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Slow Summer Speed Up the Sale
Don’t let dog days drag you down. Boost your home’s appeal with some of these tips. By Barbara Ballinger CTW
Since the start of the year, many sellers have been jittery ± a nd for good reason. Back in January, new-home sales made a significant one-month plunge of 16.6 percent, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. Add to that increased inventories and summer vacations, and it’s no wonder that some sellers’ nervousness is climbing as high as the temperature outdoors as they wait and wait for a contract to materialize. If you face this situation, don’t rush to blame the economy or a real estate practitioner. Try to be objective about your house. Perhaps it’s priced too high because you pushed to get the same dollars your neighbors did a year or two ago. Or perhaps your brown lawn outside is an immediate turnoff. Still another reason could be that you’re simply not cooperating and making the house easily available for showings. Before getting more upset, try the following steps: Make your home boring… The most effective way to increase your home’s market value without spending a lot of money on renovation and improvements is to be sure it’s clean and uncluttered with a fresh, neutral palette, which is more appealing to most buyers and therefore more valuable,
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say Todd Rissel, CEO of e2Value Inc., Stamford, Conn. Uncluttered also pertains to the exterior, so keep the grass green, trim the bushes and keep those flowers perky and colorful. …But make it more pleasant It’s a cliché for a reason. Pleasant smells trigger positive emotions, which is why they’re used in all types of retail experiences, especially real estate, says Rissel. Even if you’re not a baker extraordinaire, you can bake a few apples or a package mix of brownies and let the smells waft through your kitchen and the rest of your home. Give away freebies People like getting something for nothing or something for the time they expend to visit your home. Let prospective buyers take photos of your rooms and of themselves in your home. Leave out disposable cameras for them to snap pictures or encourage them to bring along their own, which will help tie them emotionally to the house and a possible purchase, says Rissel. If your salesperson hosts an open house, offer snacks and something to drink. Greet the neighbors Tonja Demoff, author of Bubble Proof: Real Estate Strategies that Work in Any Market (Kaplan, 2007), suggests creating a postcard of your home titled, “Pick
Your Neighbors,” and sending the cards to everyone in the neighborhood so they can browse your open house. Your goal is to get them to talk up your listing and encourage friends and family who’d want to live in the area to come by. Join in a progressive open house Saleswoman Sharon Ketko of Keller Williams North Texas in Plano has found
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a progressive dinner-style open house on a Sunday afternoon with five or six listed homes participating is a great way to bring in traffic. She keeps the houses open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., promotes them with local advertising, direct mail and color booklets. Her team on duty at each home is trained to discuss the details of all participating homes.
Tout a home’s green features Al Gore’s documentary An Inconvenient Truth has definitely put the spotlight on the advantages of going green to be a better steward of our planet’s resources and cutting energy use. Making a few inexpensive purchases can make a home more energy-efficient and woo buyers who dread seeing high
cooling bills in summer and high heating costs in winter, says Rozanne Weissman, director of communications and marketing at the Alliance to Save Energy, Washington, D.C. “Upgrade appliances to Energy-Star label appliances … that use less energy and water. Install more insulation or weather stripping, which can give you tax credits. If you’ve already
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done this, show your utility bills when you market the home,” she says. “But be careful about bigger costs, such as a new furnace, which you may not get back.” Get ready to move out Even before your house goes on the market, get ready to move out by moving furniture that takes up too much space to a storage facility, says Gary Gentry of Gentry Group Realtors, Austin, Texas. Donate or give away any items you don’t plan to move to your next home. Gentry also has an inspector evaluate the house, so he can inform the sellers if they need to spend money on systems or visual items that could make or break the sale. Revisit exterior improvements You needn’t spend a fortune on hiring a painting crew or a landscape designer if your house still isn’t selling, but eliminating unwanted problems and stains will help. If mildew or mold
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are a problem, use trisodium phosphate ± f ound in most home-improvement centers as TSP ± t o remove the musty growth, says Pat Simpson, host of HGTV program Before and After. To eliminate any stubborn driveway stains, he suggests one part powdered laundry detergent, one part baking soda and one part bleach. Spread it, scrub, then hose it off. When all is clean, set a charming outdoor scene, which helps to elicit positive emotional responses, says Martha Webb, founder of the consulting firm BCW Group, Minneapolis, whose background is in motivational films. Her suggestions, some of which can be found in Dress Your House for Success (Random House, 1997): Set out a patio setting and outdoor games, as if ready for a barbecue. Revisit indoor improvements Webb takes similar steps indoors. She has added a board game and bowl of
popcorn in a den to make the room look more livable. She also has added popcorn in a media room and played a movie when buyers came through. You want the house to say, “Welcome home!” she says. Counter before there’s an offer If a buyer has expressed interest but still is on the fence, have your salesperson inquire about the reason for the hesitation. If it’s slightly worn carpet or a too-high price, Jana Caudill, with Keller Williams in Crown Point, Ind., negotiates with the buyer’s agent to determine what changes can be made to get an offer into play. Don’t be greedy Greediness takes a longer time to sell, says Demoff. Remember, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. © CTW Features
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Summer Inside
Introduce the feel of a relaxing afternoon on the patio indoors, and treat your home to a seasonal facelift
By Bev Bennett CTW Features
When it comes to sampling from seasonal trends to incorporate into your home, nice and easy does it. Coordinating around a summer feel by flirting with fruity scents or relying on rays of sunshine to brighten up the interior could be just what you need to soften your living space. Try these tips to turn your home into a picturesque vision of the season. Alternating around nature-inspired patterns just might be the breath of refreshing summer air that it needs. Try lemon aid Put a bowl of lemons on the table. You’re treated to instant sunny color and an appealing lemon scent.
