westfield home sale Archives - Luxury Homes/Top Towns

There are many pre-listing tasks every seller should undertake before putting their home on the market. Decluttering, packing up, and staging, are just a few of the chores on the list. If you want to make your Westfield home sale a success, follow these simple steps.

How to Make Your Westfield Home Sale a Success

Price Your Home According to the Current Market

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First, let’s talk money. Pricing tops the list of importance for most buyers. Price it too low, you risk losing money. However, price it too high and you risk losing buyers’ interest. It’s imperative that you price it according to how the market currently values it. How do you know what that magic number is? That’s where your Westfield REALTOR’s@ knowledge and expertise comes in to play. Not only can they run a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) of your neighborhood, but they can also factor in the current market trends they see on a day-to-day basis.

Professional Photos Sell Homes

Next, to make your Westfield home sale a success, you’ll need great photos. Most buyers take to their computers to search for homes. That means that the photographs posted will be their first exposure to your property. If you only offer lackluster photos, they may hinder the chances of buyers actually coming to see your home in person. Consider hiring a pro to take photographs of your property or even a short video tour. The extra polish a professional provides might be the catalyst that brings more traffic to your door.

Make All Needed Repairs

Then, make sure any and all necessary repairs are complete before you list. While small items can be tackled yourself, definitely hire a pro for the big things, like plumbing, electrical, water heaters, etc. Buyers tend to overestimate costs of repair issues by as much as 200%. Then, they start decreasing their offer price to offset these costs. Also, when they see cracked tiles, dingy grout, or stains on the carpet, they often worry about what other, larger problems you haven’t taken care of. That puts an even bigger dent in their offer price. It might even turn them away from buying your Westfield home altogether.

Share Information About Your Home

Once a buyer has a home inspection performed, some of the problems your Westfield home may have endured over the years will come to light. It instills a sense of trust with the buyer if you are upfront about these issues, even if they are no longer a problem. Besides, it’s the law for New Jersey homeowners to disclose any “known material defects” in regards to the home they are selling. This includes past roof damage, water damage, termite infestations, etc, even if they happened before you owned the property. Then, you can then explain how these issues were resolved. As part of the home selling process, you will be filling out a Seller’s Disclosure Statement. This information must be included here, too. Keeping this information from buyers could end in litigation down the road. It’s much better to be forthright with this information from the beginning.

Leave During Showings

Finally, in order to make your Westfield home sale a success, don’t stick around while it is being shown to potential buyers. Let your REALTOR@ field questions and highlight your home’s best features. Take the dog for a walk. Visit with friends. Go out to lunch. See a movie. Go shopping. Buyers feel much more comfortable if the owner of the property isn’t hovering around when they are trying to tour a home.

Want to make your Westfield home sale a success without all the stress? Use these tips as a guideline. And be sure to contact me when you’re ready to put your home on the market.

Scott Gleason, CRS at Coldwell Banker Realty – East, NJ Luxury Homes

Putting your Westfield home on the market can feel daunting, especially during the hustle and bustle of the holidays. But it doesn’t have to be an overwhelming process. Follow these simple steps for your Westfield home sale and you’ll do just fine.

Countdown to a Westfield Home Sale: What to Do First

Hire a REALTOR@

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When refinishing furniture or painting a room, doing it yourself may be a great plan. But, when it comes to a Westfield home sale, leave it to the pros. Ask your friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers for references for REALTORS@ in your area. Once you compile a list of names, set up interviews with each. Talk to them about their experience, knowledge of the area, and how often they keep in touch. When you find someone that fits with your personality and requirements, that’s the one you hire.

Declutter and Depersonalize

Too many personal items detract from a Westfield home’s appeal. The rule of thumb should be “less is more”. Start packing up extra books, photos, tchotchkes, and the like. Consider downsizing your wardrobe to a few simple pieces to get you from week to week. That way you can show off how large your closets really are. Bulky and unnecessary furniture should also be packed away. But don’t put these in the garage. Buyers will definitely look in there. Instead, rent a storage unit until it’s time to move into your new Westfield home. By doing this work now, think of the time and hassle you’ll save when you have to pack up and leave after your current home is sold.

Fix/Repair/Replace

With photos, artwork, and collectibles off the walls, you may see a difference in paint color where these things used to be. Freshen up the entire room with a new coat of paint. Your accent walls and wallpaper may have worked well with your furniture and taste, but you want your Westfield home to appeal to as broad of an audience as possible. Take down busy wallpaper and paint over accent walls with neutral colors. Fix loose handles on cupboards and doors. Replace ripped screens and old lightbulbs. Touch up any scuff marks you see on walls, baseboards, floors, etc.

Elbow Grease

When it comes to a Westfield home sale, make it spotless. Clean baseboards, walls, windows, floors, carpet, draperies, inside cabinets, upholstery, and anywhere else that needs it. When I say buyers look everywhere, I mean that they look everywhere. Use your nose to spot bad odors, such as pet smells and cigarette smoke. If you have pets or smokers in your home, you may be immune to the smells. So, ask a friend to walk inside and see if they can smell any foul odors. You may need to hire someone to deep clean for you to get rid of the smell. If it persists, you may need to utilize scented candles or plug-in fragrance diffusers to hide the smell. Plants help clean the air as well.

Store Away Valuable Items

Over the next few weeks, several strangers will be traipsing through your home. Keep temptation at bay by storing away your valuables in a safe location.

Professional Staging

Studies show that a staged home sells for more money in a shorter period of time than an empty or unstaged home. A professional staging company knows how to make your Westfield home “show ready”. They can stage each room to highlight the positive and minimize the negative. Talk to your Westfield REALTOR@ to see if they can recommend a staging company to you.

Don’t Forget the Curb Appeal

First impressions last. Install higher wattage light bulbs in exterior fixtures. Make sure the doorbell works. Add colorful flowers and plants to the entryway. Repaint your front door and add a beautiful brass door knocker. During the holidays, a simple string of lights and a wreath can add a homey warmth that beckons buyers inside.

When you are ready for your Westfield home sale, contact me. I’ll be happy to help you out in any way I can.

Scott Gleason, CRS at Coldwell Banker Realty – East, NJ Luxury Homes