Top Must Do’s Before Putting Your Home on the Market           

It can be daunting to think about all that you need to do before putting your house on the market, leaving you feeling overwhelmed and unsure of where you should start. Even if you sort and purge on a weekly basis and are a whiz with a Swiffer, it’s a good idea to take a walk in and around your house and truly look at everything with Buyer’s Eyes.

If it’s broken, fix it!

Homeowners often overlook small things that need to be repaired because they’ve gotten used to their work-arounds. Buyers will notice these items and may begin to worry that the property has not been well maintained, or worse, that there are big ticket repairs that have been ignored. Pay particular attention to broken appliances, running toilets, leaky faucets, windows, outlets, locks, etc. And while you’re at it, buy a bunch of light bulbs. Your house needs to be well lit during showings and that means every light needs to be turned on, including bedside tables and decorative lamps.

This is also a good time to get estimates on anything that might need to be replaced soon, such as built-in appliances, furnace, water heater or the roof. Knowing how much these items cost will help you better negotiate the price and the inspection process.

Do a deep dive into deep cleaning.

There’s a reason for the saying you only have one chance to make a first impression. Make sure your house shines with clean carpets, polished floors, finger-print free walls and doors, sparkling light fixtures, dust-free baseboards and pristine bathrooms and kitchen (fresh towels, please!). Remember to make sure your windows and patio doors are crystal clear and free from hand and nose prints. And speaking of noses, do a smell test because odors, even faint ones from Fido or last night’s fish can turn off buyers. This is a good time to use those coupons for professionals like Molly Maids or Stanley Steamer.

Channel your inner Marie Kondo

Seriously, this professional organizing consultant has set off a decluttering craze while promising to spark joy in the darkest drawers and closets. Lives and homes have been transformed by her tiny turquoise book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. The time is now to pack up or donate your least used-used items such as kitchen and garden tools, exercise equipment (the treadmill is not a coat rack), out-of-season clothes, extra linens, toys and all of those treasures from Home Goods. Declutter with an eye towards depersonalization so that a buyer imagines their life in the house and not yours. And it’s perfectly ok to neatly stack packed boxes in the storage room or garage (just leave enough room so that all of the walls can be viewed by the buyers).

And while you’re looking through all those drawers, closets and shelves, gather up the user’s manuals, warranties and guarantees for everything that will stay with the house. If you’ve had work done to the house, buyers will want to see the permits, receipts, building and architectural plans, engineering reports and surveys.

Get enthusiastic about your curb appeal.

Staging is not limited to the interior of your house. Again, we’re talking about first impressions here. Buyers spend a lot of time on your front walk and porch while they are waiting for their agent to open up the door, and again after the showing when they talk about their experience inside the house. Water, mow and edge more often than you normally would and make sure all bushes and trees are neatly trimmed. Give a drink of water to thirsty plants so that they are upright and happy (a drink for you is ok, too!). If it’s winter, shovel the driveway, walk, porch and decks and knock down icicles. Look all around the house and remove extra landscaping materials, lawn toys, garden decorations (butterflies, gnomes, statues), and for goodness sake, pick up after the pooch! Remember to look at the front door. Fresh paint and beautiful hardware are mighty inviting.

Is there more that you can do? Of course! But if you start with just these 4 things, you are well on your way to wowing buyers from the moment they drive up to your house. If you need additional inspiration, check out my DIY Staging board on Pinterest (Christine Colorado Real Estate).

Christine Trigg, Realtor® SRES ®©2019

FSBO: Do you really need a real estate agent to sell your home?

How hard can it be? Denver is still a pretty hot market and if you’ve got a great house in a great location, you may be tempted to go it alone. If you’ve been through the home selling process a few times, you may be thinking you’ve got this. Well, pretty sure that you’ve got this. You can look it up online. Or can you? Here are just a few of the risks that you face when you try to go it alone:

You don’t know what you don’t know. Your real estate agent spends countless hours reading, interpreting and negotiating contracts as well as completing a minimum of 24 hours of Continuing Education every 3 years. 2019 brought huge changes to the Colorado Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate with legal implications for buyers and sellers. As a seller, buyers will expect you to comply with contingencies, deadlines, FIRPTA (what the heck is that?!?), HOA and Due Diligence documentation, inspection objections, lead-based paint disclosures (Wait, what? I thought we got rid of lead-based paint!), and so much more. Your real estate agent’s knowledge is invaluable.

Buyer’s Eyes. Are you able to look at your home objectively? Decluttered and staged homes sell for more and more quickly. Your agent has a list of vendors who can quickly and reasonably help you get your home picture perfect. Are you debating if updating the carpet, paint and fixtures will bring you big bang for your buck? A real estate agent knows what sells in your neighborhood and what will cause your home to sit on the market.

