House hunters have many expectations when they are looking for a new home. Most sellers usually have made themselves at home, and love many aspects about it, but not all buyers would agree. Do not hurt your home’s sale with these: 

• Nothing shouts “Don’t buy me!” more than an unkempt yard!  If nothing else, keep the grass cut and weeds and shrubbery trimmed. Put a bit more effort into it, and put down fresh mulch in the flowerbeds, and add a pot of flowers to the top step. 
• No one wants to walk into a house with plastic storage containers stacked up in each room “hiding” the seller’s clutter. When you declutter, get rid of things, or put them in storage if you cannot part with them. Your rooms will appear larger without a lot of stuff in them. 
• Touring a house that has a grimy stove or mildewed bathtub caulking is a huge turn-off:  no one wants to move into a dirty home. If you cannot find the time to clean the house spotless, hire a professional to do it. 

• Natural light is important to most home buyers, so window treatments that block light need to come down, cleaned, and stored for moving. Add sheers, blinds you can open, or pull the shades up completely when you know the house is being shown. 
• Items such as rodent traps or insect baits, should not even be an option for you. If you know you have mice or insects in your home, have them exterminated before you put a sign in your yard.  
• Wall-to-wall carpeting is not as appealing to buyers today as it was in the past. If you can afford it, remove carpeting that is hiding hardwoods and spruce them up. No hardwood? Have the carpets professionally cleaned, and if you really need to sell, offer a new carpet credit to buyers. 
• When you know about a problem and don’t bother to make repairs–think dripping faucets or cracked windows–buyers will not be impressed with your house, and if they’re remotely interested, offers won’t be close to your asking price. 
• Any unpleasant odors will put off most people, and homebuyers will wrinkle their noses as soon as they walk in. Cleaning is important to remove dirt, but you need to clean for odors, too. Follow these tips from realtor.com® for removing any funky smells from your home. 

The impression your house makes on potential buyers largely depends on you. Salespeople of all kinds must make a pitch to draw the buyer in, then grab and keep their attention. The effort you put forth will show in the feedback and offers you will receive. In the case of selling your home, sweat the small stuff! 

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently.  You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

Get Orlando Daily News delivered to your inbox! Subscribe here!

Photo credit: A1 ChimneyPro

When it comes time to list your home, you’ll want to come up with a list of small repairs and other tweaks that you can do to try and get the most out of your property. If you don’t make a list, you might miss things that could bring down what potential buyers are willing to pay for your home. While there might be a lot of things to consider depending on the specifics of your home, here are some items that you should definitely double check before putting up a listing for your property.

The Paint

How do the walls in your home look? If it’s been a few years since they’ve seen a coat of paint you should probably consider giving them a fresh coat. This is especially true if previous work was done in a hurry or has obvious spots where patches were done and covered up with newer paint. A sloppy or mismatched paint job will turn off a lot of potential buyers since they’ll likely see it as a task they’ll need to undertake as soon as they buy the house.

Roofing and Siding

While you’re considering things that might be a big red flag for possible buyers, step outside and take a look at the siding, brickwork and roof. Even if you only have a few problems out there, to someone looking at the house, that could raise questions about leaks, insects and other issues the buyers might face in the future. If you want to get the most out of your home, then it’s worth replacing broken shingles or fixing bits of damage or discoloration on your home’s exterior.

Faucets and Plumbing

Leaks, drips and other plumbing issues are pretty common, and it’s easy to get used to them over time. If someone is shopping for a new home, however, a notable drip from a faucet or evidence of a leak can be big warning signs. Nobody wants to pay full price for a home if they might be facing water damage in the near future, so taking care of any drips or leaks, as well as stains that they might have caused, is a great move to make before you list.

General Landscaping

Sometimes it’s tempting to not worry too much about the landscaping when listing your home. If the landscaping has obviously been ignored, though, it may leave potential buyers wondering what else hasn’t been taken care of. Even if you just spend a little time trimming up the shrubs and eliminating some unsightly weeds, you can make a big difference on the first impression made to someone considering a purchase.

Clutter and Trash

Just as with landscaping, having clutter or other trash around can make a really bad impression when someone is looking at your home. There may be good reasons why things look a bit cluttered, but a potential buyer isn’t going to know what they are and quite likely won’t bother to ask. Take the time to straighten up and get rid of the garbage before your home goes on the market.

