Easy Tips to make your Home Show like a Dream!

If you have been paying attention to the housing market here in Colorado Springs, you are aware that the inventory of quality homes is down. The majority of the houses on the market are distressed properties and many of these have undesirable cosmetic issues. If you want to sell your home in this market, you need to do the best you can to make your property stand out from the rest. Therefore, we are going to talk about some things you can do to gain an edge on the competition.

If your house shows well, it will sell more quickly. Depending on your situation, a quick sale can be important. If you are behind on your payments or facing a foreclosure date, the faster you can obtain a contract on your property, the better chance you have of postponing a foreclosure sale.

If you are a distressed homeowner, you may not have the budget to make all the repairs or higher a professional staging company. That is OK. There are many things you can do that do not require money. Much of what we recommend here requires some muscle, work, time and/or organization.

It makes sense to do the work. If you are selling your home on a short sale, the higher the purchase price you get, the less your deficiency will be. The faster you can sell, the sooner you can move forward in your life.

1. Clear out the clutter!

One person's treasure may be junk to someone else! Don't take this personally, but your decorating style may not be the same as those looking to buy your home. As sentimental as your decor is to you, it is best to pack it up and clear it out! Put away the nick knacks and inherited china. Take down the kid's art projects from school and the mural of family photos. Take the extra clothes and shoes out of the closets. Clear off the counters in the kitchen and the toys in the kid's rooms. If you have a lot of furniture filling up each room, take out everything except what is essential. This is important in creating a neutral and uncluttered setting. When all but the essentials are removed, rooms look more spacious. If rooms are cluttered, they not only look smaller and cramped, it also makes it difficult for potential buyers to visualize their own belongings in each room. Rent a storage unit if you can and move it all to storage. If you cannot afford a storage unit, box up the excess stuff and stack the boxes neatly in a garage or basement. The goal is to clear everything out so all the rooms look clean, big, bright and uncluttered. This process also benefits you because you can weed out everything you no longer want and you will already be packed!

2. Freshen and Clean!

You may have decorative choices in your home you can't change, like green carpet. However, if the walls are pink or blue, a fresh coat of a neutral colored paint will go a long way in brightening the home and making the rooms look bigger. If you don't have the budget to paint and spruce things up, a little hard work can also go a long way toward making some substantial improvements. Give your house a good thorough cleaning! Wash the walls and baseboards; clean the carpet, floors and windows. Scrub the bathrooms until they shine. Clean out closets, storage rooms, basement and garage. Clear everything out and then clean everything up!

3. Conservative Decor

Again, remaining as neutral as possible is best. Adding a touch of bright highlights to each room, adds some warmth. When it comes to staging your home to get it sold, less is more. In other words, the less furniture you have in a room, the more spacious it looks and the more the potential buyer can imagine their own furniture in the room. A few tasteful and functional items in each room are all you need. Mirrors are neutral and make rooms look bigger, lighter and brighter, so add a mirror to each room. Hang one or two tasteful, but conservative pictures on the walls. Choose pictures that add a touch of color and brightness. If there are flaws you can't afford to repair, get creative. For instance, if you have a closet door with a hole punched through it, remove the door and replace it with a curtain that brightens up the room.

4. Clean up the Yard and Garage

The outside of your house and the front yard are the first two things a potential buyer sees when they come to see your house. Do not underestimate the importance of curb appeal. It makes a lot of good sense to start doing what you can to clean up your yard. You may not have the budget to hire a landscaper, but regular weekly mowing; weeding and watering maintenance in your yard costs you just a little time and hard work. When you know a showing is scheduled, make sure the grass is mowed and the kid's bikes are out of the driveway. A neat and tidy yard can go a long way in making a positive first impression.

5. Details

When you have a showing scheduled, give the house a good go-over with a dust rag and vacuum. Tidy up and put things away. Take a few minutes to create some soft and welcoming ambiance. You can do this by setting the table as though you were expecting the people for dinner. You can also light a few flameless, un-scented or lightly scented candles. These small and easy touches make the people feel comfortable and welcome. These are just a few of the things that offer some good results.