Monthly Archives: January 2009

If you’re planning to sell your home in the near future, you can start working on getting it ready now. Like what else do you have to do in these winter months!

First off, here’s a great video for home sellers that touches on the key areas. It’s done in a humorous manner, but does a very effective job in getting the key points across. (hint- you’ll need to click the ‘red x’ to undisplay the ads at the bottom of the video – bummer)

Next, just in time for you, our REALTOR ® magazine just published an article on using colors to make a home appealing. I think it’s pretty obvious that our moods can be influenced by color, so when you’re deciding to paint your walls in advance of putting your home on the market, you might want to consider this advice, which the magazine says is based on research.

• RED: Increases energy and heart rate; creates excitement; stimulates the appetite. Best for dining rooms.
• ORANGE: Adds comfort, warmth and cheerfulness but too much can bring about feelings of cautiousness. Best for living rooms and family rooms.
• YELLOW: Brightens mood and promotes welcoming and joyful feelings; increases positive thinking. Best for poorly lit foyers and dark hallways; buttery shades of yellow for living rooms.
• GREEN: Most restful color. Reduces nervous system activity and muscular tension; calms and relaxes; offers reminders of nature. Best for living rooms (light greens); accent for kitchens and dining rooms (midtones).
• BLUE: Promotes feelings of calmness, security, tranquility, and cleanliness; lowers blood pressure; cools a room; serves as an appetitie suppressant. Best for bedrooms or any restful, peaceful area in a home. (if it suppresses appetitie, I need to paint my whole house blue.)
• PURPLE: Boosts creativity, imagination, and meditation, but can have unpleasant subconscious responses. Many adults dislike purple on walls, particularly lighter shades of purple that are perceived as youthful. Best for children’s bedrooms and play areas.

Hm-m-m-m … they don’t mention anything about “Realtor® BEIGE“!

Generally, my recommendations – when preparing a home to sell – would be to go easy when painting walls anything other than basic neutral colors. While I’ve sold homes with strong decorator colors, it may take longer if the buyer’s tastes don’t match those of the seller. Here are more of MY recommendations:

• People sometimes paint one wall a very dark color which tends to bring that wall “in” making the room seem smaller – a problem if the room is already small. For selling, it’s best to paint that wall a lighter color to enlarge a small room.
• If you’ve painted the hall baths (for the kids) in Barney Purple or Cookie Monster Blue … REPAINT!
• If you’ve just taken a class at Home Depot on sponge painting, resist the urge to do it for the home you’re going to sell. We see too many examples of this project ‘gone wrong’. 
• Please, please, please … use masking tape to prevent painting splotches on woodwork and ceilings. Do a thorough clean-up job after.

For a complete list of items you can work on in advance, I’ve prepared a “SELLER FIX-UP LIST” of issues that the home inspectors use when checking out homes for buyers once a home goes into contract. You may be able to do some of the repairs yourself, but others require calling in the professionals or a licensed contractor. Best to do it right rather than having to do it over.

If you would like my help, give me a call. I have a list of some contractors that can help, plus, I have access to some vendors that give discounts to Real Living clients. We’ll work to get your home in “Tip-Top” shape.  

Copyright © 2009. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.