Selling a House/Buying a House

[_MrsC_]

DH and I are ready to get serious about finding a new home. We sort of fell into this home and it's not what we want for the rest of our lives.

Does anyone have any good links/tips for learning how to prep a home for sale?

As for finding a new our home, one of my important factors is a good school district. I have no idea how to evaluate and determine if a school district is "good". Any helpful links for that would also be appreciated.

Please feel free to add your experiences (good/bad). I've never done this before. The house we have right now was bought from my in-laws so I've never even shopped for one before.

[pawprint]

I don't know how to find a good district, but if you find a real estate agent s/he should be able to point you to some house staging info. or watch designed to sell on hgtv!

[3girls2luv]

We got a real estate agent to come in and appraise our house and she gave us a list of things that need to be done when staging your home.

[Givebac]

Clean out your cabinets and closets to make it look like there's plenty of space. Don't leave a million things in your shower and by the sink. Declutter, put away family pictures, rent a storage unit if you need to.

[vulturemom]

Clean out your cabinets and closets to make it look like there's plenty of space. Don't leave a million things in your shower and by the sink. Declutter, put away family pictures, rent a storage unit if you need to.


yep, and by new towels, shower curtain, bath mats ect... it is pretty cheep to do so and it really gives the impression that you maintain your house well.
And things that most of us (ok maybe just me) don't worry about like shining faucets and cleaning fridge door and oven handles/ knobs make a huge difference too.

When the house is being shown take any dirty laundry in the car with you when you leave. You don't want them to see dirty laundry in your baskets.

[_MrsC_]

When the house is being shown take any dirty laundry in the car with you when you leave. You don't want them to see dirty laundry in your baskets.

Humourous story: Last night we were looking at houses online and one had a huge master bedroom. I jokinly said to DH "Imagine all the laundry we could litter around on that bedroom floor" then he goes to the next picture and says "You could just put it under the coffee table" The picture was of the living room and there were two baskets of laundry under their coffee table.

[QuiltyConscience]

I second contacting a real estate agent.

I'd repaint walls with neutrals, and take down and decorations or collections , and put some stuff into storage. ( It will also make it that much easier to move later)

I'd put a lot of effort into getting the yard and exterior of the house looking nice, no stuff lying around in the yard, trees & shrubs trimmed, etc.

It may help to take pictures of things, and then look at the picture to see what jumps out at you - cords running across the room, blinds or curtains that are crooked, dirty windows, clutter, anything distracting from the features of the house.

[QuiltyConscience]

What NOT to do:
http://homebuying.about.com/od/howtosellahome/a/buyer_peeves.htm

http://michaelemilio.com/avoid-these-10-home-selling-mistakes-that-can-cost-you-thousands/

Take really good pictures..lol
http://www.visualtour.com/applets/flashviewer/viewer.asp?t=830679&sk=46&dm=teamfisher.com

http://www.zillow.com/blog/bad-and-really-bad-real-estate-photos/2008/07/11/

[crystal555rose]

I watch designed to sell and clutter and odor are two things that are a recurrent theme for houses that do not sell no matter how cheap or how much potential have.

It is worth getting rid of or storing your personal items (knick knacks, photographs, etc.) Cull out your furniture if you have acculmulated a lot over the years.

As for schools...talking to parents will give you a good idea of what schools are good or not.

Good luck!

[QuiltyConscience]

On the flip side of that, if you find a house for sale that's nice but really cluttered, you could offer a lowball deal.