Month: November 2015

Most advice on how to prepare your house for sale involves how the property will look to a potential buyer. Appearance is, of course, very important if you want to sell a house quickly and for the best price. But there are three other senses you have to satisfy as well.

Hearing. Check for creaks in the floor, a rattling washer or dryer, or any other unpleasant noise. You may no longer notice these sounds, but potential buyers will.

Smelling. You might love the aroma of exotic cooking, but visitors may not. Also check for other obvious sources of odours: such as ashtrays, laundry hampers, garbage bins and toilets.

Touching. Make sure countertops, door handles, floors and other surfaces are free of dust and dirt. If potential buyers feel the need to wipe their hands after touching something, they won’t leave with a good impression.

Appealing to all the senses helps to ensure that your house shows well.

According to studies, colds and flu bugs are passed from one person to another more often in the home than in any other location, including school and the workplace. Of food-based bacterial infections, 65% are picked up at home.

What can you do to reduce the risk?

Obviously, keeping rooms clean is important. But, according to The Lung Association, you are 200 times more likely to pick up a germ in the kitchen than in any other room, including the bathroom! So give the kitchen priority when cleaning.

Most people know to keep countertops, sinks and toilets clean and sanitized. But when was the last time you cleaned your computer keyboard, children’s toys, bedside tables, and door knobs? Experts say these areas have among the highest concentration of bacteria in a home!

When it comes to airborne viruses, such as those that cause the flu, be sure to use a tissue when coughing or sneezing. When a tissue is not readily available, use the shoulder of your sleeve or inner elbow, rather than your hand.

By taking some simple precautions, experts say you can reduce your, and your family’s, risk of getting a cold, flu or bacterial infection by as much as 50%.

If you plan on putting your property on the market, it can be tempting to list it for a very high price in the hope that some buyer will say “yes”. But that rarely happens.

In fact, it is more likely that your property will sit on the market for a long time with no takers, and home buyers and their agents will quickly lose interest in even seeing it.

The fastest way to sell your property for the highest price possible is by listing it as close to its fair market value as possible. That’s the price similar homes in your area have sold for recently.

The good news is that the fair market value of your home may be higher than you think. So if you’re considering making a move within the next few months, ask a good Realtor® to drop by and do an informal appraisal. That will give you a clearer idea of what your property will sell for in today’s market.