Obvious Repairs

There are many other small repairs that are worth making before your home gets listed. Any little bits of damage or discoloration should be evaluated to see if they can be repaired. While you may not have the time or budget to fix everything, you should still attempt whatever repairs you can. Your home obviously doesn’t need to be perfect, but the better it looks the higher the eventual closing price will be.

Need Some Help?

Depending on the condition of your property, getting your home ready for listing might be a big job on top of your normal work. If you need to call in some help, HomeKeepr has you covered. Sign up for a free account today to connect with contractors, plumbers and other pros who can help you get your home in tip-top shape before you list.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently.  You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

Get Orlando Daily News delivered to your inbox! Subscribe here!

By: Homekeepr, Rob Morelli

It’s time to get ready to put your home on the market, and there are some things to think about before you have it listed.  There’s work to be done, and some dos and don’ts that should be taken into consideration if you want your home to sell! 

• The exterior of your home is the first thing a potential buyer sees; paint the siding, if necessary, and make sure the roof is in great shape.   
• Clean up the yard, front and back, and add some seasonal plantings for color. 
• A deep clean inside is necessary.  Wash windows, (inside and out), walls, draperies, scrub the bathroom’s every cranny, and shampoo the carpets. 

• If you have pets or a smoker in the home, a professional clean may be necessary, or even a new coat of paint on the walls. Pet odors and cigarette tar stay on everything.  Ask a friend or neighbor to come in and do a smell test and tackle any issues that they share with you. 
• Deciding what colors to paint the walls shouldn’t be of your personal taste.  Choosing neutral colors is best, and don’t stop at the living areas walls–paint every room. 
• Check all the doorknobs, and if any are sticking or simply not working, replace with similar hardware, or replace all of them.  It’s also important for all the exterior door locks to be in proper working order and replace any that aren’t. 
• Major repairs or restoration should be done by a pro or an experienced DIYer.  If you choose not to make a repair that you know is needed, you’ll have to be up front to your agent, make the needed fix is listed in your disclosure, and be ready to lower your selling price. 
• Sellers want their home to stand out, but don’t overdo it!  Using generally popular fixtures and finishes is better than going with the latest trend. 

• Even if your storage space is limited, make it appear like there’s plenty of room.  Remove seasonal clothing from closets, as well as occasionally used kitchen gadgets from cabinets and counters, and put them in storage with the rest of your things. 
• Consider staging, and if you can’t afford to go full scale, find a designer that will use your furniture and decorative pieces to maximize space, as well as have it looking its best. 

Lastly, don’t go it alone; find a RealtorⓇ that knows all that you don’t about selling your home.  Using an agent gets your home “out there,” and will make the process easier for you as well as for the buyer.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently.  You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

Get Orlando Daily News delivered to your inbox! Subscribe here!

Photo credit: shutterstock

Top Ways to Make Your Orlando Florida Home Buyer Friendly for Little or No Money

Valentine’s for Orlando Florida

Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to ‘feel the love’ – for your home. Now is the time to start assessing ways you can make your house look more attractive to potential buyers as you get it ready to put on the market. Surprisingly there are many ways to make what you already have more attractive for little or no money.

1.  De-clutter
Go from room to room with your goal to reduce what is in the room by one-third to one-half. Buyers respond to a house that looks and feels spacious, airy, and appears to have room.  Remove everything from papers and magazines, to bulky, over-sized furniture. Whatever detracts from that particular room as an attractive living space should go – pack it, store it, or sell it, but make sure it is gone and out of sight.

2. Clean
Buyers also respond to that shine that can only be gotten by a little elbow grease. This means cleaning the baseboards, buffing the floors, wiping down the lighting fixtures, and dusting the furniture. Sparkling windows and clean counter-tops say that you love this home and you know someone else will too.

3. Easy access
If you live in the part of the country where it is snowy, shoveled paths and driveways must be ready to receive visitors. Remove anything that makes the entrance and access to your home unattractive and impossible. Take down the holiday lights and invest in good lighting around the entrances to your home.

4. Landscape
While this might not be the time for gardening for most of the country, check your landscape and remove any fallen tree limbs, leaves, and lawn clutter. As soon as Mother Nature cooperates, plan on pruning shrubs, and painting and repairing any fencing around the yard.

Read the rest of this entry »