Staging Basics

The purpose of staging is to make your house as appealing as possible to the buyer. The first step is to empty the house out, leaving just a few key pieces of furniture to help set the vibe. Make sure all necessary repairs are done.

Clean the carpets, walls and especially the front lawn and your doorway, as that’s your buyer’s first impression.

The 3 Staging Secrets

• Secret #1 – Scent. Most people don’t realize how important scent is. Out of the five senses, scent actually has the strongest direct link to our emotions. Since most buyers in Sarasota buy based on emotions, it’s vital that you make sure your house smells great.

• Secret #2 – Lighting. Most people underestimate how important lighting is when it comes to staging. Open all the curtains and turn on all the lights. If it’s still too dim, get some extra lights to help with lighting. A brightly lit home seems cheery, while a dark come seems gloomy.

• Secret #3 – Collect Contract Info and Follow up. Collecting the contact information of your potential buyers or their agent’s contact info allows you to drastically increase the chances of them returning or making an offer. Less experienced real estate agents are less likely to want to make “warm calls” (cold calls from leads,) so be sure you’re working with an agent who’s willing to do this if you want to use this tactic.

If you follow all the common sense tactics of home staging, then on top of that make sure you home has a great scent that accentuates the house, is properly lit and you follow up with your prospects, you’ll be far ahead of the curve when it comes to selling your home.

There is a lot of free information available to you about buying, selling or investing in Sarasota real estate. For complete information about the Sarasota real estate market including current homes for sale, property values and more please visit the most complete website online dedicated to everything Sarasota real estate at www.SarasotaHomePros.com. Please feel free to contact me with any of your real estate or mortgage related questions and I will be more than glad to answer your questions. Call me on my cell at 941.556.5151.

Step One – Can you improve your Credit Rating

If you are considering buyin a home in Sarasota Flordia, you should start now to work on your credit.  If you have 6 months before you make an offer on your home in Sarasota, it’s quite likely you can improve your credit rating and reduce the interest rate on your new loan.

Step Two – Hire a Great Real Estate Agent

As a homebuyer in Sarasota, it shouldn’t cost you anything to hire a qualified Real Estate agent as the seller generally pays for all the commissions.

Working with a real estate agent in Sarasota gives you a huge advantage. You get access to local knowledge and experience and someone very familiar with the area. You have a trained negotiator to negotiate on your behalf. You have someone with a wide variety of contacts, from lenders to property inspectors you can call on.

Step Three – Get Pre-Approval for a Loan

A pre-approval will help you determine how much of a home you can afford and is a lot of the homework in the home buying process.  You might get approved for a loan that’s more than you can really afford or want, that doesn’t mean you should do it.  After all, that’s where the term ‘house poor’ came from.

Once you figure out how much you can really afford and don’t forget to submit the pre-approval letter with your purchase offer as sellers are much more likely to consider your offer seriously knowing that you can afford the loan.

As a buyer, you will be well ahead of others by working on your credit, having a pre-approval letter from your lender and are using an experienced real estate ageent to guide you through the home buying process in Sarasota!

There is a lot of free information available to you about buying, selling or investing in Sarasota real estate. For complete information about the Sarasota real estate market including current homes for sale, property values and more please visit the most complete website online dedicated to everything Sarasota real estate at www.sarasotahomepros.com. Please feel free to contact me with any of your real estate or mortgage related questions and I will be more than glad to answer your questions. Call me at 941.556.5151.