Talking real estate lingo...

In the past year and a half, we have been renovating our house so that we can place it on the real estate market in the coming year. EVERYTHING needs to be done: the actual redo of the house as well as going through every single thing we own to decide what to get rid of. When we are finished, the house will look incredible and we will have downsized so much stuff that we won’t have to have clutter in our house in New Mexico.

We spend lots of time watching the remodeling/renovation shows on Home and Garden TV. We’ve learned all the vocabulary for this project of ours: curb appeal, staging, dated, shabby, clutter, priced to sell, overpriced for the market, maintenance deferred, defined space, etc.

And we have learned all kinds of real-estate-type-stuff that we had little knowledge of a year ago:

1. Keep the interior neutral. The key is to appeal to the largest number of buyers. Earth tones rule these days.

2. Kitchens and baths sell houses. Make sure they are completely remodeled.

3. People want hardwood floors.

4. They also want granite counters and stainless steel appliances.

5. They want fireplaces too.

6. Get all the personal items out of the house before you open it up to potential buyers. Buyers want to picture their belongings in the house, not yours.

7. Get rid of ALL clutter!

8. Make sure the house has good curb appeal; if it doesn’t look good from the street, people may come no further.

9. Make sure the house is spotless…completely clean and shiny and sparkling. Cleanliness sells houses.
10. Make sure everything in the house is in working order, so the house is move-in ready.

We spend a lot of time talking in these terms lately. We’ve become experts in the area of home-selling. When the time comes to put the house on the market, WE’LL BE READY!!!