Ready to sell your house and move on?

Arn Rasker has extensive industry contacts, including specialized professionals, architects, engineers, and government entities.  Let Arn help you get your home in optimum listing condition, so that you can maximize your returns, minimize the time on the market, and make the process as easy as possible on you.

Arn has the expertise and resources you need to help you sell your house quickly and successfully. It all begins long before you open your house to showings. You need to see your house like a prospective buyer. To do that, you need to look at both the inside and outside with a fresh perspective. If you follow these simple steps, you will be helping to set the stage for a property that shows great to potential buyers.

Step 1: Letting Go of Clutter

When prospective buyers walk through your house, they tend to imagine it as if it were their own. You can help them envision their dream space by presenting a clean, clutter-free environment. Here's How...

New Perspective Invite Arn Rasker to take a scrutinizing look, bring a friend, or house stager to help point out overlooked problem areas of clutter. When you live in a space, you get used to a space. You don’t see what others see. Trust their advice.

Remove Personal Items Put away family photos, souvenirs, knick-knacks and personal items. These items are special to you, but the prospective buyer wants to envision their own personal items in your space. So, help them out.

Clean, Clear Surfaces Clear off counters, especially in kitchens and bathrooms, storing away small appliances and miscellaneous personal items. Scrub down the surfaces and perhaps even put out a bouquet of flowers.

Create Ease of Movement Remove and store extra furniture to create open areas that promote easy foot traffic through your house.

Show Off Storage Space Clear out closets, basements and garages as prospective buyers are always on the lookout for ample storage space. Now is a good time to box up unworn clothes, toys and personal items for storage or charity.

Step 2: Quick fixes and TLC

Potential buyers will be looking for visual clues that your house is well cared for. How much work a house seems to require will impact the offering prices you receive, so it’s worthwhile to ensure that everything is in good working order. Here's A Quick Checklist...

Bathrooms Ensure all plumbing fixtures are clean and in good working order. Outfit leaky faucets with new washers and clean any visible stains on porcelain fixtures. Replace old, worn shower curtains and bath mats.

Doors and Windows Spray WD40 on all hinges so everything operates smoothly. Have windows cleaned inside and out. Potential buyers will be estimating their energy costs, so fix drafts by re-caulking windows and replace exterior doors if necessary.

Walls and Floors A fresh coat of paint instantly transforms a space, helping it to look neat, clean, and up-to-date. Always fix obvious wall imperfections like cracks and nail holes, before painting. Steam clean carpets and runners, and repair any chipped or loose floor tiles.

Step 3: Atmosphere

Be mindful of the odors left behind by pets and smokers and consider using some form of room fragrance to neutralize unpleasant scents. Replace light bulbs and add light fixtures in dark hallways, including basements, garages and closets.

Step 4: Curb appeal – drive by success!

First impressions can be everything. Many people simply drive by a listing and make a decision based on your house’s curb appeal. So, don’t forget the importance of creating a well-manicured entryway – to entice potential buyers. Maintaining a neat and attractive exterior to your house will show buyers that you take pride on your property. Here Are A Few Tips...

Landscaping Consider planting a few bushes and colorful mature flowers to create an eye catching display. Ensure that your lawn is well manicured: mowed, watered and void of brown spots.

Front Door Look critically at your front entrance: does the door or the porch railing cry out for a fresh coat of paint? Polish the door handle and invest in a new welcome mat.

Front Porch If it’s spring or summer, plant colorful containers to flank your entrance. If it’s autumn, rake leaves. During winter, clear the snow and ice from your walkway. Whatever the season, look closely to determine if any repairs are needed. All loose cement or rotting wood should be replaced.

Shine On Many serious buyers will want to drive by your house after the sun goes down. Remember to ensure that all outdoor light bulbs are turned on in order to show your house in its best light.

House staging: 

Top 10 tips to successful house staging

Preparing your house for selling can be a daunting and overwhelming task - whether you have lived in your house for just a few years or many more. The longer you have lived in your house the more things you will have acquired. The intent of this Top 10 Tips for Successful House Staging is to help you save TIME, MONEY and ENERGY.

In preparing your house for selling you need to take a step back and have the mind set that this is no longer your house but your investment for your future. You want your house to have broad buyer appeal to your target market. Following these guidelines will help you sell your house sooner and possibly for more money than if you did not prepare it for selling. Remember most people want to move into their new house without first having to make updates to it.

