Deborah's Real Estate Tidbits

Welcome to the City of CS Real Estate and Lifestyle Show with Deborah Elliott-Shultz. In the past, you may have heard one of the “Deborah’s Tidbits” episodes. Because it gets such great feedback, today Deborah is excited to bring it back. Today, she is going to talk about a few things she has seen while showing and listing properties.   Talk with your realtor before making changes to your home. A seasoned agent can give you pointers on updating your home without making too many drastic changes, saving you time and money. One such change people might make is with their cabinetry. Last year, white cabinets were the trendy thing in kitchens, and many people changed out their light colored oak cabinetry for it. However, that trend is on the downside and the result will be your brand new white cabinets will just look outdated.   One trend that has stayed is brushed nickel hardware. If you have gold hardware in your house, Deborah highly recommends you change it out for brushed nickel. Places you might find the gold: light fixtures, hinges, doorknobs, and cabinetry.   Another things to pay attention to is the color throughout your house. You want to have a single color theme, preferably a neutral color, throughout your home if you’re considering selling (although you may want to reconsider using grays).   If you have a home that was built in the 50s, 60s, 70s, and even some into the 80s, check to see if you have hardwood under your carpet.  Homes built from the 1950s-80s were often built with hardwood floors. Oftentimes, subsequent owners have put carpet over them. Many homeowners have gone to replace old, worn-out carpet to find out by the carpet layers that there was hardwood underneath and the owners decide to go ahead and recover them because they’ve already paid for the carpet. Really, if you have hardwood floors under the carpet, then just remove the carpet have them refinished. They will look absolutely beautiful.   Do not ignore your pantry. Often, Deborah is showing a house and finds the pantry full. People are not cleaning out their pantry. Buyers want to see the size of the pantry so they can see if it will hold a normal grocery trip or if it can handle a Costco sized trip. It makes a big difference. Also, make it nice and orderly. It opens up the space and helps the buyer visualize the space for their needs.   When decluttering, don’t use your garage for storage. One thing that bugs Deborah, and her buyers often notice, is the garage being used to store things from the house. It’s important to declutter the house and open up the spaces so buyers can see how big the rooms are, how they can put their own things in the space. But if you take your personal items (lamps, tables, chairs, extra clothes, etc.) and store them in the garage, then the buyers can’t see how large the garage is. They can’t determine if their vehicle will fit in the garage space and it can frustrate prospective buyers.   Get a pre-home inspection and fix what needs fixing. If your house has something odd, like a dryer vent that vents into the laundry room, get it fixed. This is a safety code violation and will turn buyers off to the house for things like this. If you get a pre-home inspection, a lot of those issues will come up so you have time to get them fixed before the home goes on the market.   It helps to have clean windows and doors. It creates a welcoming atmosphere. If you have a doggie door, please clean that thing. Those things can get nasty and it’s one of those things that just don’t get thought about. It’s a real turnoff if you don’t.   Make sure your home’s photos look good. Recently, one of Deborah’s buyers wanted to see a house on the MLS, but the outside shots of the home were laughable. Why? Because the photos were taken during a snowstorm and you couldn’t see the hous...