Spring is peeking its bashful head out from under the curtain of late winter storms, and soon-to-be home sellers should take note: now is the perfect time to begin the process of listing and selling your home. As temperatures rise and residents shake off the winter blues, home buyers will be coming out in force to find their new dream home. If you have a well-appointed, clean, and carefully decorated home, the prospect of public open houses in your space can be daunting, especially in the middle of the muddiest season of the year. What's a person with clean, well-maintained, light color carpeting to do?
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Consider investing in cheap rugs for the entranceway. While you always want to present a home in its best light, with all of its most attractive features on display for potential buyers, you also want to protect the space and its amenities against staining and water damage. Providing large, textured rugs near the front door will allow those viewing the space to adequately clean their shoes or boots off before tracking in any unnecessary reminders of spring's presence.
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Make your open house a shoe free zone. If your realtor looks at the space and agrees it is feasible, you could place a small, printed sign near the front door asking prospective buyers to please leave their footwear by the door. While this may create a temporary inconvenience to some buyers, you can easily offset this by placing a bench or a sturdy chair near the front door, allowing guests with compromised mobility a safe space to remove their shoes or boots. Provide a rug, carpet, or tray for visitors to place their shoes in while they are not being worn, and make sure the cleanliness level of the home compliments a bare-foot or sock-footed tour.
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Consider disposable plastic runners. Available at most moving companies and some home stores, these over-sized rolls of plastic wrap can save you quite a headache when there is a lot of traffic coming in and out of your home during muddy, wet seasons. They can be stapled, anchored, or taped in place while there is traffic, and then removed and recycled, keeping mud and water off your floors and therefore minimizing clean-up and waste. Don't wait until someone had left size 14 prints all over your new cream carpeting on the stairs; take precautions during the showing process to avoid any accidental damage that could send a potential buyer elsewhere.
Considering the impact of weather on the desirability of a home for sale is just one of many aspects of showing a home, maximizing its potential value, and minimizing the amount of time it is on the market. The team at Pyxis Realty is standing by, ready to help you navigate the ins and outs of the home selling process with minimal headache and stress. Give us a call or drop us an email today to get the process started, and see how easy selling your home really can be!