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The First Impression

The first impression is very important when you are  selling your Tulsa home. When I hear “first impression”, I think “curb appeal”. An attractive curb appeal is critical if you want to sell fast.

If your house doesn’t look good from the outside, chances are that Tulsa buyers won’t even stop to visit it. In order to show how beautiful the inside is, your Tulsa home needs to catch the potential buyers’ eyes right away. A few little changes go a long way.

Below are a few solutions you can adopt:

  • Clean up; rake leaves and kill weeds. Trash cans and cars should be out of sight because you want people to focus on your house and nothing else.
  • Add color to spice up the front of the house. Simple but colorful flowers, foliage and fresh mulch are all you need to make potential buyers feel welcome.

The impression the front door area makes is crucial. Buyers have plenty of time to look around and notice the flaws while waiting for the agent to unlock the door. Therefore you should:

  • Replace the house numbers (if needed) or spray paint them black.
  • Replace mailbox if dated or spray paint it black to freshen it up.
  • Make sure your doorbell works.
  • Add a welcome door mat.

Last but not least, don’t forget to clean up the windows to maximize natural light.

All this should help you make an amazing first impression. Your curb appeal will show nicely, your Tulsa home will look well maintained and buyers will be eager to discover the inside.

Staging tip of the week:

To clean your windows inside and out, you need a window cleaner along with a squeegee. Use a vertical motion on one side and a horizontal motion on the other. That way, you will know what side streaks are on for follow-up cleaning.

Good luck!
Virginie Gill, Certified Staging Expert
Owner of Voila Design

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2009 Greater Tulsa Association Parade Of Homes

Accent’s featured listing – 13870 S. Hudson Ave. in Bixby

Presented by the Home Builders Association of Greater Tulsa, and sponsored by Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.

When: Saturday, June 20 – Sunday, June 28
Homes open 1 to 7 p.m. daily

The Parade includes 150 homes in Bartlesville, Bixby Homes, Broken Arrow Homes, Claremore, Collinsville, Coweta, Glenpool, Jenks, Kiefer, Owasso Homes, Pryor, Sand Springs, Sapulpa, Skiatook Homes and Tulsa Homes.  A complete guide of Tulsa area homes will be available in the Friday, June 19 at participating QuikTrip locations.

Highlights of the Parade of Homes –

– Free advice from homebuilders and Tulsa real estate professionals on achieving the dream of owning or building a new home.

– A wide range of home styles, prices and locations.

– The latest materials and technology in today’s new homes.

– Ideas on floor plans to fit your family and lifestyle.

Homes will be open daily from 1 to 7 p.m. Admission is free.

For more information call 665-8559.

Tulsa Homes
Broken Arrow Homes
Bixby Homes
Owasso Homes
Skiatook Homes

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Foreclosure Vs. Short Sale

In today’s uncertain economy, we are seeing more and more distressed property owners. At least 10% of all homes across the country are either in foreclosure or in pre-foreclosure (behind in payments) per the Certified Distressed Property Institute. This drastic change in our economy and banking system is creating a very interesting Tulsa real estate market.  Most Tulsa home owners in this situation don’t know what options they have and believe they will either have to file bankruptcy or get foreclosed on, and lose their Tulsa home.

There is a third option though and is it called a short sale. The short sale is a tool to sell the property for the Tulsa home owner that might be experiencing a period of financial instability, be behind on payments and owes too much on the property to sell for a profit in today’s market. If you or someone you know is in this situation, the first thing to do is to find an educated Tulsa realtor that is a certified distressed property expert. They will be able get your home listed, and package all the appropriate forms needed by the lender to stop the foreclosure process and work on getting the lender to accept a contract on the home that is even less than what is owed. If the Tulsa home or Broken Arrow home is sold for less than what is owed, the goal is to get the bank to wave the difference owed with the seller owing no money at closing and have a settled account, not a foreclosure on the sellers credit record.

If you know of anyone in this situation, please have them call me. I am a Certified Distressed Property Expert and handle situations like this daily and keep many of our clients out of foreclosure.

Warmest Wishes!

Paul Wheeler
Owner/ Broker
The Paul Wheeler Team at Accent Realtors
Your Best Friends In Real Estate!
4625 S. Harvard, Suite 100
Tulsa, OK 74135
(O) 918.665-8559 (F) 918.665.2442
www.AccentRealtors.com

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Small Fixes, Big Impact.

If you need to sell your Tulsa home, Broken Arrow home, Bixby home, Owasso home or Skiatook home fast and for good money, you can be sure that staging is the key to your success.

Today, we will focus on the small things, you know, these things that we don’t even pay attention to because we are so used to them! Staging doesn’t have to be a big expense. When people hear ‘staging’, they think ‘furniture, accessories, art, colors’. Yes, it’s true, these things are essential but before all this; small fixes and little touch ups can make a big difference for prospective buyers. Most of them are looking for a Tulsa home in move-in condition. They certainly don’t want to tackle one project after another and I am sure you’re not going to let these small details ruin your sale.

Here are a few examples:

  • Make sure that your shower curtain in 100% clean. If Tulsa buyers see a dirty shower curtain, they might think that it reflects the entire house. A nice white curtain makes a bathroom look impeccable. This is a very inexpensive staging tip.
  • One weekend you started putting up chair rail and molding in a room but didn’t finish. Well, it happens to everyone, but make sure you have no unfinished projects on open house day.
  • Your door bell doesn’t work? Remember, buyers will make up their mind very quickly so everything must be perfect! Installing a new door bell is really quick and inexpensive. (I recommend a wireless door bell). This, along with a freshly painted mailbox (if needed), will make a great first impression.
  • Don’t forget to fix any dripping faucet, replace broken doorknobs and clean dirty spots on carpeted areas. These little tricks will make your house do-it-yourself projects free for potential Tulsa buyers, and that’s just what they like!

Plus, you won’t have to worry about those little things anymore because they no longer exist!

Remember, staging is not about hiding the flaws of your Tulsa home but to showcase its best features.
Staging tip of the week: This is a DO NOT. Never put a rug on top of carpet when you stage your Tulsa homes for sale . Buyers could think that you are trying to hide something!

Good luck!
Virginie Gill, Certified Staging Expert
Owner of Voila Design