If you are thinking about putting your lakefront house on the market, you may be looking for ways to help your lake house sell faster and for more money. Staging your home is the act of setting your home up so that it is visually appealing to potential buyers.
To be really effective, you should look at both the interior and the exterior of your lake house. Here are three tips to get you started with the exterior of your lake house:
1. Evaluate what prospective buyers see from the street. By standing at the street, what do these buyers see as the drive down the driveway? Avoid making a negative impression. Is the landscaping well maintained? Is paint peeling off the front of the house or fencing? If they see that the house appears neglected, they will be more critical of the rest of the house. This can also reflect badly on the interior, even if you spent a lot of money to fix it up.
2. Next, step outside your front door and close the door; then stand on the stoop and look around for 5 minutes. While the Realtor fumbles for keys and tries to figure out how to open the door, the clients are standing behind and looking around. So what are they seeing? Dead plants, old Halloween decorations in the middle of January, cobwebs? Again, not a good first impression!
It will pay dividends to make the effort to clean and make the surrounding area look nice. Why not go ahead and put a fresh coat of paint on any furniture or accessories.
3. Don't forget the backyard. While that might not be part of the potential buyers first impression experience, if the lake is visible from the house it will certainly make a lasting impression. Pull up weeds, water plants, do some sweeping or raking and maybe even purchase new furniture or accessories (plant pots, bird houses, etc.). If a dock is present, has it been cared for? Are there weak or missing boards that need to be replaced?
And the biggest tip of all? Think of yourself as the potential buyer looking at your lakefront house for the very first time. What impressions do you get? Would you buy your lake house? What changes would you like to see made before you put an offer to purchase your house?
You don't have to spend a lot of money to prep your lake house for sale. What ever you do put into your lake house you'll likely get back by selling the home quickly and for your asking price. - 32399
To be really effective, you should look at both the interior and the exterior of your lake house. Here are three tips to get you started with the exterior of your lake house:
1. Evaluate what prospective buyers see from the street. By standing at the street, what do these buyers see as the drive down the driveway? Avoid making a negative impression. Is the landscaping well maintained? Is paint peeling off the front of the house or fencing? If they see that the house appears neglected, they will be more critical of the rest of the house. This can also reflect badly on the interior, even if you spent a lot of money to fix it up.
2. Next, step outside your front door and close the door; then stand on the stoop and look around for 5 minutes. While the Realtor fumbles for keys and tries to figure out how to open the door, the clients are standing behind and looking around. So what are they seeing? Dead plants, old Halloween decorations in the middle of January, cobwebs? Again, not a good first impression!
It will pay dividends to make the effort to clean and make the surrounding area look nice. Why not go ahead and put a fresh coat of paint on any furniture or accessories.
3. Don't forget the backyard. While that might not be part of the potential buyers first impression experience, if the lake is visible from the house it will certainly make a lasting impression. Pull up weeds, water plants, do some sweeping or raking and maybe even purchase new furniture or accessories (plant pots, bird houses, etc.). If a dock is present, has it been cared for? Are there weak or missing boards that need to be replaced?
And the biggest tip of all? Think of yourself as the potential buyer looking at your lakefront house for the very first time. What impressions do you get? Would you buy your lake house? What changes would you like to see made before you put an offer to purchase your house?
You don't have to spend a lot of money to prep your lake house for sale. What ever you do put into your lake house you'll likely get back by selling the home quickly and for your asking price. - 32399
About the Author:
Hubert Miles is the founder of Waterfront Houses USA, an internet advertising service that provides Lakefront Houses For Sale and Lake Houses available in the US and Canada.