Maximum Exposure. Just how do sellers reach buyers? A strong online presence is imperative to getting as many eyes on your property as possible: MLS, social media campaigns, custom property websites and the ability to reach thousands of Metro Area agents instantly. And don’t forget that professionally designed print media hits all the right notes at every price point. Your real estate agent is an extraordinary marketing director! 

Build it and they will come. Through research or perhaps based on the neighborhood’s highest sale, you’ve decided on a list price, figured out a way to get online (with professional photos, yes?) and there’s a sign in the yard. Buyers will be begging you to accept their offers! Before you receive an offer, however, a potential buyer will want to actually see your home. How will you handle showings? Will you limit showing hours to evenings and weekends (and miss that out of town buyer on a tight schedule) or will you rush home from work? And then there are the no-shows or the ones who are apologetic, but nevertheless, late. Maybe you’ll put a lock box on the front door, but with no way to confirm that a licensed agent is the one showing your home. Selling a home is a full time job and you probably already have one of those. Real estate agents are logistical wizards and realize how valuable your time is. Not to mention your safety.

Everything is negotiable. You’ve received an offer! Now what? Most sellers are interested in only one thing: price. And rightly so as this is likely your biggest asset and any decision made will affect your investment. A real estate agent is skilled at not letting the negotiations get down to just one item (price) because they do not want to create one winner and one loser. We want both sides to feel like winners. Happy parties stay with the transaction. Unhappy parties walk away. Terms, conditions, contingencies, concessions, deadlines, appraisals, inspections, title, possession, are all negotiable items that can affect your bottom line. This is where what sellers don’t know can hurt them the most.

To fix or not to fix. This is tricky, even for experienced real estate agents! Buyers want to know the condition of the home beyond what they can see and they will hire inspectors to give them peace of mind that they are buying a solid home. These inspections include the interior, HVAC, roof, structure, plumbing, sewer, stucco, radon, and more. The buyer receives a detailed report about the condition of the home and the inspector identifies items for repair, replacement or monitoring. And the negotiations begin. Again. What kinds of repairs are typically completed by sellers? What’s reasonable? What exactly does health and safety mean? If you’re not careful, you could be persuaded into making improvements rather than repairs. Do you have a list of trusted and reliable workers that can come out on a moment’s notice to make repairs before the deadline? Your real estate agent does.

Keeping the ball rolling. Otherwise known as Transaction Management. Once you are under contract, buyers will expect to receive a Title Commitment, disclosures, due diligence documents and perhaps a survey or ILC. And it doesn’t stop there. Did you know that sellers are now required to provide buyers with extensive information about their HOA? This includes the Annual Disclosure, financials, meeting minutes, insurance and liability policies, fees, the Status Letter and so much more! Each one of these items corresponds to deadlines in the contract. Miss one, and the buyer may be able to terminate the contract. And what happens if the property does not appraise for the sales price? Is the buyer meeting all of their deadlines? Who’s handling the closing? Your real estate agent expertly manages your transaction and is on high alert for anything that could potentially jeopardize the transfer of your property to the buyer. A successful closing is what we are all after.

Maybe you’re still hopeful that you have the skill, time and determination to sell your home without assistance. But first, do me a favor and take a look at the FSBO websites and scroll through the long list of frequently asked questions. Read this blog again. The selling process is fast-paced and the contract is 19 pages long (!), not to mention the addendums, amendments and resolutions. Missteps can lead to costly mistakes which could end up costing you more money than if you had hired a real estate agent to protect your interests from the start.

Guiding my clients through what may be the biggest financial decisions of their lives is an honor and a responsibility I take very seriously. It can be exciting, nerve-wracking and emotional, all at the same time. And when you find yourself in a challenging situation, it can really pay to have a professional on your side. As your agent, it’s my job and pleasure to be on your side!

Christine Trigg, Realtor® SRES ®©2019

Ambli – DTC: Where Food and Culture Meet                         

Ambli is my favorite kind of restaurant: Beautiful food served in a beautiful room, and not too far from home. The sharing menu offers tapas-style small plates, flatbreads, and platters perfect for everyone to get more than a little taste. An absolute must every time are the Sake Style Lobster Shooters: red coconut curry poured over softly fried lobster dumplings. Heaven in a shot glass! 

When my friend Sue and I met for lunch recently, I ordered the Beet Tartare salad which was not only a stunning presentation, but delicious: roasted beats, jicama, peanuts, oranges, and creamy goat cheese topped with green onion curls and balsamic glaze. I splurged and added seared ahi tuna for a little protein. I would have loved to pair it with a crisp glass of wine, but alas we both had afternoon appointments.

The dining space is large, yet feels intimate and the décor is on trend with soft grays and brushed brass. It’s a bit like Cheers in that I always see a friendly face and catch up on the latest goings on during happy hour (awesome cocktail, wine and food prices!).

Give Chef Ricardo and his friendly and attentive staff a try and let me know what you think!