Although your real estate agent will be doing all the "heavy lifting" when it comes to marketing your home, your frame of mind and attitude can have a surprising impact on the success of his or her efforts.
This is especially true in regard to sprucing up your home and keeping it in tip-top condition for showings.
Your agent will do their best to bring prospective buyers to your home and offer you suggestions for making the best impression on house hunters, but it's up to you to implement their ideas. Those recommendations could run the gamut from keeping your lawn looking impeccable to applying a fresh coat of (neutral color) paint to areas that need it. Admittedly, it can be difficult to keep your home looking immaculate for every real estate showing, but "near perfection" is a goal worth aiming for!
Staying positive and optimistic in the face of setbacks, fast-approaching deadlines, and missed target dates can be difficult, but it's essential for fueling your motivation. If you, as a home seller, begin to feel discouraged and pessimistic, you may begin to label priorities as "not that important" or put things off that really need to be addressed now.
If you've been updating and maintaining your home on a regular basis, your to-do list might be shorter than home sellers who have been saying "We'll take care of that next year!" Problems develop when "next year" never comes and projects keep getting bumped to the future. If you're determined to put your best foot forward in the real estate market, there's no time like the present!
Since preparing your house to be listed can feel overwhelming, the secret is to prepare a priority list and tackle one task at a time. It can also be helpful to get feedback from your real estate agent on what improvements and changes will produce the most impact. A seasoned agent will be able to quickly size up the condition and appearance of your home, and let you know what issues need to be addressed first. Their experience, objectivity, and trained eye will help you identify cost-effective solutions and be able to present your home in its best light.
Although a good real estate agent will leave no stone unturned when it comes to effectively marketing your home, they will appreciate and be energized by the fact that you have pride in the appearance of your house and property. There are a lot of ingredients that go into the successful staging and sale of a home, but you can help keep the momentum going by doing a little extra painting (where needed), cleaning, and clutter reduction.
"Accentuating the positive and minimizing the negative" should be your watch words from the day you decide to list your house until the moment the sale of your home has been signed, sealed, and delivered!
