Suzanne Brooke

Great if it was 1974 but not so good this year.

There was a time when we all wanted ducks or tropical fish bordering our ceilings in the Bathroom.  There was a time when Barbie Dolls with knitted skirts hid unsightly toilet paper rolls  and crocheted toilet covers were thought to be cute ( I personally never thought that....I wondered what kind of person would actually think of crocheting something like that...I still do ) .

And once not too long ago our Kitchens were adorned with chintz curtains and borders of flowers and wicker baskets. And we rolled out laminate floors that cushioned any dropped object and kept our toesies warm....unlike the coveted ceramic tile that we walk on today that has helped create a huge boom in the rug department cuz you can't walk on the stuff without freezing your feet ,and if you drop something it shatters into tiny slivers that get caught in the damn rugs and stay there for six months. ( I think I'm a titch bitter )

We wallpapered anywhere else that wasn't pretty enough.  There were florentine designs in the Front Hall, aztec like patterns in the Livingroom to go with the unbelievably cushy gold and brown shag rug and graceful swans,stars and moons or racing cars circled our Bedrooms.

It was like we all lost control and had to cover up or stick something on anything that had too much blank space. No wall was left untouched.

Then there's panelling.  It started in the forties and we never got over it.  Right up into the eighties....if you had a Rec Room...you needed to panel it. Unless you did a mural of Niagara Falls or the forest, then you only did three walls. The colour was always the same....fake maple to go with the industrial thin brown and orange carpet stuck to the cement floor.

The freaky part is that not only do I remember this stuff but I still see it today.  And it's even weirder that some people continue to believe that wall murals of Sedona and borders of rubber duckies are a good thing .

If you're thinking of selling your home and you still have wall paper borders and fake wood panelling....it's time to get a grip.  The stuff hasta go. And while you're at it....if your cement rec room floor still has industrial carpet stuck to it...spring for a sub floor or at least really good underpadding and berber carpet, hardwood or quality laminate.

Todays Buyer wants a clean property with freshly painted walls and upgraded flooring.  They want kitchens and bathrooms that are contemporary and finished simply.

But be careful...

Contemporary and Clean doesn't mean sterile.  Too often recently I've seen homes that were staged to cold starkness.  Nobody lives there...and if they do....someone's stuffing them and their toaster oven in the attic when there's a showing. And folding the toilet paper end to a point in all of the bathrooms means hotel, not home. (This is also daunting for Buyers or their Agent who might have to use the facilities cuz really I can't always remember how the point goes and then EVERYBODY knows you've been there.) I give you permission to display a few choice family pictures... the kettle can stay on the counter and for my sake......let the toilet paper roll hang "au natural".

Next Time: Is it good to keep the glass tank with your lizards displayed in your Master Bedroom when you're trying to sell your home?

 It's a shiny New Year and the Buyers are out there, actively looking, better educated then ever, pre-qualified, and armed with great interest rates. It's just the best time to list your home....house inventory is way down, which means that multiple offers are often the norm...BUT...some homes just don't sell and there are some pretty clear reasons why.

So if you're ready to take the leap...here's a little bit of advice....get your coffee, a highlighter, and settle in. 

The first step is to "let go" of where you live... in order to let someone else live there. Buyers don't necessarily like or "get" the way you to live. Mr. and/or Mrs. Joe want to walk into a house and feel like THEY could be home, not that you'll never leave. So if there are countless pictures of relatives on the walls , dried corsages from your prom twenty years ago hanging from a light fixture and popsicle stick houses that your child just made, glued to the coffee table....it's time take a big breath, remember that you want to move on... and de-personalize your living space.

That doesn't mean your house should be devoid of any life or warmth.  Buyers don't want to feel they can't touch anything.  I went into a model home once and helped myself to some jube-jubes in a bowl... they were out there.... which means you get to have some right???...after I ate a hand full, the New Home Sales Rep told me that the candies had been sprayed with furniture polish to preserve them. I gagged and sputtered my way to the washroom to try and heave up plasticised candy. The thing about jube-jubes is that once they're in....they're in...luckily I'm still here to tell you that there's a happy medium to this. Don't create a show house...create a space that anyone would feel comfortable in.

And here's a nice plug for Stagers.  They really do provide a valuable service. As owners, we are normally very attached to our home and all the personal goodies in it.  A good Stager will gently coerce you into storing your china doll collection and all the collectable beer cans in the rec room, so you don't weird people out .

Let's start from the outside...which is usually where Buyers actually decide they're interested in your home.

 Garden knomes and pink flamingos in the front yard don't help. And if your son has skate boarded up the garage door...it needs paint.  And speaking of paint....pink and purple are not good exterior colours . And an Allens apple juice can filled with sand and crammed with cigarette butts is not a welcoming sight at the front door.

What Buyers initially want to see is a nicely landscaped yard and a freshly painted garage and front door. A home that is well cared for on the outside is already half sold...it speaks encyclopedias about how the rest of the home is taken care of. 

And inside....

What's the most important room in the house to a Buyer ? That would be the "foyer" or "entryway" or "front hall" or whatever gives them the first look at the interior of the house.  If this doesn't get them...forget about it.

So when that freshly painted front door is opened...we need to see as much space and light as possible and everything about this initial impression should say "welcome".  We want the Buyer to come in and feel instantly comfortable..to feel that this is a great space to come home to.

Fourteen pairs of smelly runners, an open hockey bag, winter coats hung up on hooks ( it's August ) and a floor that may be scuffed but we're really not sure... tells a Buyer that there's no space, no room for storage and...how many people actually live here? 

I love animals...but if the smell of cat urine wafts towards the Buyers nostrils upon entering.... it's clearly not a good thing. If there's a pooch  ( it's better if no animals are present while a showing is going on ), make sure they're caged or in a clearly marked laundry room. Lots of people are afraid of dogs...some dislike cats.  Remember that you're trying to create a "safe" place for the next Owner.

 And when a visitor's shoes come off it's good if their socks don't stick to the floor....for any reason...

The interior of the home should be kept immaculately clean. Yeah I know...nobody actually lives like that...okay..some people do but they don't eat toast or cookies. It's a real pain to keep it all together...which is why you want to price right and not be listed too long  Buyers do open shower curtains and they don't want to see rust stains and mould.... and when they walk into the kitchen and open up the stove door ( yes they'll do that too )...it shouldn't look like a tar pit in there.

And there should be no dead things in house. Dead flowers, dead cheese, dead people... I opened a bedroom door once while showing a house and there was a woman laid out "in state".  She looked lovely but I think the owners should have waited until she was planted somewhere else before trying to sell their home.  My client didn't buy that one .  She did get a little hysterical however... kinda ran outa the house flailing her arms...and I never saw her again.

So ...price it right...keep it clean, clutter  and dead people free, inside and out.......and let go.  It's not about where you live now.... it's about where you want to be in the future.