5 ways for sellers to lure more buyers

While all real estate is local, pricing your home realistically in any market will most certainly get more potential buyers through the door.

But how do you get prospects to take the critical next step: Fall in love with the home?

A recent article in U.S. News & World Report offers tips from experts around the country for sellers in enhancing their home’s appeal.

1. Complete routine maintenance: Make sure you complete any routine maintenance projects before the home is listed. Sellers need to realize that people don’t care if you spent $15,000 fixing the roof. It’s worth nothing. The market expects the roof to be in tip-top shape. You have to go above and beyond.

2. Be careful not to offend: Hunters and fisherman often have game hanging on the walls. Some people are offended, so get that off the walls and into the garage.

3. Consider staging: It might behoove sellers to hire a professional stager. You have to get it right so it looks lived in, but definitely not cluttered.

4. Add curb appeal: “Make sure the house is cleared of winter clutter, that windows are washed, that the front door is painted or clean,” says Brad Knapp, a regional vice president for the National Association of Realtors. “You have to give the house good curb appeal.”

5. Declutter: Remove clutter from the home so that buyers can actually see what all the home has to offer. Any excess belongings of the sellers should be stored in the garage or in a storage unit.