Selling Your Home in the Summer

Now that Summer is here, you may be thinking of selling your home! Because of all that’s been going on in the world, the Spring real estate market has been essentially non-existent. This means that the Summer market will be booming, time to take advantage of that!

The real estate market in Northern Virginia, and especially Arlington, remains incredibly strong. We want to ensure not only that you can view homes to purchase, but that you won’t have to worry if you’re selling either!

Most of the time the weather is cooperative, and if you have children, summer is the perfect time to make a move. But selling a home – even in one the hotter real estate seasons – still requires taking the appropriate actions to set yourself apart.

This Summer is going to be an interesting one for the market, and we want to help you with everything we can to make your home look like an appealing purchase.

 

Going through your house room by room can be helpful in “diagnosing” what needs to get fixed first. Whether that is a DIY project with some cabinetry, or a bigger issue such as pipes or wiring, making sure that you have all of your ducks in a row can be a huge help when it comes to things like inspections and contingencies. If you know what needs fixing, you’re not caught off guard.

We will schedule the professional stager to come out and walk through your home with you to make any suggestions for updates and changes. Following the meeting a written report will be provided. At that time, we can work together to determine the most important update and changes. Should you need a contractor to come out and provide an estimate we can provide referrals. The recommendations are to make your home more saleable, so it is important any repairs or “sprucing up” are complete before we schedule photos and go on the market.

 

It ‘s okay to accumulate a certain amount of “extras” when you own a home. You have room, so why not hold on to things that might be useful later? But when you are showing a home, you need to demonstrate all the available space. Every square foot counts and clutter can quickly eat up that space without you noticing. A house full of clutter looks smaller and is much harder to picture yourself in when you are buying.

If you don’t want to throw it away or give it away, rent a storage space. Whatever strategy you use, get rid of the clutter if you want to fetch the best price for your home.

 

Summertime is for spending time outdoors. It is also a time when plants can grow by leaps and bounds. You want your yard and landscaping to look neat, tidy and as inviting as possible. Buyers are going to be paying attention, imagining entertaining outside or kids playing in the yard. The front yard is super important. As customers come up to the home, they will notice how well the yard is kept and if the flower beds are healthy looking.

You don’t have to be a professional landscaper, but you do need to maintain the lawn being mowed, weeds down and ideally plant a few flowers to add some color. There is nothing worse than approaching a home in the summer where the grass is tall and overbearing. There is something that speaks volumes about a well-manicured lawn!

 

We all know that Virginia Summers can get hot hot hot! Take the time to make sure your home’s interior is beautiful and cool when you show the house. If buyers are sweating while walking through the house, they are not going to be happy. They may also question what state of repair your HVAC system is in. If they think there is something wrong with the A/C, you can expect them to calculate that into their offer.

If you’re not comfortable with showing your home traditionally, don’t fret! Things like masks and gloves are a given, but did you know we do virtual tours of homes? One of our most recent exciting developments was the use of 360 degree video technology. With this we can show your home in its entirety without the hassle of an open house or even private viewings!

 

If you have some outdoor space, you may want to consider staging your deck or patio with appropriate furniture and keep it there throughout the process of selling your home. Indoor plants are also a great way to bring the outside in! Buyers – especially young buyers – are looking to connect the inside of their home to the outside of the home.

 

It makes sense to get any school information that you can  in the hands of prospective buyers who will be visiting your home. Many of the buyers who are moving in the summer are specifically doing so to make sure their kids get into the school system for the coming year. It is a fact that the school system can play a major role in home values. This is something you will want to emphasize with the sale of your home.