Ready to get radical?

You think you’ve done it all: decluttered, staged, priced and marketed your property appropriately, and it’s still not selling.  What now?

Through open houses, in-house broker tours, MLS tours and showings, your agent has had opportunities to gather feedback as to what people do and do not like about your home.  In some cases, you simply can’t provide what is desired.  Buyers are looking for a pool, a different location, a bigger yard--something you don’t have.  On the other hand, there are often gems to be scavenged from the feedback. Question is: are you willing to act on what you learn?

In the case of our listing at 133 Sombrio, we kept hearing disappointed noises about the kitchen and baseboards. Everyone loved the vigas and refinished red oak floors.  They admired the wood-framed double paned windows, the covered portal, kiva fireplace, extra garage space and laundry room.  But the kitchen? Nyeh. So we, the real estate agents and the owner, who flew back from California, took three days to replace tile, paint cabinets, change out hardware, upgrade light fixtures, patch and paint walls.  Two days after we finished, we received multiple offers.

If you want or need to put your home on the market soon, forearm yourself with somebody else’s hindsight.  Start by taking everything up a notch.  Declutter as if you’re a hoarder.  If your furnishings don’t show the house to best advantage, consider a stager.  Think you can’t afford it?  There are stagers who consult by the hour and use your own furnishings.  And if your home is empty, there are professional housesitter/stagers who will bring their eye-enticing furniture to your place and keep it looking warm and lovely while deftly accommodating showings. Curb appeal is often as easy to remedy with muscle as cash. Some landscape and nursery professionals will offer on site, low cost consultation to help you spend your DIY energy and money in the improvements.

What about a pre-inspection? Typically, buyers will schedule and pay for home inspections after the home is under contract.  Having a certified inspection report in hand for a buyer avoids potentially deal-killing surprises deep into the transaction.  Do you know the five most preventable problems that can scuttle a sale?

Did you work with your agent to price your home at the market rate--not what you think you need or want to have in order to buy the next house.  Don’t gamble on an inflated price. Pricing your home to sell out of the gate will bring you the highest ultimate return.

If you have some money to spend, Top 10 Must-Have Features in Today’s New Homes and Remodeling Magazine’s 2009 Cost vs. Value Report will give you ideas about what trends are attracting buyers. In the words of Kris Berg, FrontDoor.com, “Yesterday’s avocado green shag carpeting is today’s granite countertop.” Would you have this perspective?  Your home is your nest, but when it comes time to sell, you’re serving someone else’s taste.

Selling Your Home in A Buyer’s Market can be a success, but now more than ever, success favors the exceptionally prepared.  We have lists of reliable and flexible professionals and an arsenal of articles like the ones above. We also have muscles and out-of-the-box marketing we’re not afraid to use.  If you’re serious about selling your home, give us a call.

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Real estate agents Malissa Kullberg and Joshua Maes, AKA Changing Gallery, use their listings, where appropriate, to showcase the art, photography, sculpture and other creations of emerging and independent talents. Artists receive 100% of the proceeds from any sale. For up-to-date market info and full access to the MLS, visit: Santa Fe Real Estate Downtown.