G U I D E T O S H OW I N G YO U R H O M E You may get a day’s notice that your home will be shown...or 20 minutes. To make sure your home shows best at all times, follow these simple rules:
LIGHTS
TEMPERATURE
CLEAN
Making sure all your lights are on before each showing will ensure the potential buyers are not faced with dark and dreary rooms when they walk in the front door. Take advantage of your home’s natural light by opening the blinds and shades and keeping the curtains open. If you have closets or hallways that are not lit or poorly lit, consider adding batterypowered lighting. Make sure your outdoor lighting is on from early dusk until it is time for bed. You never know when a potential buyer will drive by and you want your home to look welcoming and bright at all times. In winter especially when the days are short, installing an automatic timer or an app that is attached to your home lighting panel which allows for outdoor and indoor lights to come on at a certain time will really allow your home to shine!
Although you may turn the temperature down in your home when you are not there, or your Nest system or something similar does it for you, having buyers walk into a home that is too cold or too warm is very distracting for would-be buyers or selling touring your home. Your best plan is to leave your home between 65 and 68 degrees in the winter (closer to 68 is better) and no warmer than 74 in the summer if you have air conditioning. If you don’t have air conditioning, keeping the air circulating through the day is a must. If your heating system has a fan, keep it on. If not, use ceiling fans, open some windows if it is safe to do so, and keep smaller design-style fans on in each room at a low to medium speed.
I cannot stress enough how important it is to keep your house clean every day. If you have pets, that might mean running the vacuum or dust mopping before showings. All dishes need to be washed or put in the dishwasher every morning and throughout the day. Garbage needs to be taken out each night. Beds made each morning. Towels in the bathroom hung up and the bathroom wiped down. Laundry should be put away or stowed neatly in the laundry room. If anything has an odor, get it clean, or get it out. Your home doesn’t have a second chance to make a first impression, so make sure each member of the family is on board with the daily cleaning rules so your home sparkles whenever it is shown!
Thank You
I recognize that selling your home is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. Therefore, I treat our relationship with the utmost care and respect.
HOME SELLING OPTIONS Making the Move with Ease
I look forward to working with you in the near future and feel certain that you will be happy with my services!
15418 Main Street #302 Mill Creek, WA 98012 E | nina@ninabjornstal.com
Nina Bjornstal, REALTOR C | 206-730-0962 E | nina@ninabjornstal.com
P R E PA R I N G YO U R H O M E
M A R K E T I N G YO U R H O M E
DEFERRED MAINTENANCE
POLISH
DECLUTTERING
If you have lived in your home for a number of years, you may not be aware of maintenance that needs to be addressed. Things like crawl spaces, air ducts, and even the roof should be reviewed for signs of deferred maintenance. In most cases, it is best to address these before the home goes on the market. We will address the pros and cons of getting your home inspected to identify what needs to be fixed before listing.
We want your home to appear move-in ready! That means a thorough cleaning. We will also take a look at options for updating and we can decide what strategy best suits your time, budget, and patience needs. It may not take much - if anything - to get your home to appeal to the widest range of buyers. A new coat of paint is one of the easiest - and cheapest - things you can do to freshen up your home, but nothing is as effective as a deep, thorough cleaning.
The process of getting rid of anything that no longer serves you well is a great start to downsizing AND it can help you get more buyers to see how they can live in your home. Once you understand how much space you are moving to, you can begin the process of selecting the best things to begin your new life with. However, if you are just moving to another, comparable space, simply putting some of your belongings into storage while the home is listed is a good plan.
PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY
PRINT & ONLINE MARKETING ONLINE: RE/MAX Town Center New York times Dwell Trulia Zillow Homes.com Financial Times Yahoo! The Wall Street Journal Homefinder.com ...and more!
2D & 3D FLOORPLANS
OPEN HOUSE PROGRAM
S E L L I N G T H E N BU Y I N G Depending on how fast the market is, it may be worth considering a Plan B if it is not in your best interest to sell then buy simultaneously. If the market is very fast and buyers are waiving financial contingencies in order to win an offer, that may not work in your situation, nor may it be in your best interest. But don’t worry...you have options!
PRICING IT RIGHT HIS TORY
TRAFFIC
TIME
Tomorrow’s home price can be determined by looking at what has happened in our market for the last 3060-90 days or even longer. When I price a home, I look at neighborhood comparable property history to help determine the value. However, I also look at more recent history, such as what has recently gone under contract, to get a feel for the potential demand for your home.
Your home will get the most traffic and attention as soon as it is listed. I keep a very close eye to make sure the actual traffic adds up to what I expect. If we aren’t getting as many showings or online viewings as expected, then we can quickly react and adjust the listing, marketing, and the price as needed.
I will have a good idea of how long it should take to get an offer on your home based on what I seeing in the market for homes that are similar to yours. In some cases and for a home that is priced right, the amount of time on the market might be less than a week. In other markets it may be three weeks. Time is an essential measuring tool in a real estate market to verify we are priced where we should be.
RENT BACK
B R I D G E L OA N
SHORT TERM RENTAL
You may be able to pay the buyers rent for a few weeks while you complete your own buying transaction. This will need to be negotiated in the offer process. Be prepared to offer a more-than-fair market price as the buyers will have their own moving challenges they have to deal with to accommodate you.
In the event you need a temporary loan between the purchase of your new home and the sale of your current home, banks can provide a bridge loan to those who qualify. The term is usually for less than a year and the interest is usually higher than for a traditional mortgage. Depending on the terms, you may not need to make payments, but the principal and interest is paid off with the home sale proceeds.
A vacation rental or other short-time rental may give you the time you need to make a strategic decision on what to buy...not a rushed one. Although this choice does require you to move twice, often the short-term or vacation rentals are furnished so you can have a vacation from your stuff! This can be a liberating experience that allows for perspectivegathering.