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…)
Asbestos – Getting a Home Ready to Sell
Do you have Asbestos in your home? Are you planning to sell?
Environmental Concerns – Call In The Experts! Don’t touch this……Our housing stock on the North Shore and in New England stretches back to the mid 17th century . These older charming homes, often times historic in nature, may have environmental issues that have come to light in the last 50 years. One of these is asbestos.
Asbestos was used in roofing, exterior siding, insulation on duct work and heat pipes, and floor tiles. If you suspect that you may have this substance in your home, don’t try to remove it yourself. Call an expert. This work needs to done properly and the material also needs to be disposed of properly. This is not a DIY project.
If you think your home may have asbestos, contact a qualified professional prior to putting your home on the market. Below are a few resources. (more…)
- Published in Selling Brief - Selling Real Estate
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…)
