On the Street: Cynthia Meehan Heritage House Sotheby's International Realty
(PRWEB) August 27, 2013 -- I recommend all of the above and more. I am an avid believer in the cliché; "You have one chance to make a great first impression" and that holds true when selling a home. I work very closely with sellers to prepare their properties for the market. First, I always use a professional photographer. However, before the photographer there is work to do; we need to make that first impression the best it can be. Good photographs prompt a potential buyer to look at the next level. That level is typically either a virtual tour or video, which ultimately drives the potential buyer to look at the property in person.
To start, I almost always recommend a professional stager. Stagers can perform miracles, even when you think everything is perfect, they know just how to de-clutter a home and invite the buyer in. If there is a cost issue, I have no problem rolling up my sleeves and working with the seller to get the home staged and de-cluttered, but a professional is best. I've been known to make numerous de-cluttering deliveries to charities with boxes of donations from sellers; as well as raking, weeding, watering, scrubbing baseboards and more… Next, I recommend a landscaper (even if it's for a one-shot clean up), and then a painter to freshen up and fill holes. Once staged, de-cluttered, walls freshened up and the yard looks great, the photographer can begin.
With the photography done, we take care that all photos are displayed properly online where the potential buyer is looking for real estate. With over 90+% of buyers looking online (50% on mobile devices), we have to capture their imaginations and "Wow" them in. We use a quality control system before photos are displayed on the Sotheby’s International Realty® website and the sites it is distributed to.
Once we have caught their attention and wowed them in, we don’t stop there. When they walk through the front door it must be an inviting experience with lights on, a fresh smell (maybe cookies and not the chicken curry recipe ripped out of a magazine at the doctor's office), soft music in the background, fresh flowers and everything in its place. It is all these things and the right price that contribute to selling a home.
So how do I tell a client how to get their home ready for sale? Well sometimes it can be tough, but from years of selling real estate I know that if you want top dollar for your home, it must be priced right and it must be in good shape. Recently, I recommended $5000 in upgrades and clean-up to my clients. They followed my recommendations. That $5000 brought them $39,000 more than the original selling price (before the work was done) and multiple offers. So my advice, get your home ready to sell by staging, de-cluttering, freshening-up and upgrading if necessary. Listen to your real estate agent - the goal is to sell your home, not just put it on the market!
With a degree in psychology and an active real estate investor, Cynthia understands how to make that first impression and how to prepare a property for sale. Many years of experience in buying and selling real estate, a long-time Monmouth County resident, and a world traveler bring a plethora of real estate experience to her clients. Cynthia can be reached at (201)-240-0976 or via email at cynthia.meehan(at)sothebysrealty(dot)com.
Mary Burke, Owner/Broker, Heritage House Sotheby's International Realty, http://www.heritagehousesothebysrealty.com, 732-842-1130, [email protected]
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