If you are considering making a move this year and plan on listing in the next few weeks, I have some great tips to make your potential buyers feel more at home. The challenges of winter are many:

·       The sun is lower in the sky and therefore light comes in your home at sometimes-unflattering angles.

·       Deposits from snow, ice, and rain can make the entrance dirty and uninviting.

·       Plants that are dead or dormant can be a challenge for curb appeal.

·       Heating and air intake grates may have a constant flow of air and may be dirty.

·       Homes that have great outdoor spaces may not show as well during cold, dark, or rainy days.

These are just a few issues that can make selling during the winter a challenge. However, there is a lot that you can do to counteract these:

·       Make sure all your windows and outdoor glass is squeaky clean and streak-free. This way, when the sun is low in the sky, light streams through those flawless windows, illuminating the space.

·       Hose down or sweep walkways and decks. Keep them free of excess sand, gravel, and moss.

·       Plant boxwoods or other evergreens to provide curb appeal and mask perennials that won’t look fresh again until spring. Trim back perennials and pull out dead annuals to make your landscaping look neat and trim. Also rake the beds and get rid of all dead leaves.

·       Keep all air grates clean by vacuuming every few weeks. Change your furnace filter. If your home is getting that burned-dust smell, have your ducts professionally cleaned.

·       Maximizing outdoor spaces, even when it is cold and rainy, is a great way for prospective buyers to be excited about the seasons to come and your home’s outdoor living potential. Make sure pots are brimming with evergreens, light outdoor lanterns and landscape lighting, and get some blooming plants in the ground (crocuses, heathers, hellebores, and primroses are good go-to winter bloomers). These steps will make your outdoors showtime-ready.

·       You can also accentuate the warm and cozy aspects of your home by turning on the fireplace, draping an accent throw over the arm of a couch or the back of a chair, drape a throw at the bottom of the bed, and put plush towels in the bathrooms.

·       Make sure the lights are on both inside and outside your home for every showing. Pull back the curtains and open the blinds. Yes, you may be spending more on heating your home with windows uncovered, but you don’t want your home feeling dark and drab.

There are opportunities to be had selling now. Interest rates have started to creep up, so buyers who were disappointed and decided to take some time and regroup may be back in droves, trying to buy before the interest rates increase even more. Questions about your selling strategy? Give me a call at 206-484-2777 and let’s chat.