Bathrooms And Kitchens A Priority

Everyone has one or two things they would like to improve about the place they live. When it comes to improvements, our homes should be at the top of the list, but they often get shuffled to the side, because improvements tend to be costly and time consuming. However, a lot of home improvements you can actually accomplish on your own using some home improvement tips that aren't costly, but are noticeable.

Two areas of the house tend to get the short end of things when it comes to home improvement. They are the bathroom and the kitchen area. The bathroom is somewhat understandable. While we like to have it nice, the reality is that a face lift in the bathroom can be problematic. Redoing the entire bathroom is quite costly and often a messy proposition that takes weeks to reconcile.

Despite the inconvenience, doing up a bathroom is usually time and money well spent. It is one of the most used rooms in any house, and is a priority for most home buyers. The condition and presentation of a bathroom can add or subtract thousands of dollars in a property sale. A bathroom can also influence how long a property stays on the market, before being snapped up by a buyer.

Kitchens are also a critical factor for many buyers. It is a case of deciding what needs to be done (if anything), and setting a realistic budget for the renovation. There is probably no point in putting an expensive kitchen in a low price house, or putting a cheap kitchen in a luxury home. It is a case of giving the market what it wants.

When selling a home it is advisable to spend money wisely.

Presenting Your Home For Sale

Here are a few quick tips for presenting your home for sale.

If you're having an open house, or just having people in to look at the home, don't arrange the rooms around the television. Consider what will give buyers the clearest path and the best way to move through the house. Having all the seating facing the television or for playing those Wii games may not be the best layout plan for the living areas.

When it comes to letting people walk through freely, clutter and poor room arrangement just won't cut it. Give buyers some room to move around. Make the home for sale appear light and airy with open feeling. The look sells. Give buyers room to walk around and imagine how the home layout would suit their needs. Arrange the wall furniture to enhance the focal points such as a fireplace if you can. Good home presentation is vital in any sale, unless the property is being sold at a discounted price to attract home renovators.

Eliminate the smells - Just as a certain smell can give you a positive lasting memory, so too can a smell turn off a buyer permanently. Before you show your house, don't cook fish, curry, or that great garlic sauce that Uncle Edgar taught you to make. Spicy or fried, it can wait. The smell will permeate the house and affect the overall impression of the home. Don't leave the garbage disposal uncleaned.

Home Presentation Tips to Show Your House in Its Best Light

Noel Peebles writes:

When it comes to selling your home, as the old saying goes, you don't get a second chance to make a good impression. Home presentation tips are available for you all across the internet, but we've got our own sense of what is and is not most important when it comes to selling your house.

If you're serious about making the sale, then these home presentation tips should help you to make it more attractive to your buyers.

Clean it up - None of the other home presentation tips we give are going to be helpful to you if the house you're trying to sell is cluttered and unsightly. Top of the list, make your dwelling clean and neat. There is nothing wrong with a few toys lying around, or a few magazines on your table, but a sink full of dirty dishes doesn't scream "buy me" to anyone.

Internal presentation - If you're having an open house, or just having people in to look at the home, don't arrange the rooms around the television. Consider what will give buyers the clearest path and the best way to move through the house. Having all the seating facing the television or for playing those Wii games may not be the best layout plan for the living areas.

When it comes to letting people walk through freely, clutter and poor room arrangement just won't cut it. Give buyers some room to move around. Make the home appear light and airy with open feeling. The look sells. Give buyers room to walk around and imagine how the home layout would suit their needs. Arrange the wall furniture to enhance the focal points such as a fireplace if you can. Good home presentation is vital in any sale, unless the property is being sold at a discounted price to attract home renovators.

Cut the smells - Just as a certain smell can give you a positive lasting memory, so too can a smell turn off a buyer permanently. Before you show your house, don't cook fish, curry, or that great garlic sauce that Uncle Edgar taught you to make. Spicy or fried, it can wait. The smell will permeate the house and affect the overall impression of the home. Don't leave the garbage disposal uncleaned.

If its the middle of the winter, one of the smartest things you can do for your house is to put on a small pot of water and sprinkle some cinnamon into it just prior to your guests arriving. The potential buyer will love the odor of baking cinnamon bread that the pot of cinnamon evokes far more than they would be impressed by the orange roughy that you had for dinner.

If it's summertime, spray a little floral scented febreze on the carpet. Note we said a little, and open up some windows to give them that feeling that the slight scent of flowers is wafting in from outdoors. If you really do want to use an air freshener prior to the visit, stay with something neutral and very low key. Light is the order of the day, so stick to a cinnamon or vanilla.

Natural lighting is going to be your best bet. Open the drapes and open the blinds to let the natural light shine into your rooms. Clean the windows for goodness sake and let them see the great view you have of the back yard. If you're lacking windows in a certain room, turn on just one or two lamps, but don't flood them with overhead lights.

Home presentation is important, so hopefully these tips have been helpful. However, they are just a starting point if you want to do the job properly.

Noel found a really interesting site with interesting NZ real estate resources listed

12 Factors Affecting Your House Sale Price

Noel Peebles writes:

There are lots of important decisions to make when it comes to putting your home on the market for sale. The decisions range from which agent to select, how to market your home for sale, what price to ask, how to best present your home to attract and impress potential buyers, and the list goes on. The decisions you make will influence how quickly your home sells and for what price.

Unfortunately too many home sellers are under the impression that the market alone will decide the final outcome. However, there is more to it than that.

Here are 12 factors that could potentially affect the price you get for your home:

1. The state of the local real estate market.
2. The situation with the national or state economy with regards consumer confidence.
3. Current mortgage interest rates and lender borrowing criteria.
4. Recent comparable sales in the vicinity of the home for sale.
5. The ability of the real estate agent you employ.
6. The effectiveness of the marketing used.
7. The buyers level of motivation to buy your property.
8. The asking price and your level of motivation to sell.
9. The condition of the property and how well it meets the buyers needs and wants.
10. The location, views etc.
11. Whether or not there are multiple buyers lining up to buy the home for sale.
12. Your personal negotiating skills.

By studying the list above you'll see that some factors (like the state of the economy) will be out of your control. However, there are ways to react to situations to ensure you achieve the best result in the circumstances. Looking above you will also see there are several factors that are totally within your control and could clearly influence the final outcome.

At the end of the day every home will sell at a price. You just need to decide if you want to maximize the price you achieve or minimize it. What you do, or don't do, will have a big influence so there is no point in putting all the blame on the agent when things go pear-shaped.

There are lots of decisions to make even before you list with an agent or sell for sale by owner. Think carefully about whether you should improve the condition of the home, or whether it may be more cost-effective and easier to simply sell for a lower price. It really comes down to maximizing your profit rather than just focusing on the highest price.

With that said, you might end up achieving a high price in a short time on the market, or your home could sit there for months (or years) waiting for a buyer who is prepared to pay an unrealistically high price. So, correct pricing in relation to all of the above factors will determine how quickly your house sells and how much you walk away with. The decision is yours!

More real estate resources for buying and selling a home