Holding off your home sale until spring? Although winter homebuyers are out in droves, the spring market should prove to be even better.
Although spring is right around the corner, you still have some time to knock out at least one of the more time-consuming projects. That weekend Netflix binge will wait, so let’s get started on the house.
Set the stage
Staging a home for sale can get expensive, but it doesn’t have to. The first step in staging is to clean each room from top to bottom.
Then, go through each room and ensure that they advertise their purpose. Bedrooms should look like bedrooms and not bedroom-gym hybrids. The same goes for living rooms: No living room/kids playroom fusions.
What happens when you try to multi-purpose a room is that the home gives the impression that it’s cluttered and cramped. “There’s not enough room,” is definitely not the impression you want potential buyers to walk away with.
Curb appeal is what gets them out of the car
Give the landscaping a good cleanup, mow the lawn if the weather permits and consider fresh mulch for all of the beds.
Then, get busy planting. If you want spring color from bulbs you probably should’ve planted them in September. This doesn’t mean your landscaping will lack color. Head out to the nursery and look for the following plants:
Helleborus–Plants in this genus bloom in very early spring and sometimes even in February. Don’t try to start them from seed if you’re seeking instant curb appeal; they may take years to develop enough to bloom.
Primula–This genus includes the popular common primrose, the English primrose and cowslip. You’ll have a lot of choices when it comes to color.
Rhododendron–Get those buyers out of the car and into the front door by wowing them with two outstanding plants in the Rhododendron genus: ‘Stewartstonian’ or ‘Golden Oriole’ azaleas. The former blooms in show-stopping red while the latter is a more subtle yellow.
Is that a garage or an oversized junk drawer?
“Real estate men testify that the first question asked by the prospective buyer is about the garage,” say the folks at blueskybuilders.com, quoting “… a 1925 writer in the Atlantic Monthly.”
“The house without a garage is a slow seller.”
Today, a home without a garage, or at least a carport, is almost unheard of in many areas of the country. Buyers in these regions expect a place to store their cars (and all the other miscellaneous stuff they can’t find another place for).
How long it will take you to declutter the garage depends on whether yours resembles that kitchen catch-all drawer or it’s a bit tamer.
The important thing is to get cracking on giving buyers the impression that not only can they park their cars in this garage, but it has plenty of storage as well.
Hang the garden tools, stash smaller items in bins and consider overhead storage solutions.
Take it one project at a time and you’ll soon be the proud owner of the belle of the spring real estate market.