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Swap out accessories Lighten up the accessories. Put the ceramic vases away and take out the colored glass. Make your home a basket case In the kitchen, put tableware into a rectangular basket that you keep on the counter. Let the family set their own places for dinner. Use a round basket for bread. In the den use a basket to hold magazines or newspapers. Place a large basket in the garage or on the deck. Tell everyone to brush off beach sand and put his or her used towels in the basket. Decorate with herbs Put a pot of fresh herbs on the windowsill. Choose aromatic rosemary for grilled lamb; mint sprigs for iced tea and chives for salads.
Keep it cool Keep a pitcher of water in the refrigerator. Thinly slice a couple of lemons, slip the slices into a plastic bag and refrigerate. Serve cold water and a lemon slice floating on it. Try this with thinly sliced cucumbers, too. Summarize your sofa Slip your sofa into something more comfortable. Pack up the chenille and use cotton duck coverings. Shop for light colors or pastels. You can choose one color to use throughout a room or vary the colors for accents. Š CTW Features
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Summer Breeze
Kickstart an energy-efficient summer with fans that do more than just cool a room.
By Marilyn Kennedy Melia CTW Features
Hate heat, but love to be kind to the environment and your budget? An old standby ± t he fan ± h as undergone lots of updates, making it a cool alternative to cranking up the air conditioner. While a couple of decades ago, many Americans knew ceiling fans only from tropical scenes, they are now an increasingly familiar amenity. Currently, about two-thirds of homes have at least one ceiling fan, and they’re especially popular in the Southeast, notes Chris Calwell, founder of Ecos, an environmentally focused consulting firm, Durango, Colo. In Florida, builders often install ceiling fans in many rooms and even on outside porches. They’re popular not only because of the state’s hot climate, but because a Florida residential energy code encourages their use, says Ray Puzzitiello, of Puzzitiello Builders, West Palm Beach, Fla. Since a national building code may soon include rules similar to those in Florida, fans could become even more common throughout around the nation, Puzzitiello predicts. Not only are they becoming more popular, but new and more efficient models of fans are evolving. Flip the switch When a fan is whirling above, the breeze cools you, and you may be able to set the thermostat a couple of degrees higher, says Jeff Brooks, a spokesman for Progress Energy, Raleigh, N.C. In cold weather, many fans have a winter switch that allows the blades to turn in the
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opposite direction to warm up a room. For each degree you set the thermostat up, you may save three percent or more on your air-conditioning costs, Brooks says. But fans are only intended to cool the room while you’re in it. Studies show that people don’t turn off the fan when leaving a room, letting them run nonstop, Calwell says. Just as with lights, a simple flip of the switch will lower your utility bill.
Consider efficient models Some fans are Energy Star rated, Calwell notes. These fans have blades designed to maximize airflow and have efficient motors, Calwell says, who helped design the standard for fans with Energy Star. When ceiling fans have a light, most of their energy efficiency will come from the light choice, like a pin-based fluorescent, Calwell adds. Energy efficiency translates into better breezes. “A well-designed smaller fan
with aerodynamic blades and an efficient motor can move more air than an inefficient one,” Calwell says. Enjoy the view Fans may cool, but lots of consumers really love fans because they are so cool. “Whatever the design of the room, there’s a fan to suit it ± co ntemporary, antique, classic,” Puzzitiollo says. “Some people like fans everywhere, just because they look so good.” Ceiling fans are also growing popular for covered porches, and stand-alone models are also available that can be placed on a patio or deck and withstand rain, says Veronique Sutcliffe, spokeswoman for animation.com.
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Hear silence Today’s well-designed fans are not only more efficient, they are probably quieter than older, clunky models, Puzzitiello says. While you may hear a gentle whirl, especially at the highest
breeze setting, many consumers like that “white noise.” It’s one reason why fans are popular in bedrooms, Sutcliffe says. © CTW Features
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