The Lawhead Team would like to share the latest One Cool Thing about selling your home and why a staged home is likely to sell faster than one that is not staged.

Home staging is key to attracting shoppers, and maybe even more so in an era where consumers are used to watching TV home-makeover shows.

Here are some important statistics about staged homes for sale:

• 83% of buyers’ agents say staging a home makes it easier for buyers to visualize a property as their future home.
• 44% of buyers’ agents say staging a home increases its value.
• More than half of sellers’ agents say staging a home decreases the amount of time it spends on the market.
• 25% say a staged home can increase the home’s value by 1 to 5 percent.
• 12% say it increases the value by 6 to 10%.

What are the most important rooms to stage?

1. Living room
2. Master bedroom
3. Kitchen

If you’re in the market to sell your home, call The Lawhead Team and learn about how to stage it to sell!

Source: 2019 Profile of Home Staging report, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS.

Here are a few things you may want to keep in mind as what NOT to do when putting your home on the market and selling it:

• “Make sure your home is painted in bright colors that stand out or drab white walls.” Don’t do this! Paint the interior of your home neutral colors in the brown and beige family.
• “Decorate my home with all my cute unicorn nick-knacks.” Make sure your entire home is tidy and organized and free of décor that portrays your personality. Remember, keep the word “neutral” in mind when selling. Any family pictures and various dust collectors on your shelves should be boxed up and kept in the garage. Remember, you are going to have to pack this stuff up anyway!
• “Potential buyers can see past the clutter”. If you are selling your home and your rooms are filled with too much stuff, box it up. Minimal décor and “stuff” in general will show your home the best. Plus, it makes your home look bigger the less you have in it.
• “The walls don’t need any TLC.” Once your start moving your furniture around and taking those personal family pictures off the walls, you will start to notice holes, cracks and chipped paint. Take a moment to patch any holes and use the paint to touch up any scuffs before selling your home.
• “Buyers won’t notice the dust.” Remember, you want potential buyers to look around and think about what great shape you have kept the home in. This means do a deep clean of all your appliances, get rid of the dust on your ceiling fans and scrub the stove.
• “No need to tidy up the closet, I’ll just close the door.” Potential buyers will be nosy. They’ll open closets, cupboards and drawers. Tidy them up when selling your home! It is also a great idea to take half of the items in your closet out. This makes your closets and cupboards look bigger than they actually are.
• “I don’t need to spend any money on planting flowers or plants outside; the new owners can do that.” The first impression a potential buyer gets from your home will be the curb appeal. Pull weeds, green up the grass and plant new flowers.

Just like anything in life, first impressions are very important. When selling your home, you want your potential buyers to get the best first impression possible.

• Your listing price doesn’t match your home. If the home you are selling requires some work such as maintenance and upgrades, don’t think you can just slap on a huge price tag and expect to sell it in days. The first week your home is on the market will be when it will get the most traffic. When selling make sure your home looks it’s best to give the best first impression possible.
• Your personal items are still cluttering your home. No matter how sentimental your items are, they are going to need to be taken down sooner or later when you sell. When selling your home make sure to de-clutter.
• You only have certain times potential buyers can view your home. When a new home comes on the market, potential buyers will want to see it right away. When selling, always make sure your home is available to show at anytime.
• You linger around when people come to look at your home. If you are selling, leave when potential buyers come by to look at the home. Your presence can make buyers uncomfortable and leave without truly considering it.
• You fail to mention any problems with the home. Disclose any major repairs that need to be done. Don’t let your deal fall through when selling because you have a leaky roof or your AC doesn’t work. In most cases potential buyers will hire a home inspector and these problems will surface one way or another.

The Lawhead Team came across a great article from ABC News for those who are planning on selling your home.

ABC News’ Paula Faris reports:

The country is in the midst of a home-buying frenzy with Americans feeling confident enough to take advantage of record-low mortgage rates, and the 2 million Americans currently selling their homes are looking to cash in big time.

According to the Case-Shiller house price index, home prices across the U.S. are surging — they rose 10.9 percent in the last year to highs last seen at the end of the housing bubble.

“The prices seem to be right in line for where buyers are willing to buy and sellers [looking] to sell,” Phoenix real estate agent Sheri McComb said.

ABC News’ “Real Money” team talked with the McDougalls, whose home is on the market in Phoenix, just one of a handful of cities seeing the biggest bump.

In Phoenix, prices are up more than 22 percent from just a year ago. Scott McDougall said he was optimistic about selling his home and finding a house closer to his daughter’s college.

“The market’s been so good,” he told ABC News today. “We’ve been looking at the market right now. If you’re priced right, I mean, we’ve seen houses go in a matter of days. … We definitely want to act and get into a good home soon.”

Those increased home values are equaling more equity as well — meaning that some homeowners will now be able to refinance, a move they may not have been able to make till now.

But even in a hot market, there are still ways to put more money in your pocket, McComb  said.

Here are four tips:

1. Listing earlier in the summer is better. May and June are the best months. You’ll get more money compared with listing later in the year.

2. List on a Friday. Studies have shown that a home gets toured nearly 20 percent more, which means you’ll hopefully sell it faster and for slightly more money.

3. Use a professional photographer. Sellers who did had a higher sale-to-list ratio.

4. Don’t forget the details. By cleaning out the clutter — buying a new faucet or new doorknobs as well as replacing an outdated TV — “Real Money” was able to help one family increase the value of their home by nearly $25,000.

