What I Do for Sellers: Analyzing a Property
Knowing what buyers are looking for is the first place to start when analyzing a property’s best features. Some homes may have outstanding features, but if they aren’t important to buyers, they won’t bring you offers.
The following are the most important areas Oakland Hills home buyers look at:
1. Location
2. Curb Appeal
3. Floor Plan
4. Yards with usable flat spaces for children or outdoor entertainment
5. Condition of the kitchen and bathrooms
6. Master suite
7. A Family room adjacent to the kitchen and offering easy access to the yard
8 Architecture. The more fine architectural details a home contains, the higher its value.
9. Schools
10. Access to shopping areas.
Not all homes have all the amenities mentioned above, so you have to take what you have and maximize it for tours and drive-bys.
Here are the most important improvements you can make when preparing to sell your home:
1. Paint the house if it needs it. Pick a color that is contemporary instead of automatically repainting with the color it’s been for the last twenty years.
2. Paint or re-stain the fences in the front of the house
3. Fertilize the grass so it remains green and looks well-maintained
4. Install new plants, if necessary, to spruce up the garden
5. Mulch the flower beds with small bark granules
6. Remove clutter and any personal pictures from the house.
7. Remove furniture that doesn’t have a purpose and re-arrange what’s left
8. Repair items within the house that don’t work like fans, light switches, ovens, windows that don’t open etc.
9. Clean everything from the windows to the floors.
10. Get a Termite Inspection prior to putting the house on the market
