Sunrise Homes & Renovations, Inc.

Hosting an Open House? Use These Staging Tips to Make Your House Feel Like a Model Home

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Hosting an Open House? Use These Staging Tips to Make Your House Feel Like a Model HomeAre you selling your home? If so, you’re going to have to host an open house at some point. In today’s blog post we’ll explore a few staging tips that make your house feel like a model home.

Make A Solid First Impression

Start with the front of the home and give a great first impression. Have the sidewalk, driveway and walkways power washed. Ensure that the lawn, plants and landscaping are healthy and look great. Clean the windows and address any external paint issues that may have come up over the years.

The goal is to ensure that your guests think “WOW” when they drive up. Keep staging the front of your home until the neighbors are jealous.

Clean, Clean And Clean Some More

Even if you think your home is ‘clean enough’, it’s likely not. You’ve lived in your home for years, which means that your brain has learned to un-see certain aspects of it. Even if you’re sure you’ve cleaned it as much as possible, you may have missed a few spots.

Here’s a helpful exercise. Imagine that the President, Vice-President and Secretary of State are coming over for dinner. And that they’ll be touring through every room in your home to see how you live. That’s how clean your home needs to be for your open house.

Appeal To Your Target Buyers

Do you know what age range your expected open house guests are in? Are they first-time home buyers, young families or single professionals? If at all possible, try to stage your home to appeal to your guests. If they are younger, then you can stage the basement more as a media or entertainment room. If they have children, that might become storage and a play area. You get the idea.

Lighten Things Up A Bit

Regardless of what time of day you host an open house, you’ll want there to be a lot of light. Open up all the drapes and blinds to let in as much natural light as possible. If you have to use artificial light, invest in high-quality LED bulbs. There are models that can produce light that is close to sunlight in quality. The more light you have, the better your spotless home will look.

The More (Room), The Merrier

Finally, do your best to open up your space. Remove all clutter and store it. Arrange your furniture to maximize the walking areas. But try not to overdo it. You want your staged home to feel livable — and not like a series of large, empty caves.

There you have it — five great staging tips that will boost your next open house. Remember, the fastest way to sell your home is with the help of an experienced real estate agent. Contact us to learn more about open houses, staging and closing a quick sale!

Selling Your Home? Don’t Skip These 3 Essential Steps or Your Sale Will Suffer

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Selling Your Home? Don't Skip These 3 Essential Steps or Your Sale Will SufferIf you want to sell your home quickly — and for the most profit — you can’t just list it and cross your fingers. Successful sales are well-planned sales, and there are several ways in which you can make sure your own home sale turns out as you’d like it to.

1. Know Your Target Market

What kind of people are buying homes in your area? Is your neighborhood popular among new families, retirees, young singles? Do a little research to see what type of buyers are typically attracted to the area, and figure out how your home caters to their lifestyle. Marketing is one of the most important aspects when it comes to a successful home sale, and knowing who to target is the first step.

Once you have learned a bit about your potential buyers and what they’re looking for, use that information to guide the rest of your sale preparations. Consider what you’ve learned about their wants and needs and carry that into any renovations you do, your listing, and your open houses. Make your home one that your buyers really want to live, and you just might find yourself in the midst of a bidding war!

2. Call In The Pros

When you sell your home without enlisting in the help of a professional, you open the door for significant mistakes to be made. Real estate professionals have the expert knowledge and experience that is needed to steer your home sale towards the best possible outcome. They can offer advice on listing price, marketing materials, open houses, offers received, and can take care of paperwork.

Attempting to do everything yourself may sound feasible, but you could sell yourself short by accidentally pricing your home too low, or you may be on the market forever if you price it too high. Mistakes in contractual paperwork could land you in hot water, and overall you’re more likely to experience stress during your home sale if you try to do it all yourself. Find a real estate agent that you’re comfortable with, and you’ll be more likely to get what your home is worth without the extra stress.

