded house may inhibit the buyer from picturing the house as his/her own. For similar reasons, minimize the amount of personal mementos (to one per room, if any). Make counter, bathroom, and dresser surfaces as clear and pristine as possible. Put away appliances and distracting decorations (such as toasters, knife sets, hair dryers, and refrigerator magnets). Like countertops, the floors should be spotless. A buyer should not be able to deduce that a pet lived in your home. Finally, make sure each room has a designated purpose (a study, reading room, etc.). In bedrooms, beds should be neatly made. Following these tips will help your home sell more quickly and thus avoid the stigma of an expired listing. The YouTube tutorial (below) illustrates how one couple's home was successfully staged. 

As a Realtor, I help my clients stage their homes before showings. If you'd like to know more, please feel free to contact me.  

Hilarious Clip from The Money Pit

Home improvement can be overwhelming. If you are a homeowner, you can probably sympathize with Tom Hanks' character in this scene of The Money Pit. Watch (or skip) to the end for his infectious, borderline-lunatic laugh!