With residential house sales slowing dramatically, Realtors like Bruce Drogsvold of Wright Kingdom Realty in Boulder suggest that sellers put their best foot forward…. Staging can mean rearranging furniture, putting extra items in storage and emphasizing any special architectural details, said Jan Short, owner of Designed to Move in Lafayette.

…In and around Boulder, houses that have been staged - usually vacant houses that are filled with trendy furniture pieces - sell 46 percent faster than those that haven’t, Short said, citing Boulder real estate sales statistics.

…Once the sellers agree to a home inspection, they can attach receipts to the finished report to show what was done to correct problems, said Jerry Chesser, a home inspector for Win Home Inspection in Denver…. When a seller is willing to do a pre-listing home inspection, it increases the real estate agent’s comfort level as well, said David Fish, an agent at Re/Max in Boulder, who pays for the $300 inspections out of his own pocket.

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A checklist of items to consider doing from the perspective of a Realtor.

One of a series of articles on real estate topics. All of the authors of “Speaking of Real Estate …” articles are full-time REALTORS® who work at Tradewinds Realty Inc. at one of our locations in Nova Scotia.

Checklist A – Important things to do before listing a house for sale
By Lynn Stewart and Paul Crocker, REALTORS®

Exterior repairs and touch-ups:

• Repaint or replace your mailbox. Mail boxes seldom age well, but they are a prominent part of the view at the front door that greets potential buyers.
• Clean and tidy up the garage/carport. (Plan on making a few trips to the dump.)
• Repair and/or paint eavestroughs, downspouts and soffits.
• Refinish the front door and polish any door brass.
• Grease the rollers on the garage door(s) and make sure that they work properly. Buyers often open these doors to make sure that they do – in fact – open.
• Replace all cracked or broken window panes. Thermal window panes (the ones with two sheets of glass with a sealed insulating air space between them) often age badly, with the seal failing and admitting humid air which usually results in condensation or “fogging” between the panes. These should be replaced with new inserts because they project an image of an ageing and neglected residence.
• If necessary, repaint the exterior and interior window frames and trim.
• Make sure that the doorbell is in good working order.
• Replace any warped/cracked/missing roof shingles.
• Make sure the house civic (street) number is visible and give it a fresh coat of paint if appropriate.
• Replace worn or noticeably faded exterior doormats with new ones.

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Speaking of Real Estate …

One of a series of articles on real estate topics. All of the authors of “Speaking of Real Estate …” articles are full-time REALTORS® who work at Tradewinds Realty Inc. at one of our locations in Nova Scotia.

(more…)

Speaking of Real Estate …

One of a series of articles on real estate topics. All of the authors of “Speaking of Real Estate …” articles are full-time REALTORS® who work at Tradewinds Realty Inc. at one of our locations in Nova Scotia.
(more…)

Speaking of Real Estate …

One of a series of articles on real estate topics. All of the authors of “Speaking of Real Estate …” articles are full-time REALTORS® who work at Tradewinds Realty Inc. in Nova Scotia.

(more…)