3. Fix It Up

Making sure that key renovations are up-to-date before selling your home is another crucial factor if you want to sell it quickly and profitably. Important things to consider include your kitchen, bathrooms, and roof, as buyers tend to scrutinize those areas the most during a walk-through. Make sure that everything is in good condition and looks presentable before listing — you don’t want potential buyers to see any red flags when looking at your property.

Ready to sell your home? Contact your local, experienced real estate professional today to make the most of your sale.

Six Reasons Why You’ll Need a Licensed Real Estate Agent When You Buy or Sell a House

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Six Reasons Why You'll Need a Licensed Real Estate Agent When You Buy or Sell a HouseAre you in the market to buy or sell a home? If so, you may be wondering whether to work with a real estate agent or not. While saving on the commission might sound tempting, it can cost you later.

Here are six reasons to choose a real estate agent the next time you buy or sell a home.

#1: Agents Get The Best Price

If you’re trying to buy or sell on your own, it’s going to cost you. When buying, real estate agents are able to tap into market data to know the best price to bid. When selling, they can use this same data to ensure you ask for the highest reasonable price.

#2: Agents Know The Market

Is now the best time to buy or sell? You might not be sure, but a real estate agent will know. They have daily access to local market trends that outsiders can’t see. And since they’re working in your market each day, they can get a sense for what’s coming.

#3: Agents Know How To Negotiate

Are you a strong negotiator? If not, you’ll want to let your real estate agent take care of the negotiations. Remember, the other party in the transaction is likely to have an agent. So, without one of your own, you’ll be up against a skilled negotiator with no backup.

#4: Agents Have The Time And You Don’t

Let’s face it: you’re busy. Unless you’re going to take a vacation to deal with your real estate transaction, you don’t have the time. Real estate agents spend all their time working on their client properties. They make the time to handle inspections, negotiations and other activities.

#5: Agents Know What To Look For

If you’re buying or selling for the first time, you’ll definitely want to contract an agent. They know how to spot deficiencies in the house or property. Their experience allows them to see problems that you might not spot on your own. And they’ll know what needs to be fixed and what can wait until later.

#6: Agents Can Deal With The Paperwork

Do you love dealing with contracts, legal forms and other paperwork? If not, this might be reason enough to work with a real estate agent. They will take care of all the necessary paperwork for your purchase or sale. And if you’ve ever participated in a real estate transaction before, you know there’s a LOT to deal with. Leave this to your agent so you can focus on more fun activities.

The above are just six of the (many) reasons to work with a real estate professional. If you’re thinking about buying or selling a home, contact your local trusted real estate professional today.

Luxury Selling: How to Qualify Potential Buyers to Ensure They Can Afford Your Home

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Luxury Selling: How to Qualify Potential Buyers to Ensure They Can Afford Your HomeLuxury estates can be a challenge to sell. The more expensive a home is, the less potential buyers there are. The biggest hassle is going through the process with people who can’t actually afford the home, only to have it fall apart at the last minute.

Here are some ways to make sure the property is only being viewed by qualified buyers.

Only Accept Offers From Buyers Who Are Pre-Qualified From A Lender

One of the only ways to guarantee a buyer will be able to afford a luxury home is to let the bank do the work on your behalf. By only accepting offers from people who have been pre-qualified by a lender, it allows the seller the peace of mind of knowing that every offer is a legitimate one.

Luxury Agents Will Have Vetted Their Clients

Working with a real estate agent with a specialty in luxury properties is one way to make sure the vetting process is handled effectively and legally. These agents do not have time to waste with people who can’t afford a home in this price range and they will have a roster of clients who are not only looking for a new luxury house, but can afford one. Talk to the neighbors and see who their buying agent was. This will give an idea of which professionals are working with clients who can afford the neighborhood.

Use Broker Open Houses Over The Traditional Open House

Hosting an open house in a luxury home is a dangerous prospect. There is no way of knowing how many visitors can actually afford the home and how many just want to look around to see how the other half lives. On top of that, it’s a serious safety risk as luxury open houses bring out potential thieves to case the place and see what the security is like.

