uExpress.com: Smart Moves by Ellen James Martin -- (08/04/1999) AVOIDING FIVE COMMON FLUBS WHEN YOU SELL YOUR HOME

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AVOIDING FIVE COMMON FLUBS WHEN YOU SELL YOUR HOME

08/04/1999

AVOIDING FIVE COMMON FLUBS WHEN YOU SELL YOUR HOME

Videotapes, technical manuals, papers and computer equipment were strewn around the film director's spare bedroom. To the entrepreneur who lived in the house, the room functioned well as an office space. But to the visitor, it would have conveyed chaos.

Had he not gained expert guidance before selling his property, the film director might have committed one of the most common flubs in home marketing. That is to sell a home jammed with personal belongings. "No one wants a crowded house; everybody's looking for storage space," says Martha Webb, author of "Dress Your House For Success," a 1997 book published by Three Rivers Press.

Webb is an expert in "staging" a home for sale. After consulting with the film director, she convinced him to box up his superfluous videos, papers and office gear, storing the boxes away from the home until it was sold. Then Webb placed a few colorful stuffed animals on a shelf, as a hint the space could be used as a child's bedroom.

"Decluttering is one of life's worst chores," allows Webb, a Minneapolis-based consultant who, for 30 years, has been helping sellers and their agents to stage their homes. (Staging means presenting the best possible impression of a property to visitors.)

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Despite the time-consuming sorting process, paring to the bone (and putting the excess in storage) is vital for any seller seeking the highest possible price. "What you're doing is clearing the slate so that the buyer can see the bigger picture," says Webb, who lectures on staging and also distributes videos on the topic.

Neglecting to denude your home of clutter deprives a would-be owner of the chance to see himself living in your space with his own possessions, says Stephen O'Loughlin, a broker-associate for the Re/Max chain.

Besides failing to declutter, here are four other common goofs:

No. 1: Asking more for the house than you should, and then getting less.

Do you admit to being a bit avaricious in selling your home in a market where buyers outnumber sellers? Then, ironically, your best strategy is to hide your greed and price within a narrow range of what similar homes in your area are now fetching. "Asking less sometimes means getting more," stresses Jo Siraco, a broker-associate for Coldwell Banker.

Sellers in fast-moving markets are often eager to place a high list price on a property they put up for sale. But that's a turn-off to the increasingly savvy buying public. On the other hand, a reasonable price tag on a prized home can have the opposite psychological effect. "By pricing just right you can often cause a little furor among the buying public," Siraco says.

She tells the story of a family who recently sold a handsome gray home surrounded by still more majestic properties and situated within walking distance of a public library and good restaurants. The family might have been tempted to ask top dollar for their house, which was appealingly shrouded behind a grove of mature trees. Instead, the sellers stuck to the prevailing market price for like homes. The result was akin to what happens during an auction. Bidders for the home appeared quickly. And at the end of its first day on the market, the property had sold for a remarkable $100,000 above the asking price.

"List your home at the correct amount and the buyers will come. Ask too much and you'll sit and wait for price cut after price cut until finally you sell your house. Why put yourself through all that misery needlessly? " Siraco asks.

No. 2: Trying to second-guess the real estate agent you have selected.

Yes, it's good to be cautious in choosing an agent. Both your money and time are at stake. Just as it's wise to use caution in selecting a surgeon, so is it prudent to research your choice of an agent, perhaps by interviewing three possibilities before you pick one. By the same token, you may wish to interview several agents before you commit to one.

However, after selecting a real estate agent of good judgment, you should give that person your trust, especially when it comes to pricing your home. "Once you've gone with your instincts about the best broker, then listen to your broker," says Siraco, who has sold homes for two decades.

No. 3: Playing "helpful Henry" when prospective buyers come to call.

Pride of ownership and the desire to answer questions cause about 10 percent of home sellers to remain on site during showings of their property, despite the almost universal belief among agents that sellers should disappear, says O'Loughlin, of Re/Max.

Buyers need to be able to relax and examine a home closely if they are to bond with it and seriously consider its purchase. For instance, most serious prospects will wish to open every closet door. But when owners are present, prospects feel as if they're snooping if they look behind closet doors, and they consider it impolite to discuss a home's flaws with the owners present, says O'Loughlin, who is affiliated with the Residential Sales Council, an educational organization for realty professionals.

If you're a homeowner who is adamant about being present when prospects come over, then at least you can make yourself scarce during showings, O'Loughlin advises. Politely introduce yourself and then retreat to a place that's out of earshot, in your home's most isolated room or, better still, to your backyard.

No. 4: Pretending that subtleties in decor don't matter when they do.

In her book, "Dress Your House for Success," Webb outlines five steps involved in preparing a house for market, from decluttering to what she calls "dynamizing," which includes low-cost redecorating.

All five steps depend on gaining a fresh impression of your home as others see it. To do that, Webb advocates asking friends for their candid opinion of how your furnishings should be rearranged or changed.

Taking photos at the entry points of each of your rooms and hallways will also lend objectivity to your efforts to best stage your home for sale, Webb says. This will help you see where furnishings should be changed or beautiful touches added, such as a colorful planter of flowers.

"You have to look at your home with a buyer's eyes," Webb says.