Sellers
When you list your property with Century 21 Quatrini Real Estate, you are listing with the largest real estate franchise in the world, thereby putting the power of Century 21 to work for you. We pledge to not only represent you, but to keep in touch with you on a regular basis, advertise your property on our web-site but also on our national website, and appropriate print media, locally and throughout New England. Selling your home is really a partnership between you and us, and we give advice about making your property more attractive to buyers, keeping you abreast of changes in the local market and offering counsel during the negotiating of an offer.
Once a property is under deposit, we keep you informed about inspections, appraisal, financing, and arranging the closing.
Tips For Selling Your Home
When selling a home in today's competitive market, it's important that you highlight the great features of the house and make it as turn-key as possible. Possibilities are endless when it comes to home improvement and it may seem overwhelming. You may wonder how you'd ever get all these projects done before putting your house on the market.
Its okay, you can breathe. It's just a matter of taking a step back and figuring out the areas of your house that need your attention. The staff here at Century 21 Quatrini Real Estate are experienced and happy to guide you through the process.
Here in the Northeast Kingdom mother nature has been teasing us a bit and after a new record of snowfall in April, spring seems to finally arrived. The warm weather can be inspiring to get going on some of these projects.
An important asset to potential buyers is closet space. If you haven't organized in awhile, your closet may appear overstuffed, giving the impression that there is not enough closet space. The same applies to linen closets, pantries, cabinets and space in bathroom vanities. There are many wonderful storage products you can purchase. Rubbermaid bins, turntables, stacking shelves or baskets are great for additional storage and organization. Remember if you don't use it; donate it, throw it away or yard sale it!
Yard sale season is approaching here in the Kingdom. After you've organized you can make a couple extra dollars by selling the excess. Remember to price fairly, most of the stuff is probably things you would have thrown away anyways. At the end of your yard sale day if you have remaining items, put them in a box marked "free". That way someone will get use out of it and you don't have to drag it back into your nice clean house.
During these few precious warm months here in the Northeast Kingdom remember first impressions are everything - so keep up that curb appeal. Make sure the outside of your house is as neat and tidy as the inside.
We here at Century 21 Quatrini Real Estate are eager to assist. Feel free to stop by (or click on the 'contact us' tab of this website) and talk to one of our agents and pick up some complimentary sunflowers seeds and our seller's tip guide to start you on your journey!
Previous Tips
Bathrooms
Many people consider a nice bathroom to be a high priority when searching for a new home. There are many ways to turn a ho-hum bathroom into a personal oasis.
-Let's freshen up! Bathrooms should feel really clean so let's look around and see what feels dingy. A good place to start is the grout/caulking in your shower/bath. If it looks off color, replace it. A inexpensive project with big impact.
-Stains in your tub or toilet? There are heavy duty cleaners such as CLR (calcium, lime and rust remover). Another trick for hard water stains in the toilet is white vinegar. Just pour some in and let it sit, it does the work for you.
-Get creative with storage. A bathroom is an easy place to let products get out of hand. Baskets are great for storage, from toilet paper, to soaps or towels. Almost any item will look better in a basket.
-If your bath rugs are matted, replace with fluffy new ones. Same goes for the shower curtain and curtain rings.
-Replacing the sink will freshen the whole bathroom. Pedestal sinks are all the rage right now, but if the bathroom is lacking storage, go for the vanity set. Or if the sink is in good condition, just replacing the faucet will give the whole unit an updated look. There are great faucets out there in every price range.
-Add a little ambiance! Install a chandelier with a dimmer switch- great atmosphere for taking a bath. There should be separate lighting around the vanity. Update the fixtures and put in Reveal light bulbs for better lighting.
-Get luxurious. Make your bathroom feel spa like by adding a few extras such as a nice big full flow shower head, candles or a basket of pretty soaps. Another cool feature would be to install a heated towel bar.
Seams like a lot of stuff for a little room but it's worth it and remember it adds value to your house. Also you get to enjoy it until you sell your house, which may not be that long with a nice bathroom like that!
Spring is Almost Here!
Time to start thinking about the outside of your home. Here are a few ideas to add to the outside appearance of your house, starting with one of the biggest projects:
-Paint it! This is a great way to make your house feel like new. Get inspired for color by looking through magazines, websites or taking a drive and checking out local houses.
