Tips for Selling Your Fountain Valley Home During the Holidays

If your Fountain Valley house is going to be on the market during the holiday season, your chances of selling it will be better if you make it festive and welcoming. Remember though, less is more. Here are some suggestions for holiday decorating.

• Start at the curb: String lights on the shrubs or trees. Place a lighted lantern with a red bow at the walkway.
• Put a poinsettia plant at the entrance to the house and/or a wreath on the front door.
• Dont string your holiday cards. They will distract the buyers who will read them instead of focusing on the house.
• If you have a fireplace, decorate it with garlands and lights. Hang stockings by the chimney with care or place your Menorah on the mantle.
• Put a holiday runner on the dining table with a festive centerpiece. If you use candles do not light them if you are not going to be home and dont be home during buyer showings.
• If you are displaying a Christmas tree you can leave the lights on if you are returning home shortly after the buyer showing.
• Put on a CD with holiday tunes playing softly.
• Don’t decorate your end tables. Leave them uncluttered with just a lamp.
• You will enjoy the festive atmosphere you created and so will the prospective buyers.

Last week I mentioned that I was visiting Mary, a Fountain Valley resident who will be putting her home on the market in the Spring. She wanted my input on what if anything she should do to prepare the house for sale. Mary was considering purchasing plantation shutters for her windows. She had gotten a bid for $4500. I followed up with a thank you note for inviting me to tour her home. In the note I suggested to Mary that her money would be better spent on changing out the original tile countertops to granite in the kitchen first and the baths secondly, if resources allow. Home sellers will garner a much larger return on their investment with an updated kitchen than on other upgrades.

Kitchens and baths are the primary focus of buyers. A buyer will usually calculate higher than the actual costs to upgrade and deduct that amount from the list price when making an offer. The goal should be proper prior planning to eliminate the negatives so that buyers have no reason to offer you anything but top dollar for your home. College State Park Blvd. in Anaheim offers warehouse after warehouse with an array of granite slabs. When we remodeled our kitchen this past June I negotiated the price of the fabrication and installation of the stone. It costs us $3,000 for the stone and $2,900 for the installation. I had negotiated $1,000 off the initial quote. The granite covered a two-tier wrap-around island and the countertops. I will happily refer you to the company and the installer we used. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you want feedback on what changes your house may need prior to marketing it. I also have a list of local vendors on my website for everything from painting, electrical, plumbing, remodeling and decorating.

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