McClelland Minute - May 17, 2009

Little Things Count

When you show as many properties as we do as professional Realtors, you come to realize that the differences between two houses are often the little things that sellers sometimes overlook when getting their houses ready to go on the market.

Take laundry rooms for example.  Last weekend I saw a laundry station stuck inside a closet in a small bathroom on the main floor of a grand two storey house.  Now why would anyone put it there? In my humble opinion it should be central to the bedrooms.  Many homes have them in a poorly lit, unfinished corner of the basement.  Some are shoved out into the garage competing with the mechanic’s work bench.  The best one I have ever seen had bright lighting, lots of counter space to do folding or ironing on, a solid rack for hangers, cupboards for detergent and other cleaning products, sewing knickknacks for quick repairs, and a good radio!  And this was in a 1960’s home!

Home offices are rarely profiled but an increasing number of homeowners rely on them, out of necessity or choice.  I love my home office, with it’s natural light, view of the horses on pasture, and the sense of solitude I get walking into it.  Too many offices are crammed into a small room in the basement; and feel more like a dungeon than a place for inspiration.  Two good ones come to mind – one in a high end home in Lloydminster, with its placement just off the front door, and privacy ensured by the use of French doors.  The other is in a farm home overlooking a country garden with water feature and boasting floor to ceiling bookcases plus a club chair in front of a gas fireplace.  Heaven for the self-employed!

Decks are meant to extend the living space of the home and integrate its function with the outside world.  Imagine a couple has toured your home and now enter on to the deck to view the back yard.  Does it have peeling stain, rotting floorboards, and wobbly rails?  Or does it stand clean and uncluttered, with a couple of flowering plants and some chairs inviting the visitor to relax for awhile?   I remember stepping out on one only to overlook a lawn with so much dog waste that it would be difficult to make your way to the back fence without your shoes becoming personally engaged with it.  Needless to say the buyers didn’t stay long.

So don’t assume that the old standbys of kitchen and bathrooms will sell everybody.  Put some effort into some of the other areas of the home too.  It will pay dividends.

Vern McClelland is an associate broker with RE/MAX of Lloydminster.  For more helpful hints on buying or selling real estate visit www.mcclelland.ca or call him at 306.821.0611

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