The Edmonton Real Estate Blog, Market Information, Advise & Opinion

How does your listing smell? Does it smell like cultural cooking, cigarette smoke, or medical issues? Has it been locked up and now smells stale? Buyers use their noses to form opinions when they enter a property. Sellers sometimes overcompensate for years of not cleaning by an excessive use of bleach when cleaning to sell. Harsh chemical cleaners are just as bad as not cleaning at all. Moderation in use of products is important and in fact we recommend a more natural approach that is environmentally friendly and not harmful to those with breathing issues. Simply try vinegar and water: it goes a long way. We also do not recommend hiding bad smells with overpowering scented candles either. Doing this screams "we are hiding something!" and buyers see past that very quickly. A simple clean fresh air approach is best when cleaning.

Typically, buyers searching in the winter months are more serious. And sellers who are motivated to close quickly can make it happen with your help this winter.

Listings need to Shine! Shine! Shine! Everything should sparkle and pass the "white glove" test. When I sold real estate years ago, there was nothing worse than walking into a property to show it and not wanting to remove my footwear due to the condition or cleanliness of the flooring. Buyers do not appreciate other people's filth.

When a seller expects to sell for top dollar they need to present a product that commands that price. Dirt and grime need to be removed off every nook and cranny. Sinks, light fixtures, mirrors and bathroom fixtures should all shine. Baseboards are often neglected and need to be washed thoroughly, as well as behind appliances and window wells. Every inch of dirt is like a dollar off your bottom line. Cleaning with a professional crew may be required and it cannot be ignored.

Some floor plans make me wonder what builders are thinking when they draw them up. Often there are walls that make no sense, fireplaces on strange angles, extra rooms that are really unnecessary and layouts that simply are not conducive to furniture layout. This makes home staging even more important to try to outline to the buyer how a room can be used. Creative techniques can be implemented to layout the items for the best presentation.

Staging shows a buyer what it can be like when they move in, especially if the layout is undesirable. Place furniture in every room suited for the best purpose possible to help a buyer know what to do with it when they move in. Often a property won’t sell when there is confusion about what the layout is all about. Staging takes away the confusion and offers sellers a solution to their layout problems.

Sellers need to make closets look like a department store’s display of towels, beautiful and colour coordinated with neat folds. Make no mistake, the buyers are checking out all areas and considering them for their use. First impressions are key in every area of the home: furnace rooms, cupboards, laundry, closets, garages, decks and underneath them. Tell your sellers to leave no area un-staged and keep all their equity. Full de-cluttering services are available through Staging Services.

A viable storage option is the newly developed PODS® site in west Edmonton (online at www.pods.com). This is a great option for a couple of reasons. The POD is delivered to the site and the seller loads it. The seller locks it and then the POD is removed by the company and taken to heated storage. Once the seller moves to their new home, the POD is then dropped off for the unloading process.