Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom C
If I could offer just one piece of advice:
As a buyer, I was underwhelmed (generally speaking) by the quality of the photos found on FSBO sites. I did 90% of my “weeding out” work on line. There are currently about 1400 properties for sale each day in The Villages. MAKE YOURS STAND OUT! Find a neighbor or friend or even pay someone for this service if you don’t know anyone who has a good digital camera. Turn on ALL your lights and use additional lighting if needed (flash etc.). Nothing worst than fuzzy, dim photos taken using an old phone camera.
I will leave the declutter talk for someone else to cover...
Good Luck!
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You and manaboutown make some very valid points. I have friends who took up real estate as a career move later in life and have come up with a "formula" as they call it which has been very successful for them. One of the things they stress is the photography. Their point is that most people will use the internet exclusively to "weed out", as you say Tom C, because time is so limited these days by work and/or the many other obligations we all have. As a result, often times the pictures on the internet will make or break whether a person will even consider your home. My friends suggested to never scrimp on the photography. The quality of those photos can make a big difference.
They also highly recommend staging, whether you do it yourself or hire someone. Get rid of any personal stuff and make the house as clean and fresh as possible, and absolutely no clutter not even behind closed doors and cabinets. If you're going to do the staging yourself, I'd take a look at some of the models right there in TV and take a page out of their book. The prep work you do before listing may make all the difference, not only in how much you get for your home but in how quickly it sells.
Thanks, Polar Bear, for starting this thread as we are considering the same thing. Good luck to you with whatever choice you make. Some great advice on this thread already!