Negative First Impressions Add Up!

Plan Now To Sell

Boise Or Meridian Homes This Spring!

It is A Great Time To Sell, Inventory Is At A Record Low!

Wow Boise Real Estate Owners! What a winter. Between the holidays and the shoveling and the ice dams, it is hard to find time to shoehorn in a few honey do's. However, if you are thinking of selling your home this spring, now is the time to get ready! Setting your home's entryway up to make a great first impression is step number 1 in getting top dollar. I cannot tell you the number of times I have arrived at the entrance of a home to find cobwebs, chipped and peeling paint, loose tiles, cracked and broken doorbell buttons. The list goes on. Do you have a giant dent in your front door? Is Your door 20 years old with loose trim pieces hanging.  The importance of making a great impression is paramount in getting top dollar for your home. Buyers always assume the worst. In 25 years as a realtor I have yet to be standing outside a home unable to get the doorbell or lock to work and have the buyer tell me that they are sure the rest of the house is in tip top shape. Automatically we all by the vary humanness in us assume, no one has seen the inside of the furnace for year, the garbage disposal jams, there is a drip under the master sink & they were probably to lazy to blow out the sprinklers last year. No the flickering light is not a loose bulb, it is a loose wire about to short out and burn the whole place to the ground!

Double Trouble.... When the buyer for your home is formulating an offer they will have a mental balance sheet and create lists in there heads of pros and cons. Any con that is going to cost them money to repair will be assigned a repair value. Double the actual cost is about what most buyers figure. For example, option 1 leave it as is. The buyer standing in your kitchen googles new doors at Home Depot. They come up from $200-2000. The buyer looks at that and says $800.00 for a new door. Then they add on the hassle of getting it and painting and installing. Another $400-500. So they say $1300 and then round up to $1,500 for the purposes of easy addition when totaling everything. Option 2, You go to Home Depot, shop a little for a door that was returned, or is on sale. Check craigslist, door supply companies like Bentley doors sometimes have a scratch and dent that you can get on the cheap. It may be one of the fiberglass faux wood doors that does not need paint. If not get it fixed up.and ready for install. Most doors that are 80 inches tall and less than 20 years old will be inter changeable! You just took that repair off the list which should get you a higher offer and kept a significant amount in your pocket ! Here are 7 tips that can make you a lot of money. 

"A good first impression can work wonders"

J. K. Rowling

7 Tips To Selling Success!

1. Front Door Appealing & Operational- If they cant get in, it is hard to make an offer. Spending a little extra on a cute front door is a great first step in raising the buyers
confidence level that this just might be the one! Nobody buys a home just because it is cute, but it is a step in the right direction.

2. Doorbell- If the agent cuts her finger on the sharp metal piece that broke while she was trying to let you know she was there, or if half the button is missing. Buy a new one. Morgan garage door has some decent ones in stock. The big boxes have only the cheapest and ugliest. Better yet go online and get a Pottery Barn cute one to match your new lights.

3. Clean it- Dirt, mud, cobwebs, leaves just screams to buyers you are a lazy slob and they expect the rest of the house to look the same.

4. Paint It- Chipped and peeling paint says "This whole house needs to be painted before they even get through the front door. Not a recipe for success.

5. Light it- No one wants to live in a cave. If you have the same old light that the builder put in 9 years ago and it is not bright enough to be able to see the doorknob. Drop $40 bucks and get one that says Ta-daaaaa. This is step one under decorate it.

5. Maintenance it- Maybe the light is just fine! Its just that one of the bulbs is burned out and the other is only rated at 40 watts. Seal the cracks in the concrete, reattach loose trim boards. All these little tings go on the list and have an impact on if and how much each buyer will offer.

6. Decorate it- Hang some art or a sign, wreaths, coat hangers, anything that makes it warm and inviting. Is there a small patio? Go get a bistro table and a couple cute chairs and add some value at the same time. Basically make it feel like home!

 7. Plant it- In both the planting areas on the ground and in potted plants, flowers and hanging baskets. These give the entrance a warm and inviting feeling as your financier is walking through the door!