If you’re thinking about selling your Maplewood area home, now is a great time! It’s estimated that 50 percent of homes are sold in the summer, making this the best season to get your house on the market. Here’s what you need to know to make the most of your summer listing.
Make all the needed repairs
If your home needs some obvious repairs, be sure to tackle them before you list. There’s no need to slow up the closing process by haggling with potential buyers over the cost of repairs. And since summer will give you the best weather in which to work, there’s really no reason to put those fixes off.
Focus on the outside
Everyone tends to spend more time outdoors in the summer, so be sure to spend some time getting the outside areas of your house ready for showing. Keep your lawn fertilized, watered and trimmed and add colorful annual blooms to beds and containers. Add cozy seating areas to decks and porches and set up a grilling station with a barbecue and tools. Make sure your pool is clean and ready for use and add some pretty rolled up beach towels to lounge chairs around the perimeter. You want your outdoor spaces to look as inviting as possible and serve as extensions of the indoor living space.
Cool it off
Once the dog days of summer hit, don’t forget to keep it cool inside. Have the air conditioning serviced and turn it on before any potential buyers visit. You should consider keeping the thermostat a little lower than usual, since people will be opening and closing doors and windows. Set out pitchers of ice water or lemonade and keep the fridge stocked with other cold drinks. Offer some light snacks that will encourage buyers to linger a little longer.
Keep it light
When you’re showing your home, you want to have as much light inside as possible. Remove heavy drapes from windows and open all the blinds. Tie back lighter curtains and turn on inside lights. Make sure the windows are clean, especially when there’s a nice view on the outside. If you’re showing your home in the evening, be sure all the outdoors areas are well lit. You can easily add some inexpensive solar lights along the walk to the front door or some romantic string lights on your back deck.
Get the air moving
Nothing is worse than a stuffy house, and in the summer the air can get a little stagnant when the windows remain closed. If you have ceiling fans, be sure to give them a good cleaning and then turn them on to provide some cool circulation.
Bring the outdoors in
Just like taking your indoor areas out by adding furniture on decks and patios, bring the outside in with plants and flowers. Nothing beats a beautiful vase of colorful roses, which will also add a lovely light fragrance to the room.
If selling your home is in your future, why not give yourself the best possible chance by putting your house on the market during the hottest season of the year? There’s no time like the present!
Allison Ziefert is a Maplewood, NJ based realtor and the #1 individual real estate agent at Keller Williams Mid-Town Direct in Maplewood, NJ. A local market expert, Allison specializes in Maplewood, NJ real estate and homes, and South Orange, NJ real estate and homes, as well as Millburn/Short Hills, NJ, West Orange, NJ and surrounding towns. Allison’s success as a Maplewood/S. Orange realtor is driven by earning great testimonials from sellers and buyers of homes in her marketplace. You can read her testimonials at www.azhomesnj.com/testimonials.
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