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Selling Your Home
You may be living in the home you need to sell and may think some of the following does not apply to you...so try to keep an open mind.
YOU NEED A PRINTED FLYER or informational sheet or whatever you call a printed/photocopied piece of paper with at least basic facts a potential buyer or yes, very likely the neighbors can take. Even if you are living in the home you are selling and invite people to knock on the door at any time they please does not mean they will. Most potential Buyers want to know if a home is in their price range before they bother a Seller.
There are far more important reasons though that YOU NEED A PRINTED FLYER.
1. Potential Buyers need to be able to remember which home they wanted call back on...ask questions...see a second time...make you an offer!
2. Your Neighbors all have friends and family they would like to have in the Park with them. Make it easy for the Neighbors to promote your home by providing a flyer they can spread the word with. All Parks have bulletin boards somewhere, the Clubhouse, mail area, laundry, somewhere...use them.
3. If you are not at home or living in the home the printed material markets your home by providing information to community residents or folks driving through. An info box attached to a hand rail or on the FOR SALE sign itself works wonders! At the very least, post the flyer inside a window in conjunction with the FOR SALE sign.
I realize as a 55+ home owner you may not be able to take care of some of these things yourself so if you need to hire it done ask around or e-mail me - keep in mind how much it costs you every month the home is not sold. I offer a few of the least costly.
CURB APPEAL gives potential Buyers incentive to knock on your door or call for an appointment to see the inside. If you have owned your home some years you may not realize how much the landscaping has grown. If plantings are actually touching the walls or windows or you can't use the walk way because of them, they are detracting the the overall appearance of the home. If plants are dead get rid of them. Keep the lawn mowed and have growing things removed from the gutters! Old, or disintigrating doormats - throw away. Stacks/boxes of this that or the other sitting around the carport you've been meaning to deal with...make it go away.
NEW HOUSE NUMBERS simple, brass ones are only $3. apiece or repaint existing or stencil paint new ones...on the drive way is good too.
PAINT THE DRIVEWAY or at least the portion between the street and the overhang of the carport.
POWER WASH the exterior - with rare exception this needs to be done once a year - if you don't remember the last time it was done, the home needs it.
If the home does not look good on the outside....few buyers want to look inside.
Showing Instructions
Great, you have a potential buyer! Most buyers decide within the first 10 seconds of walking thru the door how they feel about the home...so make it positive!
1. Have the lights turned on. All the lights including inside the closets. If you are not occupying the home, get them on prior to the appointment time or have all the lights on and throw the main breaker at the pole outside. (the water heater breaker should be OFF within the breaker box inside the home and the water turned off OUTSIDE)
2. Unless there is some kind of unsightly view, have the drapes, blinds, verticals or window treatments OPEN.
3. The temperature within the home should be comfortable...if you are showing the home June through September and there is no humidistat installed - set the thermostat around 82 degrees which will keep the humidity low and the power bill reasonable. Once you are inside turn the thermostat down...the buyers will feel cold blowing and know the AC is working. From October through May you may not need any air conditioning on unless we're in some kind of really cold spell, again, turn the thermostat up and the buyers will feel the heat blowing.
4. If you are living in the home put valubles away including medications. Avoid showing the home without an appointment unless you personally know the person as a friend or neighbor in your Park or the friend/neighbor brings the potential buyer. Serious buyers make appointments.
5. Use the front door entry! Stay with me on this one....95% of the time carport doors open into confined hallways or kitchens...this works against you because most 55+ homes have under 1000 square feet and buyers - frequently downsizing, already concerned about a lack of space and many never having been in a manufactured home are disoriented to the layout/floorplan when coming in thru the carport. Use the front door entry and if you expect buyers to remove their shoes have a sturdy surface for them to sit on while they remove their shoes.
6. Set the stage as if you're selling a "model home". Of course the home should be clean but if you are moving out the packing should have already started.
A. Box up and ship as much as possible. If you can't ship it consider a storage facility.
B. Declutter kitchen countertops to the absolute essentials.
C. Standing at the doorway of each room there should be a focal point. A focal point can be as simple as a dressed bed or window. Consider re-arranging furniture. Remove excessive photos.
D. Keep the toilet lid closed. If you save slivers of bar soap - throw them away. If the bath still has harvest gold or avocado green fixtures - hang a trendy new shower curtain even if there are glass doors and consider buying a few coordinating accessories like a towel set.
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