For luxury sellers a broker open house is the best course of action. These open houses are closed to the public and only available to brokers who have clients that are looking for a luxury home.

There are more luxury homes on the market than buyers and standing out is important if you want to sell quickly. Trying to sell a home like this on your own is a disaster waiting to happen. Make sure to talk to real estate agents in the area who deal with luxury properties until you find one you are comfortable with. Contact your local real estate professional today for more information.

Staging Tips: 5 Interior Paint Colors That Will Help You Sell Your Home Faster

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Staging Tips: 5 Interior Paint Colors That Will Help You Sell Your Home FasterIt’s important to remember that when a home is put up for sale it should appeal to as many people as possible. Sometimes those flashy paint colors the owners grew up with will not charm new buyers.

Here are five ideas for paint colors that will help any home sell quickly.

Keep It Neutral For A Reason

The first thing everybody hears when they try and sell their home is to paint in neutral colors. There is a good reason for this. Every person who walks through the front door should be able to picture living in the home and not think about the people who had lived there before. Neutral colors provide a blank canvas for buyers to paint their future on

Creams Photograph Better Than Almost Any Shade

Neutral colors are not just the standard beiges everyone is used to. Rooms painted in creams tend to look better in pictures, which helps out tremendously when listing the house online. Since most people’s first impression of a home is the online photographs, this technique helps a house stand out from the very beginning.

Using Gray To Expand The Space

Making rooms appear larger is one technique to help sell a home quicker. A light gray can help make large, clean rooms appear even larger to visitors. This works on rooms that are clutter free and do not have much furniture in them. As an added technique, try painting the moldings the same color of gray so that the walls appear higher.

Accent Natural Surroundings With Earth Tones

Anybody who owns a house that has a lot of brick, stone or wood should take a moment to browse through some earth tones to accent the room. These colors, while still neutral, are found in nature and accent the natural surroundings of the room. Sienna and umber are two popular choices.

Give A Splash Of Green In A Sunny Room

When the rest of the home is in neutral tone, it provides the opportunity to spring a room to life with a dash of color. A light green is perfect for an indoor patio or den that overlooks a garden. This is one way to give a natural and earthy feel to a room that has plenty of sunlight.

Before painting, talk to your local real estate agent to walk through your home with you and give you some pointers on which colors they think will work and which ones may be problematic.

The 5 Secrets to Hosting an Open House That Leads to Multiple Offers

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Open houses are a debatable topic with real estate agents. Some say they aren’t necessary in the age of the internet when options can be narrowed online. Others argue that closing yourself off will limit the number of possible buyers.

What everybody agrees on is that hosting a successful open house is an art that requires some tricks to pull off. Here are five to try out.

Choose Wise Hours

Find out the most popular hours for open houses in the neighborhood and coordinate around those times. If most open houses end at 4 p.m. then consider ending an hour later at 5 p.m.

This extra hour will bring in house hunters who went the entire day without finding something they wanted as well as people who rushed through every other open house so they could see them all. If there are no other open houses then there’s no reason to rush.

Embrace Technology

Most buyers, especially young ones, are starting their home search online. New apps and websites are launching every day and staying up to date on the newest real estate tech hangouts will allow a seller to hit the popular sites as well as advertise to tech-savvy buyers who are embracing new hotspots.

Change Up The Signs

Not only should there be a lot of signage, but the signs should be tailored towards different demographics. Wealthier areas should be signed with tasteful and professional signs while some cute, handwritten signs will bring in the bargain hunters who are looking for something affordable.

De-Personalize Everything

Every buyer needs to be able to see him or herself living in the home. Anything controversial or personal will remind them of the people living there now and get in the way of their imagination running wild. Clean out anything political, controversial or family related before opening the doors.

Learn From The Criticism

An unsuccessful open house is an opportunity to remain open minded and discover exactly what pushed away a day’s worth of potential buyers. Any criticism or feedback should be used to make changes before the next open house so that the same mistakes aren’t repeated on a new group.

What works for one region may not work for another and only a real estate professional with experience in the area will know what tips have proven successful in your neighborhood.