Selling Your Lakefront Home in Clermont

Right now is an excellent time to sell a home, but a successful home sale is only as successful as its selling strategy, even in a sellers’ market when there are a large amount of potential buyers’ out there looking for homes.

Here are some things to consider when selling a lakefront home in Clermont Florida:

Pricing

Prices of lakefront homes and other waterfront properties can vary greatly, even when they are located in the same town or on the same lake. Waterfront property values are impacted by many different factors, some that have nothing to do with the house at all.

Some of these factors that impact lakefront home value include:

Location

Particular Lake and lake size

Home square footage and amount of property frontage on the water

Amenities- of the community/neighborhood, the lake itself, and the surrounding town

Current health and usability of the lake

It is key to set the listing price of your home at fair market value, even in a sellers’ market. The best way to do this for a lake home is to hire a local agent that specializes in lakefront properties.

Cleaning and Repairs

Though homes are selling quickly, it is still a good idea to have your home in great condition before listing it. This will help your home to sell more quickly and for as high of a price as possible. Some great low cost repairs to make include:

Fresh Paint: a coat of fresh paint will do wonders to brighten up a space and make it feel like new. This gives the impression the home is well cared for. Neutral colors are best to appeal to a larger set of buyers and wider range of style preferences.

Curb Appeal and Landscaping: one of the main reasons people want to buy a lake home is for the land. You want to make sure that the outside of the home is clean, tidy, and nice looking. Make sure that if you have a dock it is also in good repair.

Clean, Clean, Clean: there is nothing more off-putting than a home that smells musty, is dirty, or cluttered. Make sure to only keep out the essentials for living and consider investing in professional cleaning services to show off your home in its best light.

Homes that seem to be in move-in ready condition sell much faster than those that need a fair amount of work to make them livable.

For more information on selling your lakefront home in Clermont please contact me anytime. I have extensive knowledge in the local real estate market and selling lakefront properties. For more information on lake homes in Clermont and surrounding areas please contact me at any time.

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How to Stage Nearly Every Room in Your House

Staging a house is one of the major steps to listing and selling property. Just 30 years ago staging was practically nonexistent. Homeowners simply cleaned their house and hope for the best, but with the addition of HGTV, fixer upper programs, and home staging shows, staging is a necessary part of the selling process. But, everybody’s home is different and every room is different so let’s go room by room to find out the best way to stage each room in your home.

Curb appeal

Let’s start from the outside and work our way in. Most MLS listings require the main photo of the house to be the outside of the house or the view from the house. 90%, probably more, of listings show the outside of the house so that first initial picture has to make a great impression.

Make sure the grass has been mowed, trees and bushes have been trimmed, walkways swept and neatly edged, and it doesn’t look too cluttered or crowded. You will have a lot of people coming up to your front door and while they are standing there waiting for their agent to get the key, they will be looking around, so make sure you have enough space at the front door and a welcome an inviting atmosphere. Make it easy for people to get to the front walk, stairs, or front porch. Keep flowers to a minimum and usually only one color at a time. Consider touching up the trim on the house itself, repainting house numbers, and sprucing up the mailbox if necessary.

Front door and entrance

Once people get into the house make sure they have enough room to maneuver. If it’s too crowded, they will immediately feel uneasy and uncomfortable. Remember, there are usually at least three people visiting the home while it is on the market, the agent, and one or two buyers. There could be more so you want to make sure there’s plenty of room for everyone to get comfortably into the house. If there is enough space consider a bench where people can put on their shoes, a shoe rack or coathanger, or simply a small table to set down keys or a wallet. Make the entrance inviting, warm, and welcoming but not too crowded unless you have plenty of space.

Living room/family room

In today’s modern design many homes have both the living room and a family room. This could mean a formal living room and a casual living room or an open floor plan. If you have a formal living room, this should be free of any major media such as TVs and video games. It might have a fireplace so dress up the mantle with just one or two small items.

Have chairs facing toward each other and away from the wall so there’s plenty of room to move around the furniture. If you have a coffee table, consider one or two simple items with neutral colors and decor. Nothing should be stacked on the floor other than furniture and you want to create a sense of atmosphere in the room so if there are hardwood floors consider a large rug in the center that all the furniture goes onto. Large throw pillows or one throw blanket is about all you need to create a cozy environment.

