Staging Your Home in the Winter
John & Cindy Farrell – Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
The way you prepare and stage your home varies depending on what season it is. In addition to the suggestions we give you for the general staging of your home and preparing for photos. We have a few recommendations to help you in the winter.
- Make sure the heat is on! If the potential buyers are cold they won’t be able to relax and the house will feel uncomfortable to them. We have seen showings cut very short in cold homes.
- Your house needs to smell good. Remember the windows will not be open. Make sure the house is very clean and all pet smells are taken care of. Do not try to cover odors with air fresheners or candles. (more…)
Selling in the Winter – 8 Steps to Welcoming Winter Curb Appeal
What should we do to stage our home in the winter?
Don’t believe that your home can’t look fabulous in the winter! If you plan to sell your home in the winter there are many things you can do to give it great curb appeal. Curb appeal is important in any season. The winter is an opportunity to make your home stand out. Many seller’s won’t give the winter exterior the attention it deserves. This will give you the competitive edge. Take the focus off the dormant gardens, stop focusing on what doesn’t look it’s best and redirect the focus on what looks great. Here is a list of ideas to get you started. (more…)
Trends in Kitchen Design
John & Cindy Farrell – Coldwell Banker Residential Brokergae
House did a great survey to show the current trends in kitchen design. Make sure to see the full Houzz survey results. We can help with your project ideas early and give you our thoughts on resale in the future. You may not be thinking of selling now but it is important to give this thought when you are renovating your home. The decisions you make now could greatly impact the value and saleability of your home. Contact John & Cindy Farrell 978-468-9576.
Curb Appeal and First Impressions When Selling a Home
John & Cindy Farrell – Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
It is important to make a great first impression when you are selling your home. That first impression used to be when a potential buyer walked up to and entered your home. That is no longer happening for most buyers, and many sellers haven’t given any thought to how things have changed. The first impression most often happens well before someone walks through your front door. When you put your home on the market, potential buyers for your home may be considering your home for the first time on line. Then after getting the address online, possibly driving by, well before they even consider making an appointment to view it with their agent.
It’s important to pay attention to the curb appeal, your online presentation, both with photos and listing detail, and staging the living space. (more…)
Take that staging further
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
After you have done the initial staging of your home and prepared it for photos the next step is to get ready for the showings. Once people are in your home they will be opening the closets, opening your refrigerator, opening the microwave and opening the oven.
See this great post on the National Association of Realtors blog, Styled Staged and Sold, by Melissa Dittman Tracey about staging your refrigerator.
It’s especially important if you are leaving the appliances with the home to have them very clean and well presented. Even if you aren’t leaving the appliances their condition will leave a general impression of how a home has been maintained and cared for. (more…)
Selling your Home in the Winter on the North Shore
Wondering what you can do to prepare your home for sale in the winter?
The spring home selling season is already upon us. It starts very quickly after the holidays and the Sunday after the Super Bowl is a very busy open house day. Even so, it certainly doesn’t look or feel like spring and you may be concerned about how your home will be presented with it so cold outside, very little happening in the garden and it getting so dark so early. There is a lot you can do and it will really make a difference. Remember staging your home is very important. Below are just a few suggestions that can make your home inviting. (more…)
How Much Value Will Renovations Add To Your House?
John & Cindy Farrell – Coldwell Banker
Preparing to sell a home on the North Shore of Boston. Have you been wondering how the renovations you have done or plan to do to your home will impact the value? Remodeling Magazine has put out their cost vs value report for 2023. This is an interactive report that breaks it down by type of project and region. They also have graphs that show you how things have changed over the years.
Remodeling Magazine explains what the numbers mean. There are many factors that can contribute to differences.
The numbers shouldn’t be applied to an individual home or project without exploring all the available information for a specific home. If you are considering selling or if you are planning a renovation project we can help you early in the process. John & Cindy Farrell 978-468-9576
“© 2012 Hanley Wood, LLC. Complete data from the Remodeling 2012-13 Cost vs. Value Report can be downloaded free at www.costvsvalue.com.”
Updated December 31, 2023
Houzz.com has a great calculator to research what people are paying for remodeling projects in different locations. You just put in your zip code and type of renovation. This is a great tool! Here is the link.
17 + Things You Can Do To Prepare Your Home For Real Estate Photos
Once you have organized your belongings and staged your home you are not preparing your home to go on the market. It’s important to take extra care preparing for the photos. Many things are often neglected and compromise the quality of the photos and your homes presentation. We have prepared a short list of often overlooked items. Your home needs to be prepared more for the photos than you would for a showing. A coat over the arm of a chair or a box of tissues on a night stand may be fine when you are showing your home, but not for the photos. The photos will go far and wide and they will usually keep reappearing throughout the time you have the home listed. Once you loose the attention of a buyer you may not be able to get it back.
We often hear how first impressions are important when a buyer comes to see your home. But often the first impression is with the photos that are presented online. It may be the difference between a showing and a sale and having your home immediately cut from the list of potential properties with no showing….. without a second thought. 
(more…)
What Should You Do With Your Valuables?
Preparing Your Home For Sale – Safeguard those Valuables!
Hopefully you are considering this question as you prepare to sell your home. While the house is on the market you should not be living in it as usual. The general public will be invited to walk through your home. You are selling, stage your house to sell and remove all the valuables! The goal is to position your home correctly and have it sold quickly. The period of time you are inconvenienced should be relatively short.
There are many options available to keep everything safe.
1. Store things with family or friends.
2. Move them to another property
3. Locked closet, safe or drawer
4. Safety deposit box
5. Storage facility
6. Take things with you during the showing or open house (more…)
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