Selling in Seattle: Franz + Joe’s Top Tip for Sellers

When Cory and Jeremy prepared to sell their Lake Forest Park, Wash. home, they didn’t have to renovate in order to improve their chances of selling. However, they did invest time and money into a few small steps that our favorite Seattle realtors, Team Franz + Joe of Coldwell Banker Bain, recommend to their clients. The only problem? Their efforts were so successful that they fell in love with their house all over again, and almost didn’t want to sell!

Cory and Jeremy work at Microsoft and Google, respectively, and have bought and sold a couple of homes in the Seattle area over the past few years.

The steps Cory and Jeremy took to sell their house were the ones that experienced sellers – and their experienced real estate agents – know well. First, they thoroughly de-cluttered their spunky modern house, paring down their belongings and tucking away their kids’ toys. Next, they took the time to stage their home, and get beautiful professional photos taken.

Home staging can mean lots of different things – some sellers hire professional stagers to bring in new furniture, paint walls, hang art, etc. Because Cory and Jeremy already had a knack for clean design, they didn’t need to go so far, but they did edit some of their furniture, and even rearranged some rooms to improve the flow. They also made sure the exterior and landscaping of their home looked polished and neat, since many buyers make their decisions within moments of first pulling up to a house.

Franz and Joe’s top tip for sellers is to take the time to declutter the home and get good professional photography. Bad photos can make even the most charming home look dark and awkward, and in even in a seller’s market, it’s important to showcase your property’s best qualities. Many buyers can’t see past clutter to imagine themselves in a space – the best homes feel like enough of a (stylish) blank slate that any buyer could see themselves living there.

For Cory and Jeremy, prepping their home for sale was an investment, to be sure – of time and money. But in no time, offers started coming in which made their efforts well worth it.

There was only one problem with their listing’s success. After they staged their house to prepare it for sale, something unexpected happened: they fell back in love with it.

Cory admits that this almost made them reconsider their decision to sell…until simple math made the decision for them: “It was pretty easy to cope with it once we got an offer over the asking price,” she said with a smile.

Now we want to hear from you. Have you ever sold a home? What is your top advice for sellers based on your experience?

Read more about Cory and Jeremy’s story at www.coldwellbanker.com. Also, if you loved these sellers as much as we did, stay tuned for next Sunday, when we’ll unveil a behind-the-scenes Selling in Seattle video.