Family room – the family room should be exactly that, a space where families can gather, watch TV, have family movie night, game night, or simply entertain friends and family. This should be comfortable but not cluttered. If there are bookshelves they should be cleared off with just a couple of books and a knickknack per shelf.

Related Post: 4 Things Home Inspectors are Looking for

The kitchen

This is the heart of most homes so staging a kitchen is really going to be a crucial part of the staging process.

Schedule a Listing Consultation

First of all, clean every single cupboard, drawer, and cabinet. Pack away items you know you won’t need until the new house, clean cupboards, organize things in pantries, and clear everything off of the counters. Then carefully put back one or two items per space. For instance, if you have a large island, clear it off completely and just have a bowl of lemons or fruit or even a vase with fresh greens and flowers. Windows should be cleaned and sparkling, and all cabinets should be wiped down.

Your kitchen should smell clean and look clean so having a nice cotton scent or a warm apple cinnamon smell is often favorable.

Bathrooms

Bathrooms, even half baths, should be an inviting and clean space. Once you’ve thoroughly cleaned, I mean a good deep clean, make each bathroom like a small spa retreat. If you have space, allow for a small basket with rolled white linen towels, a few toiletries, and soap. If you have a large master bath create a spa-like environment with candles around the tub, a perfectly clean shower with either brand-new soap or nothing at all inside. Pack away any personal items, toiletries, brushes, toothbrushes, and makeup and make sure there’s nothing on the counter except for a neat soap dispenser and that small basket of rolled towels if you have enough space. A nice vase of fresh flowers or greenery creates a freshness to the bathroom as well.

Bedrooms

Just as with the bathroom, a bedroom should create a spa-like, restful retreat space as well. Beds should be made with a lot of extra pillows and comfy linens and fresh bedding, dressers and nightstands should be completely cleared off with just one or two items such as a lamp, book, maybe a pair of glasses, and a vase of fresh greens or flowers. If you have enough space a sitting area with a comfy chair, neatly arranged throw pillow, and nightstand makes an inviting space to come, sit, and read a while.

Closets

Closets should be neat and organized. Now is the time to pack up any office season clothing and make each closet appear to have a lot of extra space. If people see a crowded closet they think that there is not enough space in the house itself and may be deterred from looking any further. Walk-in closets should be neatly organized, shoes should be lined up or stacked, and shirts and pants neatly folded or rolled on shelves or in drawers.

Kids rooms

You don’t have to get all stodgy and boring with children’s rooms but they do need to be organized and clean. Get bins or chests to tuck away toys that are not being played with or pack up items that can be used at the next house. Organize closets the same way you would an adult closet and keep books and toys neatly organized. Try to get the kids not to make any mass that cannot be cleaned up within 30 minutes.

Laundry room

A laundry room could also double as a mud room so this space can get dirty quickly. Try to keep floors free of any clothing, rags, or towels, wash dirty or wet clothing immediately, and have a space to hang up wet items, coats, hats, and scarves. The laundry area should be ready for laundry day with the dryer sheets, laundry soap neatly stacked and organized, and counters clear of any clutter.

Schedule a Listing Consultation

Garage

Yes, a garage still needs staging. If people think the house is perfectly clean and clear and then walk into a cluttered garage, they may think that you are hiding something else. It may be time to rent a storage pod or storage space while the home is on the market. If you can get at least one car in the garage, buyers will assume they can as well. You can have items in the garage but they should be neat, organized and labeled.

These are the main rooms in a home that need to be staged. If this seems overwhelming, take it one room at a time. Give yourself a week or more to prepare your house for sale before listing. You only get one chance to make a first impression.

Additional Staging Resources:

Sure-Fire Ways to Get a Home Sold

How to Stage Your Empty Saw Mill Lakes Home in Clermont

How to Stage Your Lake Front Property In Clermont?

How to Stage Your Lake Front Property In Clermont?

The largest of the Clermont chain of lakes is Lake Louisa. Lake Louisa’s shore line is rimmed with cypress trees whose needles turn red around Christmas time. It’s a great place to live and buyers know it. If you’re thinking of selling your Clermont home near Lake Louisa, you’re going to want to know how to stage it.

8 steps for highlighting your homes strengths and downplaying its weaknesses by staging:

1) Say good bye to clutter. Having too much furniture is a big culprit in this area. When professional stagers stage a home they often decrease furniture by as much as up to 50% and rooms look bigger for it.

