You've made the big decision to offer your home for sale, or it's already on the market for sale.  You've done all the things your REALTOR suggested you do to make your home show at its best.  And it looks good.........

But is it really SAFE for showings?  It's really easy for us, as we live in our  homes, to work around the idiosyncrasies of our own homes.  But can we expect strangers to do the same, especially strangers who are looking at our homes as potential buyers for it?

Take a good hard look at your stairways, if you have any.  Is the railing a little loose?  Are there stair treads that you've been meaning to replace but just haven't really noticed how frayed they are any more?   You've gotten used to the worn treads on the stairs, and know to lift you foot just a little higher on that one step to avoid that edge that's lifted up a little.  Any any of the light bulbs in the stairways burned out?  And those area rugs in the hallway are a little slippery unless you step just so on them......

If your house has kids in it, you know how easy it is to not see toys here and there because that's part of your every day world in your own home, and you know where they usually are so you just automatically step over or around them.  Potential buyers aren't aware of those nuances, and might not see that little toy car or that cute little stuffed animal that Santa brought.

When you go to hang up your coats in the closets, you know to duck just a little in case one or two of the hats up top fall out, or in case one of those games stacked up on the top shelf comes tumbling down.  Potential buyers have no clue what might be waiting for them when they innocently open a closet to check out the space they'll have if they choose your home as their next new home.

Don't forget the basement!  Make sure the lighting down there is as bright as it can be - you don't want any buyers or their agents tripping over things, or hitting their heads on any pipes that might be a little lower than they'd expect.

If you live in areas where you enjoy the beauty of winters, then you're accustomed to snow and ice, and how carefully you have to walk on it.  BUT, potential buyers could be relocating from anywhere, and may not appreciate walking through the snow if they don't have snowshoes on.   They actually may not even know how to drive or walk on it, as they may never had lived anywhere where it did snow!  Take some extra time and make sure your walkways are shovelled and kept clear of snow and ice.  If the only way into your basement is through an outside bulkhead, make sure there's a pathway shovelled to that.

While we're talking about the outside of your home, please clean up messes left by the family dog.  You know where your dog likes to do his business, but potential buyers and their agents don't.  Most of the time when we're checking out the exterior of the house, we're not looking down, we're looking around at the house.  Then it's too late, and that really doesn't sit too well with potential buyers, and most assuredly homeowners don't want that tracked around inside their homes.  I know I sure wouldn't!

Take a walk through your home and look for little hazards like these that may be a liability for you as a homeowner.  Tighten the railings - place nonskid mats under rugs - straighten up the insides of closets - make sure toys are put away safly - change any lightbulbs needing replacing - clear drives & walkways.  We all live with little things like this, but when it comes to selling your home, you want to remove as many potential liabilities as possible. 

Safety for showings on your home is important!  If someone is injured while looking at your home, they could sue you for damages.  Fortunately, this doesn't happen often, and it's easy to take the necessary steps ahead of time to avoid potential nasty situations as much as possible.  It's so much better to be safe than sorry with just a little bit of effort ahead of time!

When selling homes here in Portsmouth New Hampshire during the winter months, I suggest to sellers that they keep a shovel near the front door, and some ice melt handy.  In the event it snows while they're at work, and I have a showing before they can get home, I'll clear out a path for us to get to the house, and having those tools handy, sure makes it a little easier to do my job for my clients.  Working together as a team helps to get the job done!

Ann Cummings
Portsmouth, NH

 Making a good first impression with your home when it's for sale     
is very important, whether it's for an open house or for showings. 
You put on your best clothes for special occasions, and your home
should be dressed up in its best as well!

Here are 5 simple things you can do to dress your home in its best:

    1)  Clean away clutter 
          - Take all post-it notes, pictures, menus, magnets, etc. off the refrigerator
          - Keep all countertops free of small appliances
          - Put away toys in the closet or tucked away out of sight
          - Remove newspapers & knick-knacks from coffee tables & countertops

    2)  Keep it Simple
          - If there are unusual or wild colors on the walls or furniture, it's a good idea to mute them with neutral
               paint or perhaps cover that day-glo orange couch with a neutral slipcover

    3)  Music to Their Ears
          - Play some light instrumental or classical music in the background, softly - sets a nice calm ambiance
               for the showing

    4)  Light up the World
          - Appropriate lighting in each room - open up blinds and/or heavy curtains - have lights turned on
               to show the home at its best

    5)  Warm Welcoming Smells
          - Light a lightly scented candle, bake a pie or cookies, etc - creates a nice positive effect
               The way your home smells greatly affects buyers subliminally, and scents and smells create positve
                or negative memories.

Ann Cummings
888-349-5678 x 3839

Selling rental properties offers up some different challenges than selling most other types of property.  We usually find ourselves dealing with tenants because the property owner wants to offer the property for sale with the tenants in place.  Doing so, or trying to do so, continues to produce income for the current owner.  From the REALTOR's perspective, we would actually rather try to sell it either empty, or with the owner living in it.  It is so much easier to sell that way, from our perspective--showings are much easier to get set up and we aren't dealing with tenants who don't want the property to sell.  Many times, tenants make it very difficult to show a property for several reasons: they are paying a lower rent than market rents and therefore don't want the property to sell; they just don't want to move at all because they really like living where they are and they're fearful that the new owner may ask them to leave; etc. 

If you own a rental property, I always advise that you to speak with the tenants first BEFORE putting the property up for sale.  You want to work to get their cooperation in getting your home sold, if at all possible.  Ask them if they have an interest in purchasing the property.  I've had sellers receive pleasantly surprising answers when they ask this question, the tenants are, in fact, interested in buying the property.  However, if they aren't, work with them on how the showings will be set up, and offer them some type of incentive to work cooperatively with the REALTOR working to sell the property.  These incentives can vary widely, from a discount on the rent, letting them out early from their lease, and any other incentive that you can come up with that works for both you and the tenant.  I had one seller give the tenant a gift card to a local restaurant that he knew the tenant frequented.  He gave him this card to have dinner there for the times that the property needed to be shown during either lunch time or dinner time.  I thought this was a very creative idea! 

Always keep in mind that the goal is to make it as smooth and easy to get prospective buyers in to see the property as possible.