This is my column for this week from the Arizona Republic (permanent link):

 
Do you want to make sure your home will sell? Little things matter

I tend to do a lot of previewing. I will go into houses alone to take photographs. My buyers and I then use those photos to draft a short-list of homes to view when they’re ready to see for themselves.

Because of this, I get to spend a lot of time alone in homes, looking at absolutely everything, with no distractions.

Here’s what I’ve learned from looking at thousands of homes for sale: Little things matter.

Is the home picked up, or are there clothes, toys and magazines scattered everywhere? Are there dirty breakfast dishes on the kitchen table? Dried up orange juice splotches? Toast crumbs? Are last night’s dirty dishes piled up in the sink?

Is the house clean? Does it look and smell like the cleaning crew just left? If I look for dirt, I can find it. But can I find it easily without having to look?

Is every room of the house packed to the walls with furniture? Are there pictures of every member of the family for three generations tacked all over the walls? Do the kids like dark blue, dark purple, dark black paint?

I can probably guess your religion by the stuff you own and the other stuff you don’t own, but my buyers should never, ever see symbols of your religion in the house. Why? Because it can be subtly off-putting to them without their even knowing why at a conscious level.

Likewise, if they can smell your cat — or the fish you fried for dinner last week — you’ve probably already alienated potential buyers before they have even given your house half a chance. Odors kill sales, so kill those odors now.

Fix any obvious defects. Only a specialist can say for sure if the air conditioner is working properly, but no one has to be told when it’s completely broken.

It only takes a few small things to drive buyers on to the next house on their list. If you want for yours to be the one that sells, it simply must be better than others. Little things matter.

Technorati Tags: arizona, arizona real estate, phoenix, phoenix real estate, real estate, real estate marketing, real estate photography

This is my column this week from the Arizona Republic (permanent link):

 
Web site demonstrates how much goes into staging a home for sale

Week after week, I hammer away on the idea that the only homes that will sell in our current market are the ones that are priced right, prepared right and presented right.

But here’s an unwelcome fact about the real estate market: Home-sellers can be bull-headed. I don’t know how many times I’ve had sellers tell me all about what is wrong with the other houses for sale in their neighborhood.

My answer? I agree. But we’re not talking about those houses. We’re talking about what it will take to sell the sellers’ house.

And that’s when I get to hear about all the improvements the sellers have made — some of which are actually worth what they think they’re worth.

But what I really want is for my sellers to look at their own home with the same critical eye they bring to the neighbors’ homes. It’s motes and beams, surely, but seeing your home through a buyer’s eyes is a very instructive exercise.

It’s fun for me, because one of the things I tell sellers is, “You know what’s wrong with this house. You know exactly what you would frown over — or your mother-in-law would frown over — if you were seeing this home for the first time. Those are the issues we need to address before we can try to sell this house.”

This is the threshold of staging, which entails a lot more, in most cases, than laying out a few decorator items. A home that is prepared for sale is in complete turn-key condition, with no obvious defects left uncorrected.

One of our listings in North Central Phoenix just sold. We made a before-and-after record of the staging process, so you can see what we’re aiming for. You can view this demonstration by clicking here.

Staging is all the rage right now, and preparation is only one part of a sound marketing plan. But staging is a wasted effort if the home is dirty or in palpable disrepair. Our slide show illustrates a more robust idea of home staging.

Technorati Tags: real estate, real estate marketing

I ran across this beautiful blog, which could serve as a delectable side dish to the feast that is the Modern Phoenix Neighborhood Network.

The author, Miki Kimuro, describes the blog as

Modern Design, Modern Architecture and Lifestyle Goodies: publishers of beautiful bling with an organic twist.

I would have loved to show an image from this blog, to give you a sample of the beautiful graphics here, but I couldn’t figure out how to contact Kimuro to get permission to copy a picture or two. So you’ll just have to click on over to take a gander for yourself.

Now. On the matter of modern-style, Greg and I will be listing a fifty-year old house later this month.

To help prepare the home for market, I’ve been keeping my eyes open for affordable mid-century pieces to help stage the home, and was tickled to run across this beautiful, modern coffee table on Craig’s List.

The photo is from the Craig’s List ad… I haven’t reassembled it yet to shoot my own. But… you get the picture!

Technorati Tags: arizona, arizona real estate, phoenix, phoenix real estate, real estate, real estate marketing

Back when Greg was a real estate rookie, he came home after spending the day helping a couple find their perfect home, ablaze with new information, wanting to share with me the new term that Mrs. Buyer had taught him — The Kitchen Triangle. I think he was a little surprised that I knew what he was talking about. I wasn’t a Realtor yet — years from it. But I am a woman, and I have had plenty of decades learning the difference a conveniently laid out kitchen can make.

So, I found it interesting to learn today that the work triangle that I learned about at my grandma’s apron is so last century! Susan Serra, Certified Kitchen Designer, tells us:

The bottom line in today’s new kitchen seems to be it’s all about US (one’s family), not “me,” with multiple stations designed for specific needs and/or desires.

Her article gives us cogent examples, a diagram, and a promise of further elaboration in future posts.

Technorati Tags: arizona, arizona real estate, phoenix, phoenix real estate, real estate, real estate marketing