Greenville Real Estate agent said... Having personal family photos out, during a showing, makes people uncomfortable to feel that they are invading a family's privacy. It shows "ownership" and discourages that customer imagining their family or themselves in that home. Get it out of there, store it.
As for staging, that is the best and most attractive placement of furniture, decor and accessories to play up the best points of the home. So many times, people accumulate so much "stuff" that the rooms in the house are overwhelmed with clutter or too large furniture. In the end, a buyer only sees that and not the rooms. The rooms may be average or above average in size, but who can see it?? This applies to all the rooms, bathroom and kitchen. Too many chachkis or decorative items can block the eye of the buyer. Clean out closets, cabinets, etc. to show that spaciousness.
Minimal is highly encouraged in staging. Spaciousness is the goal sought for the buyer to see, airy, light, CLEAN rooms, it is critical.
Get the floors in shape, take up the ugly carpet or replace it, if the underfloor is in good shape, clean it, repair or replace with more updated products for flooring. Buy area rugs! In the front and back yard, clean up is key! Rake, keep mowed, weed and trim up! Put the toys up, get rid of the yard art and any other clutter. Plant some new flowers or bushes, landscape and trim back bushes away from the windows and house, put down stepping stones to designated outdoor relaxing areas. Clean up the patios and porches. Have none? Set up an outside garden or yard entertainment area, to show the joy of outdoor living.
Fountains are so popular today and don't have to be expensive to be enjoyed. The water sounds encourage relaxation and will be pleasing to the buyer.Get rid of junk, old lawnmowers, old useless bikes, and trikes, "crapola". Clean out the garage or carport, so the buyer can see that there is, indeed, room for two vehicles.Curb appeal is critical to that first impression of the buyer. If it looks bad on the outside, they will never call to see the inside.
Paint, paint, paint! Do a professional job or hire one! Paint inside and outside, with attractive, neutral colors that anyone would accept. No outlandish colors on the inside or outside, not everyone wants a pink house, walls of installed mirrors or purple bedrooms.
How about the roof? Does it need to be replaced? Most homeowners insurance will cover the delta homes for years of past hail damage, windstorms and winds of hurricanes. All you have to pay is the deductible and claim roof damage. YOUR POLICY WILL NOT BE CANCELLED for making a roof claim! That is what you are paying your premiums for! Call your Ins. agent or if in doubt, call a roofer to see if a new roof is required, if not, ask him for a statement of roof condition for the potential buyer. One less worry for a buyer!
Defunk any home odors from pets and children. Get rid of any mold or mildew, insects, rodents, inside and outside.Burn candles during showings to be sure their are enticing aromas and not horrid smells. Take out the garbage before a showing!! Just because YOU don't smell it, does not mean it does not smell! Be sure the temperature in the home is comfortable. If not, no buyer will hang around to take in the house sweltering or freezing! (Maintenance is important too! If it makes noises or is not working properly, get it fixed or replaced!)
Most of all of this is a matter of elbow grease, common sense and a few dollars. Most can be done by the seller and family, but if you need help, there are decorators in town, part time and full time, who can help you pull it all together to look its best. It is worth the investment of a few hours of their time for consultation advice or decorating for you, that will pay off in a big way to make that sale happen at the end! If you can not afford it, find a friend who has a great knack for home decor to help you see what you no longer see.
By the way, FYI, trailers are very hard to find financing for through the banks, nearly impossible, due to depreciation. Be prepared, make the price right to attract cash buyers or see if financing it for the buyer is an option.
Good luck!
Great advice for selling a house in a competitive market. The one tip that this local realtor left out is... "Location, location, location!"
Unfortunately, Greenville has few prime locations left. Even residents of stable neighborhoods like Gamwyn Park are "getting out" due to crime and plummeting home values. Look what has happened to Washington Avenue and Main Street. Sure, there are some real bargains on the market right now, but who wants to buy a house whose value will only depreciate over time?
A home is generally the largest purchase that we make and most people expect to be able to recoup their initial investment, plus improvements, over time. This is where the "location" piece of the puzzle becomes important!
For people to purchase homes, they must have jobs. For jobs to exist, there has to be a skilled workforce. To obtain a skilled workforce, you have to have quality "public" education. Greenville has none of these, which is why students who pursue "higher education" never return to Greenville.
Greenville has become a welfare community. "Entitlement" is the most prevalent source of income for most of our residents and this "life-style" is being passed on to subsequent generations at an alarming rate. Until this cycle is broken, Greenville will continue to decline.
To my "rose-colored" glasses fans, I apologize for my candor and "negativity", but these are the realities of Greenville's evolution. If you want "smoke and mirrors", I suggest you attend the next city council meeting.
Forthright
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Forthright - The rose-colored view and the realistic view are not as mutually exclusive as you insinuate. There are a multitude of residents not just surviving, but thriving, in Greenville. From my experience, these people tend to have a very positive view of what Greenville can be, but understand that the path to prosperity is fraught with difficult tasks.