-If you have vinyl siding (lucky you, no need to paint!) wash off winter dirt with your garden hose. They even make special cleaners for that.
-Don't forget the front door. If you don't want to spend money on replacing the door (which would be lovely), paint it. Consider a bold color to really make your home stand out.
-Freshen up your landscaping. Add a few perennials, or perhaps a couple shrubs. Make sure to mulch around the plants. Add a fresh layer to previously existing mulch.
-Revive your driveway. Add a new layer of gravel or top coat of sealer to paved driveways. Warm up your driveway by adding a friendship light or lining it with solar lights.
-Make your front porch inviting. A porch is a great asset. Stage your porch with a couple of wicker chairs and table, maybe an area rug and a few potted plants. This will create atmosphere and possible buyers will picture themselves relaxing on the porch.
-Wash your deck. You can find deck wash at your local hardware store. Washing your deck is important if you if you decide it also needs to be re-stained. Like the porch, it's good to stage your deck with potted plants and flowers and patio furniture.
Painting
One of the best ways to give a room a fresh makeover is to paint it. Look through decorating magazines or websites to see what the new trend in colors are.
-Neutral colors are a good way to start, and then expand into other rooms. You want the rooms to compliment and flow with each other. A few other painting tips:
-Always bring paint samples home. Different lighting means different shades.
-If your molding is white, give it a fresh coat to make your new wall colors really pop!
-If your walls are imperfect, make sure to spackle up holes first and stay away from the glossy paints - the gloss will show imperfections more.
-Don't forget about the ceiling, a fresh coat of white will really brighten a room.
-Got paneling? There are ways to make this 70's look updated. Fill in the seams of the paneling 1/3 of the way down with spackle. Paint over the smoothed finish and add a chair rail and you've got a wainscoting look!
Rearranging and Removing
Think Feng Shui! Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese practice of "placement and arrangement of space to achieve harmony with the environment". An example is making your house orderly and without clutter. You're planning on moving soon anyways - a great time to start going through your stuff and throwing away or donating things you no longer need.
-Start packing away knick knacks. Simplicity is best, you want the potential buyers to notice the great built-in shelves, but they may miss them if they are covered with too much stuff. Just add a few decorative pieces with out over crowding.
-Rather than spending money on redecorating, you'd be surprised what a little rearranging can do.
Take a walk through your home. Notice if you can flow through your home nicely, or are there areas that are blocked? Removing obstacles will open up a room.
-Add a little table or dresser to the entry way with a nice throw rug to give the feeling of an entry way rather than just the front door
-Make sure the master bed is accessible from both sides and have nightstands on both sides. This creates balance (very Feng Shui).
-Don't be afraid to move furniture away from the walls and don't cover nice features of the house with furniture, such as windows or fireplaces.
-Create atmosphere with flowers. In warmer weather you can just pick some from your garden, or pick some up from your local flower shop or grocery store. Not only will flowers contribute to the look of your home, flowers can create a wonderful scent as well.
Freshen Up with Cleaning and Plants!
A great way to show off your home to potential buyers is to make sure it is sparkling clean. There are a number of great products out there to help with this task.
-Remove any cobwebs. There are dusters with extendable handles to make it easier to clean those hard to reach areas such as light fixtures and ceiling fans.
-Walls dirty? Mr... Clean makes a fabulous product called "Magic Eraser" that can get almost any mark off.
-Magic American makes a line of countertop cleaners and polishes to help sparkle up your kitchen.
-Wash the windows. Not everyone's favorite task, but nothing says sparkle like clean windows. Rather than paper towels, which can leave lint and streaks, try newspaper. It will get your hands dirtier but does a fantastic job on the windows.
-Don't forget basements and garages. By organizing it will show what great storage your house has to offer.
-Mmmm, what smells so good? The scents in your house can really make someone feel at home. Here are a few ways to do that:
-Febreeze, a great product, works well on fabrics and carpets.
-Boil a small pot of water with apple peels and a tablespoon of cinnamon. Nothing says home like the smell of fresh baked apple pie!
Or add some plants. Plants are a natural air refresher, not only that but are also aesthetically pleasing