Jana Robertson is the current President of the Tri-County Board of Realtors and a stand-out Realtor with the Homestead Land Company in Beatrice, Nebraska. In this short article, she addresses the challenge of selling a home and offers some insider advice for making a property more appealing without breaking the bank.
Jana Robertson has always been involved in sales in one form or another. Approximately 15 years ago, she observed a unique opportunity to assist in a project where home owners were being displaced due to the legal proceeding of an eminent domain. Robertson recalls, “Immediately I felt compelled to do something, to get involved and lend support to their plight. I took the necessary classes to achieve my real estate salesperson’s license which then led to obtaining my real estate broker’s license.” She continues, “Since that time, I have co-owned my own real estate brokerage as well as worked under other brokers’ direction.”
Robertson is a licensed Broker in Missouri as well as Nebraska. When asked to offer some insights into the current state of the market in her area she had quite a bit to say. “Many real estate experts indicate that real estate sales are in a rebound phase. I would agree with that – for the large metropolitan areas. For a variety of reasons large cities tend to be hit a little harder with the ups and downs of real estate so the highs and lows are felt more intensely.” She continues, “However, in rural communities, which are predominate here in Nebraska, the highs and lows are not as intense. Our market remains relatively stable.”
Real estate, regardless of where the home is located, shares one common thread – sellers have their homes on the market because they want to sell. Many sellers ask Jana Robertson what they can do to assist with making their home more sale-ready without ‘breaking the bank’ when it is listed. Here are a few value-conscious, simple suggestions that Robertson offers to sellers.
1) Make sure every light bulb in the home is working. Not only the obvious ones like the kitchen, living room, and bedrooms, but also the ones in the storage areas and closets. The lighter and brighter the home, the more attractive to potential buyers.
2) Rent a storage unit and move any excess furniture out of the home. If there is too much furniture, it makes the house feel small. A home will likely be viewed by a realtor with 2 or 3 members of the buying party so open up the walkways and rooms by moving out excess furniture.
3) This next one is very hard for some sellers to hear and do, but remove all the friends and family photos from the home. Take down and pack away personal photos as they are extremely distracting for buyers. Many times buyers will get caught up in looking at personal photos around the house and not even notice what the house has to offer. I call it the “snoop” factor in all of us as humans.
4) Walk through your home and forget that it is your home. What I mean by that is look at the home as though you are a potential buyer with a fresh eye. Would you buy your home if you were in the market? If this is too hard to do, then ask a trusted friend –who will be brutally honest- to walk through your home as though he/she is a potential buyer. Address the issues that come up from this walk through.
5) Correct the small nuisance items that you, as the seller, know are around the house. Is there a squeaky door that might catch a potential buyer’s attention, are there outlet covers missing, does your door bell work, are there some outside landscape blocks needing repositioned? These are just basic examples of things that sellers get use to seeing/hearing in their own homes but may cause a buyer to shy away. Making the easy, inexpensive fixes shows that you, the seller, pay attention to the details of your home.
6) Touch up areas that need paint. I am not talking about repainting an entire room – simply touch up the areas that need it such as wall corners that have gotten dingy over the years, that old water stain on the ceiling that occurred years ago but you have gotten used to, general marks on the wall that develop over time. We all know where a little touch up is needed – take the time to touch up and freshen up.
Jana Robertson is passionate about assisting sellers sell their homes as well as helping buyers when they are looking for a new place to live. She can be reached via her website at: http://www.homesteadland.com via phone at (402) 239-9657 or email jana@homesteadland.com.