Read the entire article on selling your home at ABC News’ website: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2013/05/4-real-money-tips-to-follow-before-you-put-your-house-up-for-sale/

If you are looking to sell your home, most likely you want to get top dollar for your home. Unfortunately simply slapping a “for sale” sign in the yard won’t always work to get that cash in your pocket for your home.

The Lawhead Team would like to share some helpful tips to get your home ready to sell and make it appealing to potential buyers.

There are some simple things you can do that won’t cost much money at all in order to sell your home. Remember, your home will not always sell itself. A simple coat of paint can really do wonders and turn a potential buyer into the new owner of your home.

Do you smoke or own pets? If so, a potential buyer will be able to tell when they walk into your home. If you want to sell your home, take some steps to make your home unnoticeable to the nose that you smoke or have furry friends living there. You may not think so, but this is a huge deal to potential buyers.

If you want to make potential buyers fall in love with your home, do the following:

• Clean – Make sure your home smells nice and fresh and put some elbow grease into cleaning your place up.
• Pack – You’re going to move anyway so start de-cluttering your home and put some stuff into boxes. This will make your home look bigger plus you’ll be getting a start on moving.
• Daily Maintenance – Make sure there aren’t dirty dishes in the sink, hang up any clothes in your closet and put away all your toiletries on the bathroom counters.
• Curb Appeal – The outside of your home is the first impression a buyer will get when you are trying to sell your home. You may want to plant new plants, re-paint or stain your front door and make sure all your lights work.

Need help putting your home on the market? Please call The Lawhead Team and we will be happy to help you!

When looking to sell your home, there are some important home staging facts every home seller should take advantage of.

Every seller wants their home to sell fast as well as bring top dollar.  In order to sell your home this way, careful planning and knowing how to professionally spruce up your home will send home buyers off to the bank to get the cash you need for your home.  The Lawhead Team would like to share some tips to staging your home to get it sold:

First, you will want to disassociate yourself with your home.  This is no longer going to be your home and it is important to let go of your emotions and focus on the future.  Soon you will be handing over the keys to the new owner and you will be making a move forward, hopefully to your new home!

It is important to pack up personalized items such as photographs and family heirlooms. It is important for home shoppers to be able to picture their own photos on the wall along with their own personalized family items.  As a seller, you want your buyer to be telling themselves, “I can see myself living here”.

When staging your home to sell, clean out your clutter!  Always use this rule: if you haven’t used it in over a year you probably don’t need it.  A helpful tip is to dedicate a day to cleaning out your home.  Make various piles for “garage sale”, “salvation army” and “keep”.  This will also help lighten the load for when you finally move out of your home.

Pack away all those knickknacks, books off bookcases and clean off the kitchen counters.  Remember, you are going to have to do this eventually anyway, so why not get a head start on it?  It will make your home more appealing to potential buyers at the same time it gets your packing done.

Don’t assume you can just throw all your junk in the closet!  Buyers looking at your home are making a huge investment and will snoop around every nook and cranny.  Make sure your closets are neat and tidy along with your cabinet doors.  Buyers are much more likely to purchase a home that looks, clean, neat and tidy because if gives the impression you, as the previous owner, took good care of the home itself.  Even if you have to rent a storage unit, it may be helpful in order to get your home sold.  Try these organization tricks:

• Hang shirts together, buttoned, facing the same direction.
• Line up shoes.
• Alphabetize spice jars.
• Neatly stack dishes.
• Turn coffee cup handles facing the same way.

When staging a home, de-clutter the furniture.  Pieces of furniture which block or hamper paths and walkways should be removed.  Remove extra leaves from your dining room table to make your room appear larger.  Simply leave enough furniture in each room for potential buyers to know what the room is used for.

Remove and replace any items you want to take with you.  For example, if your great grandmother’s chandelier is hanging in the dining room, take it down before you show your home.  Once you tell a buyer they can’t have an item, it might make the deal turn sour.

Minor repairs to give a home a cleaner and well taken care of look are important if you want your home sold quickly.  Fixing the following will ensure help add appeal to your home that otherwise wouldn’t have been there:

•  Replace cracked floor or counter tiles.
• Patch holes in walls.
• Fix leaky faucets.
• Fix doors that don’t close properly and kitchen drawers that jam.
• Consider painting your walls neutral colors, especially if you have grown accustomed to purple or pink walls. (Don’t give buyers any reason to remember your home as “the house with the orange bathroom.”)
• Replace burned-out light bulbs.
• If you’ve considered replacing a worn bedspread, do so now!

Part of home staging to sell your home is making sure everything on the surface is also spic-n-span. Wash windows inside and out, spray down sidewalks and exterior walls making sure to get rid of the cobwebs.  Vacuum and sweep your floors daily when you know prospects may come by at anytime.

Stand outside of your home and take note at what is appealing from the curb and what is not.  Does your home pop out, in a good way of course, from the rest of the homes on your street?  Remember, the exterior of your home is what a potential buyer sees first.  Freshly potted flowers are inexpensive and can add appeal to your home.  Make sure your lawn is mowed and your sidewalks cleared.

Need additional help selling your home?  Ask the experts, Marilyn and Creighton Lawhead, Because Two Lawheads Are Better Than One^TM !