How To Get Your Home Ready To Sell In St Cloud FL

How To Get Your Home Ready To Sell By Jeanine Corcoran,Broker of Corcoran Connect

Kristin Macari owner of Studio Nine 13 joins Jeanine as herco-host. Welcome to the 34th episode of Discover St. Cloud Floridawhere Jeanine and Kristin will discuss preparing to sell your homein St Cloud FL.

Kristin said the topic of preparing to sell your home is near and dear to her heart asit makes her job a lot easier. She said earlier this year youdidn’t even need to pick up the dirty clothes off the flooras homes were selling so quickly. Now we are back into a regularreal estate market it is essential to prepare your home properlyfor going on the market.

Video Podcast OF How ToGet Your Home Ready To List

Jeanine said she is always cognizant of who is in charge whetherit be the Mr. or Mrs. She is honest in telling clients what needsto be done to sell their home. Jeanine walks through eachclient's home going over a checklist for preparation forlisting it on the market. This is done in advance of the realestate photographers, such as Studio Nine 13, coming in and takingpictures.

Jeanine then follows up and walks through the house againright before the photographers arrive to see what was missed. Shesaid usually there are a few things that are missed so that is whyshe does it.

Home Sellers In Saint Cloud FL Need To Have TheirWindows Cleaned Prior To Listing Their Home

She continued that Florida has hard water and the sprinklers inthe yard get water stains on the windows and that is so importantto have the windows cleaned prior to the photographers coming totake pictures. Jeanine asked if real estate photographers can editout the water stains.

Kristin answered that they are tough to get out. It depends onwhat is in the background and how bad the water stains are. Shesaid it is so much easier if the clients have their windowscleaned. The photos end up looking so much better. People viewinghomes on the market notice when the windows appear dirty in photos,it’s a big deal.

Jeanine stated that she would never list a home for CorcoranConnect that has dirty windows. She said it is especially true tohave the windows clean that have beautiful views. Kristin addedthat if you have windows that show off a beautiful view, they needto be highlighted and therefore, clean.

Jeanine said that Kristin who is the owner of Studio Nine 13provides a great checklist for clients in regards to real estate photography. She hands outthis checklist at the listing meetings. Kristin said that they doprovide a thorough checklist for clients that walk them throughwhat to do for each area in their home.

Potential Home Buyers First Impression Starts With TheExterior Of The Home

Kristin said they always start with the exterior as that is thefirst impression a potential homebuyer has of a home. She continuedthat there is nothing worse than pulling up to the home and theoutside needs to be mulched or there is mildew on the sidewalk ordriveway.

The outside of the home is such an easy fix Jeanine stated. Itdoesn’t take much, a few pots, put some new flowers in anduse a pressure washer. To Jeanine, the exterior is the easiestpart, however, she believes the hardest part is once you walkthrough the front door.

Jeanine continued that as consumers we save a lot of stuff.Kristin added that the stuff people save is all personal. Theknickknacks that people collect on vacation or the signs with wordson them, sometimes people go overboard. She said that it helps todepersonalize the house because then potential homebuyers can seethemselves in it.

Jeanine asked Kristin a professional photographer and one whohas taken photos of many homes what her biggest pet peeve is.Kristin answered that she has a few pet peeves but her biggest isthe home sellers not knowing when garbage or recycling day is.

Magnets on the refrigerator are Jeanine’s number one petpeeve, actually, she doesn’t like anything on therefrigerator. She also added that shampoos and soaps are a big nofor listing photos as well as showings. Kristin said thatwashcloths and loofahs need to go as well.

The Importance Of Having Your Home Cleaned Prior ToListing It Can Not Be Said Enough

Kristin then emphasized the importance of clean counters. Itshows better on the images and video of the property walkthroughvideo. It is a nice clean shot. Having items on the countertopsduring photoshoots or video filming or viewing appointments takesaway from the beautiful granite or quartz appearance and shows itmore as clutter.

Jeanine added that the house should be clean as well. She addedthat if your baseboards are dirty people will think that your houseis dirty. Your house may be clean but if your floors and yourbaseboards are dirty then they will think the house is dirty.

Kristin said she thinks of Grandma Corcoran when the subject ofcleaning the house comes up. Jeanine quoted what her mother used tosay, “clean the corners and the rest of the house will cleanitself.

Kristin shared a memory of her grandmother when she waspreparing for a big party at her home and that she would actuallypaint the baseboards, so they looked new and very clean. Jeanineand Kristin both said that the windowsills, blinds, and ceilingfans need to be cleaned as well, it all matters.

Jeanine asked Kristin about wetting the driveway and what effectthat has on listing photoshoots. Kristin replied that forphotoshoots that are early evening when the sun is going down andthe outside lights are on that can have a great effect on camera.However, for normal every day listing photoshoots, it is notnecessary.

Jeanine Corcoran Recaps The Home PreparationChecklist

Curb appeal
Mulching
Cleaning
Decluttering
Clean refrigerator (no magnets or anything else)
Remove shampoos, soaps, loofahs, etc.
Clean windows
Remove and pack knickknacks
Repairing the minor items

Jeanine wrapped up this part by saying that we are helpingpeople to start packing because you are going to have to packanyway as you are leaving. This includes taking pictures off of thewall. She also mentioned fixing little things that are broken likea door that doesn’t close properly, etc. Just fix it and bedone.

Jeanine classified these types of things as a loose cabinet dooror a closet door that has come off the tracks. These types ofthings need to be fixed because when people come through the houseand they see all these broken things, even though they are not abig deal, it adds thousands of dollars to their minds. Kristinadded that if you are not maintaining these little things thenthere are probably some bigger things that will need fixing furthercompounding the problem and dollar signs in the potentialbuyers’ minds.

Avoid Potential Home Buyers Making A Negative MentalChecklist

The ultimate goal as stated by Jeanine is to have a potentialbuyer come into your home and eliminate as many negative thoughtsas possible by taking care of all the obvious things. It gives themthe warm and fuzzies and allows them to picture their furniture inthe home. You don’t want buyers making a mental list ofnegatives in your home.

Jeanine then asked Kristin where people can get a copy of herchecklist for real estate photography forlisting your home. Kristin said you can get a free copy on herwebsite at StudioNine13.com. Click on the link for real estatephotography and we’ll send you a free copy of our pre-listingchecklist.