The holidays can be one of the worst times to put a home on the market. Compound this with the fact that it’s not projected to get better anytime soon, and the fact that you may be facing foreclosure, your stress level can quickly go through the roof.
According to a 2010 recent survey by leading real estate sites Trulia and RealtyTrac, “2010 will be another record year for foreclosures [with] 3 million homes likely to be listed in a foreclosure filing. [This is] up from 2.8 million last year.” What this means is that if you’re trying to sell right now, you need every advantage you can get. To this end, following are some house selling tips that can help you sell your home quicker during the holidays.
House Selling Tips on Holiday Decor — Should You Remove Religious Themes?
The bottom line is, yes, yes and yes.
While Christmas is a religious holiday, this is no time to turn off even one potential buyer by having your particular religion on display. Remember, when you’re selling your home, you want prospects to imagine themselves living it in — whether they’re Jewish, Muslim, Buddhists, Hindu, Agnostic, etc.
While many may balk that this is “taking the religion” out of the holidays, it’s really not. If you’re a true believer your religion is something you carry in your heart, not in the flashing nativity scene on your front yard a few weeks out of the year.
Keep holiday decor as neutral as possible.
House Selling Tips on Ethnic Holiday Decor — Should You Remove It, or Not?
The same goes for ethnic-themed holiday decor. Many homeowners decorate their homes for the holidays to reflect their race and their culture. And this is fine. No arguments here. We buy houses in Orland Park
But again, if you’re lucky, you’re going to have black, white, Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern and every one in between looking at your home.
Will a kente-cloth mudcloth stocking kill a deal? Probably not.
But remember, the home buying process is as much emotional as it is financial. The home has to “feel” like the potential buyer. And the least little innocuous thing can cause a feeling to be positive or negative.
With so much inventory already on the market and projected to hit the market, why risk turning off a potential buyer — even in the smallest way?
Again, most home selling tips you read will tell you to decorate (holiday or otherwise) to appeal to the most buyers possible. This includes putting a lot of what’s important to you and your family away.
House Selling Tips on Personal Items
Family photos, awards, kids art, etc. All of this should be swept away as well. This applies no matter what time of year you’re trying to sell your home.
2 Holiday House Selling Tips You Probably Haven’t Thought Of
Smells Sell: As stated above, buying a home is as much an emotional as a financial decision and when emotions are involved, all of our senses are affected. Smell is one of the most powerful senses, because it stirs up feelings.
Nothing “feels” like home more than familiar smells like fresh-baked cookies, cakes and pies. Cinnamon apple, peach, blueberry, pumpkin — these are all familiar holiday smells of baked goods that can “attach” a potential buyer to a house. So when you know you have a showing, fire up that oven and get the good smells going.
Out of Towners: If you’re trying to stop foreclosure and sell quickly, there are many out of towners who visit relatives during the holidays who may be looking to buy — for relocation, a second home, an investment property, etc.
Their schedules may be limited because they’re only in town for the holidays. So, help your realtor out by being flexible with showing times.
Holiday House Selling Tips: Conclusion
If you adhere to these house selling tips — and keep your home clean (even though it may be trying especially this time of year with family and friends in and out) — you’ll have a better chance of selling your home and avoiding foreclosure.