As I mentioned in a previous blog, wintertime may be an ideal time to sell your Western NC home since home buyers during this time of year are typically more eager to buy a home than any other time of the year.

But since it’s also true that there are fewer home buyers are the market, it’s important to stage your home in a way that leaves a lasting impression.

One thing that many home sellers do is create curb appeal.  This includes trimming the bushes, sweeping the front porch and cleaning the shutters.

After all, many home buyers will first judge a home by its exterior.  Thus, it’s critical that your Western NC home has plenty of curb appeal.

Continue reading to learn more tips on what you can do to increase your chances of selling your home in a reasonable amount of time.

Homes for Sale in Cashiers, Highlands, Sapphire and More

Here are some suggestions for preparing your home for upcoming showings:

• Mentally Let Go of Your Attachment to Your Home: This is something that’s easier said than done for many home sellers.  After all, your current home may very well be where you started your family, and certainly where you made many precious memories.  But trust me, mentally preparing yourself now for the day when you hand over your house keys to another family will save you a lot of heart ache and stress in the long run.  Because that day will come and you don’t want to be blindsided when it does.
• De-personalize Your Home: As I’ve said in a previous blog, you want home buyers to be able to see THEIR family in your home, not your family.  Thus, remove distracting details like the dozens of family portraits on the walls and tables.  While a few accents will create a warm ambiance in your home, too many can prove to be overwhelming and off-putting for interested home buyers.
• De-Clutterize: Remember, you’re not selling the items in your home, you’re selling the home itself.  So remove excess clutter that distracts from your home’s rooms and layout.  A good rule of thumb is to get rid of anything you haven’t used in more than a year. You may also consider reorganizing furniture in a way that maximizes a room’s space and makes it look bigger.
• Organize Your Closets and Cabinets: Home buyers are often judging every little detail of your home, maybe without even realizing it! And disorganized storage areas suggest to potential home buyers that you may have not taken the best care of the rest of the house.  Avoid sending that message by cleaning and organizing closet and cabinet space.  One way to start is to make sure all your closets are hanging the same way in your closet.
• Store Irreplaceable Items: Buyers and sellers will often negotiate throwing in certain items and appliance with the home sale. So if there’s something in your home that you would never want to see end up on the negotiation table, then put it away so the home buyer doesn’t even know about it.  Otherwise, you risk giving the home buyer a reason to pull out on a deal just because you won’t throw in the item they want.
• Address Minor Repairs:  Remember, home showings are all about leaving a lasting first impression on home buyers.  So you want to make sure your home is in the best shape possible.  Help get it in tip-top condition by addressing minor repair issues, such as a leaky faucet or a cracked bathroom tile.  While making these repairs may not cost much money, it can mean a world of difference on how a home buyer sees your home.

Selling Your Home on the Western NC Real Estate Market

I hope these home staging tips help you to sell your home in less time and for a better price.  These tips have certainly helped plenty of other home sellers in the past!

To learn more about how you can improve your outcome on the Cashiers area real estate market as a home seller,  contact me, Dorothy Swearingen, today.

As your NC Mountain REALTOR, I’ll be happy to walk you through my comprehensive marketing plan for sellers as well as give you a number of home selling tools, such as:

• Price it right
• The Seller’s Institute
• 10 Seller Suggestions
• And more!

Until next time,

Dorothy