Cleveland Real Estate News

Yeah yeah, you watch all those ‘home’ shows on TV. Most of what they show you however involves spending money, and let’s face it; we live in Cleveland and money isn’t growing on ice caps in Lake Erie. I just got back from a listing appointment and the house showed like a dream so there were not a lot of suggestions to give. Most involved sweat equity! So here are some tips from me, yer local real estate blogger LOL

1. Roll up those sleeves and clean. If it’s not above 32 degrees it might be a tad dicey for the windows; but storm doors? Especially the one buyers and their agents will use to enter your house? They need to be sparkly every day. You love your doggie and his drool does not bother you (nor me), but it might not sit well with a buyer who may not even recognize it’s dog drool – they just think you don’t clean!

2. Clean out your frig, your oven, that pesky stove top with last week’s hot dog grease on the sides of the burners.  Shine those counter-tops too.  Then move to the bathroom and get the sink and tub all sparkly (not to mention the toilet.) Once it becomes second nature to you, all this can be done a couple times a week in less than 30 minutes and believe me, it helps sell a home.

3. Organize! Yeah I hear you, I hate that word too. Organizing your closets is a must because even the smallest closet looks bigger or at least usable, if it’s not bursting at the seams with rolled up clothes and hangers flaying about the closet.  Trust me on  this one.  Next up: organize the basement and/or attic. Those big plastic tubs are your friend. You can fill tubs, stack neatly along a wall, and then you are even ready for moving day with this stuff. Truthfully, the more you can pack up the better it is. Your basement and attic will look larger and neater, therefore looking ‘well cared for’.  Therefore looking more appealing to a buyer.

4. De-Clutter. Those tubs help do that, but stand in each room and see what is in there that either 1)makes it look cluttered or 2) doesn’t belong there or 3) makes the room seem to small. Maybe you need to move that overstuffed chair from the smallest bedroom, even if that room is being used as an office. Sometimes you can put the chair in the attic or basement or some other larger room. Or sell it and use the proceeds for cleaning supplies!

If you are lucky enough to have one of those cozy classic front porches, de-clutter that too. It’s part of the ‘first impression’ your house makes.

Stairwells and stair treads and hallways all need to be clean and free of obstructions. It looks better, but you also don’t want anyone tripping….then you might have to spend more money than you would have if you remodeled the bathroom!

5.  Winter staging for your yard. There are some things we can do to make it look better.  Do you have those wild rose bushes (like I do) or any other plant that didn’t get trimmed back yet? It may be too cold to do digging in the ground but you can cut back the dead twigs and stems to even heights and make things look more appealing. There may be blue grocery bags stuck in plants from a few windy Winter days. Dig that kind of ‘stuff’ out and make it look neater.

This also helps me when I go in to take photos of your home. We can move things around for photos, but if you put back all the clutter, etc then when a real buyer walks through the door well, the photos don’t help they see the real thing. Much better to do the above, really.

If you want more tips on staging your home – Craig Schiller is my favorite Stager  and here is a link to his site.

Now that didn’t cost you a lot of money did it? Peace Out – 3C