Page 20 - Amarillo Senior Link Magazine Fall 2021 - Online Magazine

SENIOR RESOURCES

HOW TO MAKE A GRAND ENTRANCE

When Selling Your

House

by: Donna Alexander

hen you’re putting your outside, patio, porch – everything price a home, market the home,
home on the market, think counts. Make it Meemaw clean. It and negotiate the deal. Pricing
Wof it as going to a big will pay off. the house perfectly is part science
party and making a grand entrance. and part art. It’s a combination of
If you’re sufficiently prepped and Second, declutter. Family photos comparable properties, knowing
coiffed, you get lots of interest and crookedly hanging on the wall by the neighborhood, and knowing
great reviews, and some will want the dozens do not add value to the the market. Marketing the house
to spend more time with you. But if house. Pre-pack (don’t you love to garner the most offers (and,
you haven’t taken the time or made that term?) the bowling trophies, therefore, the best offers) is
the effort, you could be overlooked, the dried flower wedding bouquets, understanding the tools at the
and your opportunity to make a and the plaster handprints of the Realtor’s disposal and taking
great first impression is lost forever. grandbabies. All those things may be advantage of all those tools.
It is the same thing for your house. If important to you, but they distract Negotiating the deal can be the most
it goes on the market without being from the look of the house. All those important part of the transaction.
prepared, it is presented poorly, vitamin bottles on the countertop An educated Realtor will be
and that first impression cannot be need to be put away. The stack of knowledgeable about all those terms
undone. New buyers will certainly junk mail and the refrigerator art of the contract and how the seller is
trickle into the ‘party’, but the energy need to be removed. Get the picture? affected by each. And in this chaotic
and excitement will be lost, and the Beware of those pretty things that market, it’s more important than ever
chances of getting an acceptable offer get in the way, too, like the huge, but to KNOW what you’re signing. Ask
will be severely diminished. gorgeous flower arrangement that for an explanation.
sits on the kitchen island. Maybe it
How do you prepare for this party? adds to your enjoyment of the house,
First, clean. Clean like your mother but when people come to see your
is coming to see you. At my house, house, those things actually block If you’re considering putting
we call it ‘Meemaw clean’. That’s the the view. When in doubt, stand back your home on the market, I’d
standard for how clean the house and take a wide-angle picture of the love to interview for the job
should be, clean enough for my room. If your eye immediately goes
mother, Meemaw. You know what to anything other than your house, of Realtor. Years of experience
should be cleaned, but you’re busy consider it a distraction and pre-pack have taught me how to
and tired so you plan to do it next it to be enjoyed when you get to your navigate the pitfalls, find
week. Get ready for the party. Now. new home. the resources to accomplish
Baseboards, ceiling fans, windows, the goals, and appreciate the
window frames, oven, inside Third, trust your Realtor. Or seller’s knowledge of their
drawers and cabinets, under sinks, maybe I should say, “Hire a home. Give me a call and let’s
tubs, toilets, showers, etc. And don’t Realtor whom you trust.” Great talk about it. (806) 683-1299.
forget the exterior doors, inside and Realtors have been taught how to

20 Amarillo Senior Link