Location is critical no doubt. BUT...you would be surprised how many buyers are out there looking for that deal who can actually pay cash and have no prolblem with locations like Gamwyn Park, Washington or Main, because it is still a better area than where they are coming from, been or want to be.
Some have parents who can help, settlement incomes, savings, stock, who knows how they get their money, but they are just looking for that right place to invest it.
With homeownership comes pride and concern for their home, their neighborhood and community. It is as you said, a large investment that needs protection.
With or without industry and new jobs, we still have a population that needs housing. Affordable housing and thanks to the market it is now more affordable for many more than ever before.
If we are all to continue to live here, we have to be willing to invest in Greenville and the future. Buying homes is a key step to that for a good solid tax base.
For as many people leaving Greenville, as many and more are staying and some new faces show up from time to time, they have to live somewhere, home investment is the best answer.
Owners, trying to sell, have to do their part to make those sales happen, by all the tips I have given, creative financing if needed and most of all best pricing for the market.
The market nationally is coming back, Greenville can too...in the meanwhile, home owners, rental property owners, commercial owners should maintain their investments for any hopes of selling one day soon or to reflect a better Greenville in the end.
Business owners most of all reflect Greenville. Washington Ave. is a sad reflection of that, with buildings in need of maintenance or being basically abandoned and neglected encouraging more crime. This is where our City leaders come in, to enforce ordinances and codes already established, to make the owners clean up and maintain their properties.
One action can cause better actions. Unless you voice a complaint and a solution to our leaders, nothing will ever improve here.
FYI--Coldwell Banker had 12 houses under contract in April and already has 4 in May. We are either the selling or listing agency for all of the total 16--for 8 of these we are both the selling and listing agency. I continue to be optimistic!
See there?? There is a testimony that folks are still investing in Greenville, more than most realize!
Thanks for the update, there is definitely life in the delta in our future!
Actually, the Gamwyn and Wilzen Park areas are doing just fine. In the past few years, more and more younger families -- most of them local -- have bought (and are in the process of buying) houses there. I am not aware of anyone who has sold their home because of any problem with those neighborhoods.
I've never heard a real estate agent infer that a prime source of a home buyer's funds to buy a new home comes from "settlements." I assume that's a legal settlement.
The money's green.....
Not prime source, but these days, that seems to be a trend with some buyers, that and inheritance or gifts from parents or children.
I had an elder female buyer back a few years ago, purchase her home with the cash help of her "hooker" daughter. It takes all kinds. I guess that would fall under "crative financing"!LOL
oops..creative financing -obviously a typo.
Yes, there are several "Phen-Phen" homes in Greenville. Everyone is trying to cash in on jack-pot justice by sueing someone or getting lucky at the casino. Profiting from your "hooker" daugter seems to be an all time low... even in Greenville!
Well as I said that was years ago. As for even in Greenville, I would imagine it happens everywhere, but folks have no clue about where the funds came from nor care, as long as their house sells.
As in my case, it was not my call or my business. I think that at the least, it is admirable that the daughter was doing what she could to take care of her mother and in the end, that is what counted most.
On the real estate note, my concern for the area is the ability to maintain your home. Let's say it's a buyer's market, with many foreclosures on the market. If I can afford to buy only a $90,000 home and a $150,000 home is for sale for my price range, I can afford to BUY the house, but will I be able to afford the upkeep? Probably not. Not unless I've included that usually hefty price in my budget.
Forthright, I generally agree with your assessment of Greenville's evolution. Being a lifelong resident, it saddens me to see my home town in such a downward spiral. At the moment I am stuck here but hopefully over the next decade all my "ties" to the area will be severed. Most of those involve offspring which I will strongly encourage to leave Greenville for greener pastures elsewhere. Some of mine and most of my friend's and relative's children have already made the jump and are glad they did. We have family gatherings every so often and those out of town members inevitably decry that upon each subsequent visit to our city they notice the further decline. One of the first things any visitor to Greenville notices is the poor condition of most of the residential streets. Maybe "real estate agent" can comment on how that affects home values. Hwy 82 and Hwy 1 are fortunately maintained by the the federal and state governments so passers through might not think road conditions are too bad here. Those house hunting will definitely notice. I remember looking at a house on Gregory Drive about 6 or 7 years ago. The condition of the street was so bad that I dropped the house from my short list. It had been decades since it had been resurfaced and a new car would certainly develop rattles galore after a few months of driving down that street a couple of times a day. I noticed last year they finally got around to resurfacing the street. Word to those home owners on Gregory; NOW is the time to sell. I could go on and on about Greenville's problems but we all know them. Those of you that choose to wear the rose colored glasses can continue to do so. I'll simply ask of the last of you to leave; don't forget to turn out the lights.
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