Ten Steps To Making More

by Darrin DeRoches March 13 - 19, 2014

This winter has been brutal for weather but the real estate market is still hopping. Next week it is officially spring and the weather may not be co–operating but the market is. The phones have been ringing all week and once March break is over the market will be in full spring fling. So what should you be doing?     Get your property ready for the spring market by doing these ten steps. Begin by donating something. Take a look around your home and make a pile of clothes, furniture — whatever — and donate it away. You will feel good about it and your home will begin the positive purge.     Next, trash all of the stuff that is not worth donating and get it out of your life. The third step is to sell something. It may too valuable to just donate so list it online or have a garage sale. The money you will raise from this will give you a “piggy bank” to invest in the supplies you need to do the next steps. Fourth thing to do is paint something. Take the money you made and freshen up a room or the whole house. This fresh step will give you pride in your property and it will show once you put the property up for sale. Once that is done, clean something. It may just be all the windows that are dirty from the harsh winter, the yard from the ice storms or the winter grime from all those grey days. Get serious and scrub the property clean and once you’re done — do it again. A clean property sells faster than a “staged property”. That said, now it is time to do the sixth step and organize — it can be your kitchen cupboards or your basement storage. Make things neat and tidy so that your property looks ready to move into.     Next, renew something that is tired. It can be a simple project but a little update goes a long way. Now try to update something in the home. By adding a new trend or even colour, a simple change can bring todays style into your home and give potential buyers the push to see how the home can be updated. The ninth step is to plant something. Bring in a little colour and freshness to your property. It can be a simple pot or a whole new yard of grass. Take a look around and update your landscape.     Lastly, take a look around your now clean, freshly painted, de–cluttered property and spend the last dollars you made by selling off your unwanted items and buy a new “upgrade”. Reward yourself for the hard work and buy something that may upgrade the property or better yet something that you can take to the new property as yours will be selling for top dollar since you did all ten steps. Come on sunshine! V     Darrin DeRoches is a local real estate and mortgage broker. He can be reached to answer questions, comments or stories about real estate experiences through this weekly column at sold@uniquerealty.ca.