2) Group furnishings. Instead of pushing furniture against the wall to create space, arrange it in conversational groups that float away from the walls allowing for good traffic flow. Thank you Alan Cookson for the lakefront image

3) Transform a room. We all have it. That one room that serves only to gather junk. It’s the “junk drawer” of rooms in your home. Why not give it a purpose? Perhaps designate it to be a guest room, craft room or office.

4)Light it up! One thing that really helps homes sell, is great lighting. Try increasing wattage to 100 watts for every 50 square feet.

5) Go neutral. Paint rooms modern neutral colors that flow seamlessly from room to room.

6)Be artistic with wall hangings. Many people go right to hanging pictures and art in a straight line at eye level. However, grouping things together in collage style or in other creative ways helps it stand out and show off a space.

7)Bring outside inside. Go raid your yard and bring in some branches or a few flowers to place around your home. It’s appealing to bring nature inside especially if it flows right back to what you have to offer outside.

8)Clean up. A dirty bathroom or kitchen are big turn offs so make sure surfaces are clean, bright and open especially in these rooms.

Visit our associate on the other side of the country for waterfront homes in the PNW

4 Keys to Getting your Clermont Home Sold Quickly

We may be experiencing a major turnaround in the market right now with home prices soaring and yet interest rates are also slowly creeping up. This in turn may deter some buyers although we currently are not seeing that yet. Now is still a great time for buyers to jump on the market but sellers may find themselves competing with each other to get the best buyers. So how can sellers compete? Here are four keys to getting your Clermont Florida home sold quickly and effectively.

Price your home about 10% under market value. Don’t freak out, you may actually get about 10% more than its current value because buyers are likely to jump on a deal right off the bat and may even bid up the cost of the home quite substantially. If you the lowest price home on the market for the best amenities the home will sell quickly.

Now I could probably stop there and get your home sold quickly but there are three other major keys to selling your home.

Be creative in your advertising. As your real estate agent I market your home to a variety of buyers, buyer’s agents, and a network of agencies across the country. My connections to social media and thousands of other agents give your home the exposure it needs. We can always devise unique virtual tours, exciting videos, beautiful landscaped pictures and a social media campaign unlike any other.

Here’s a cute video by Rita Rudner – now this is creative selling!

Renovations and Updates can help but they may not be the end all. You have to find those renovations and updates that make it worth your time and money. If you spend $10,000 doing a bath remodel and it only adds $5000 to the cost of the home it’s really not that worth it. Talk to me, your Clermont agent, to determine what works and what may not for updates and renovations to your home.

A cash offer may not be the best offer. In this market you may get a lot of different offers both from cash investors an owner occupied buyers. A cash offer, although appealing, may not be the best offer especially if it’s attached to several contingencies. A financed offer with good credit and low contingencies may be the best option especially if the closing meets your dates.

Every home is different and I want to market and advertise your home for the right buyer at the right price. Call me today for a free listing presentation of how I would market and sell your home in Winter Garden, Clermont, Minneola and any of the surrounding communities and towns near Orlando.

Should I Sell my Clermont Florida Home Now?

Should I Sell my Clermont Home Now?

We’ve been seeing small trends of home prices are rising over the last few months and the general consensus is that the average listing price has gone up about 1% over the last few months and the median sales price has gone up nearly 14% over the last 2 to 3 months. Between February and April in Clermont Florida there’s been 833 homes for sale and 968 have recently sold. This is really good news in that many homes are selling quicker and are on the market for a much shorter time. The average listing price right now in Clermont is about $248,000 with the median sales price hovering around $165,000 which is up $20,000 just from a few months ago.

So sellers are wondering if now is a good time to sell or should they hold out for a little bit longer if the market keeps going the way it is. My suggestion is always if you need to sell now, now’s the right time to sell. Once school is out which is here shortly, there will be more buyers looking for homes since Summers a great time to move. But if you need to sell now, I would urge you to get your home listed in on the market now to get the majority of buyers through the door as quickly as possible and more offers on the table.

The longer home sits on the market the less interested gets from buyers. Right out of the gate, if price correctly, sellers can hope to gain a lot of buyers and possibly multiple offers on the same home. This is certainly something that sellers want to deal with and can be easily managed with a professional and expert Clermont real estate agent.

If you’re unsure or hovering on the fence about whether or not now’s the time to sell your Clermont Florida home give me a call and let’s discuss how much you need out of the home, if you’re planning any repairs or upgrades, and how we would go about marketing and listing your home for sale for the most interested buyers today.