1. Curb Appeal Stand back and view your house as if you were seeing it for the first time. This is the ‘first impression’ stage. Depending on the season you may want to have pots of colorful and attractive flowers to greet buyers, a clean and inviting door mat, new and shiny door handles and/or knockers, or a freshly painted door.

2. Declutter Start your pre-pack as soon as possible. You need to decide what you are going to keep, give away, sell or throw away/recycle. Many homeowners will rent storage lockers or have pods delivered so they can start to clear out what is not going to make the house look good.

3. Clean You would think this one is common sense, but it still needs reiterating. A clean house translates into "They must have really cared for their house," to potential buyers. Use environmentally friendly cleaners where you can, and use a good all purpose cleaner for those harder-to-clean areas. Bathrooms and kitchens must be sparkling clean at the very least.

4. Depersonalize We know you love your family photos and personal treasures and for living they are perfect. For selling, pack them up carefully so you can showcase them in your new house. For selling, you want buyers to focus on the best features of your house and not your personal things or collections.

5. A neutral color scheme is the way to go. Choose only 3 colors or less to paint your house for selling. If you have an open floor plan then paint the main floor all the same color. Bedrooms look good in light sage greens or warm blues like the new aqua.

6. Highlight your house's best architectural features. Place your furniture in each room so that you have very obvious focal points that show off the house’s best selling features. For example, if you have a beautiful fireplace then place the furniture in a parallel grouping so that the eye is drawn to the fireplace.

7. Decide on the function in each room. If you were using your guest bedroom as your den for living, for selling turn it back into a bedroom with bedroom furniture in it. If you do not have the right furniture for each room consider renting it. There are more and more rental furnishing companies opening up every day. If you don’t want to rent then borrow.

8. Lighting your house to its best advantage. Spend money on new light fixtures in brushed nickel or stainless steel. Brass is out so don’t fight it. There are many low-cost lighting stores to select from so no excuses for having dated light fixtures.

9. Window treatments that sell your house. The most popular on the market are the 2” faux woods in a white tone to go with your trim. Decorative side panels will do the trick if you need to add warmth and color.

10. Flooring needs special attention and is a good investment for updating the look of your house. Tile or linoleum is great for entryways, bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms; a good quality laminate or hardwood is perfect for living rooms and family rooms; bedrooms are attractive in a neutral carpet.

When selling your house, try to look at your house as a potential buyer would. Think about what originally compelled you to buy the house in the first place, and look for those cues to leverage potential buyers. Treat every showing as you would when entertaining guests -- while it's cumbersome to maintain that level of living while waiting for an offer to be made, it could drastically affect the way a potential buyer views your house as their next home. Here are a few tips to make note of for showings:

Atmosphere
-Open drapes and shades and turn on all lights to make your house look light and bright; open windows to freshen rooms.
-Set a comfortable temperature; cool in summer, warm in winter.
-Turn off the television; play soft background music.
-Keep pets out of the way; make sure all pet areas including any litter boxes are clean and free of odor; use air freshener if necessary.

Added touches
-Prepare tables with flowers and place settings; set out game or coffee table book.
-Start a fire in your fireplace on a chilly day.
-Create a pleasant aroma with fresh baked cookies or bread.

Best practices for showings
-Secure jewelry, cash, prescriptions medications and other valuables.
-It is usually best to leave the house during the showing. If you have to be home, don't follow the sales associate around; they know their buyer and can best emphasize the most fitting features of your home.
-Save all business cards of sales associates who show the house. If people who are not accompanied by an agent ask to see your property please refer them to us; we will pre-screen them.
-Don't discuss price, terms, possession or other factors with buyers. Refer them to us. We are better able to bring the negotiation to a favorable conclusion as intermediary to third parties.

Follow these steps for your house to look its best for broker previews, buyer showings and open houses. Home enhancements can more than pay for themselves in stronger offers from buyers. Remember; look at your house through the buyers’ eyes.

Arn Rasker

Associate Broker and REALTOR,

LIV Sotheby's International Realty

1050 Walnut Street, Suite 100

Boulder, CO  80302

(303) 447-2000 Office

(720) 298-8888 Direct

arnrasker@gmail.com

(720) 298-8888 Cell