RSVPstyle

Top 5 Ways to Get Your Home Sold - Part One

By Cathy Lee, RSVPstyle

Summer is the best time to try to sell your home. Even in this economy, people are still traveling to Hawaii and falling in love with the islands, and some will be looking for a home here. Hawaii residents are also viewing the current buyer’s market as a chance to upgrade or move to a new neighborhood.

If your home is languishing on the market, what can you do? Here are my top 5 tips to get your home sold.

Tip #1: Do a drive-by. First impressions are key. Even if they’ve already looked at pictures of your house online, many potential homebuyers won’t even come into your open house if they’re not sold on your curb appeal.

So, drive by your house, then walk up to the front door and see everything with a fresh set of eyes. This is especially important in Hawaii, because a lot of us don’t usually walk into our front door—we use the side door or the garage door. It’s important to actually walk the path that the potential homebuyer is going to walk.

What would they see? Does the driveway need some cleaning? Does the trim around the door need a fresh coat of paint? Does the window screen need to be changed? Could the front yard use a couple of plants? Do you need a new floor mat that says Welcome?

Then take your fresh set of eyes and walk through the rest of the house.

Tip #2: Set your home apart. This tip is mainly geared to people living in condos or planned communities where all the homes or units look the same. Chances are, whoever is looking at your home is also looking at homes in the same complex or community—all with the same or similar layout and finishes. What’s going to make your home stand out?

An easy tip is to look at the bathroom. All the bathrooms will use the same materials. Set yours apart by prying that mirror off the wall and finding an affordable mirror at a discount or home store. Make sure it has an interesting, unique frame that can serve as an accent.

Another simple thing you can do is change out the hardware. If your bathroom came with plain chrome knobs, why not replace them with satin nickel or oil-rubbed bronze, something to make the space pop? Or get an electrician to change out some of the light fixtures in the bathrooms. All these steps will really draw attention to your space as opposed to your neighbors’.

The same approach can go for any room. In the kitchen, it’s not that hard to change out the sink and make it extra wide, change out the faucet, or put in a hot-water dispenser. In the living or bedroom, you can change out the lights or ceiling fans for choices with more style.

The whole idea is to find affordable ways to customize a space so it’s easily and memorably distinguished from the rest of the planned community.

Next: Less is always more, go bold but basic, and create one unforgettable room.