My Selling Walkthrough and Strategy

Setting the Stage for Your Home

The following “staging tips” by award-winning interior designer Lorna Oppenheimer will help your home look its very best.

• Check the visibility of your house numbers; repaint or polish if necessary

• Create an inviting walkway by adding color with annuals to brighten your home and welcome buyers

• Open windows every day to let in fresh air and appeal to buyer’s sense of smell by creating an inviting feeling by lighting candles or baking

• Sharpen the look of your rooms by paying attention to detail—polish knobs and handles and replace lights in bathrooms and kitchen as necessary

• Create a focal point in your entryway by adding a picture, lamp or plant

• Remove furniture to make rooms appear larger and allow for a clear traffic pattern

• Unify the accent pieces and details in your home—replace old lampshades, bedspreads and bath towels and coordinate matching area rugs, pillows and candles throughout all rooms

• Try to make a child’s room minimally personal and make sure it is safe

• Move your best pieces of furniture toward the front of each room and your least attractive pieces toward the back

• Hang all pictures on the low side and hang mirrors across from windows that get a lot of light or have a view

• Set your dining room table for a decorative appeal

• Place plants and fresh flowers in rooms to add vibrancy and freshness

Pricing Strategies

Pricing your home is a complex task that requires the expertise of an experienced real estate professional. Consider the following:

• If the listing price is set outside of the proper parameters, potential buyers may be deterred from considering your home

• Arriving at the optimal price requires evaluation and understanding of current marketing conditions, the marketable features of your home and recent trends in the real estate market

• The closer your home is priced to fair market value when it first comes on the market, the more likely it will sell quickly at the highest price

• The higher your home is priced above market value, the fewer number of available buyers

Your Coldwell Banker Independent Sales Associate will advise you of the following factors when assisting you in determining a listing price for your home:

• What have buyers recently paid for similar properties?

• Will this price attract enough attention by buyers to generate showings and acceptable offers?

• What properties are competing for the attention of buyers right now?

• What properties have not sold, indicating what prices buyers are unwilling to pay under current market conditions?