Changes in the Market Conditions in Central Oregon Have Created Challenges and Competition for Sellers.
Currently most of Central Oregon has an abundance of inventory (homes for sale), thus creating the need for sellers to consider more than how much money you may want for your home or how much your neighbors may have sold their home for, even a short time ago.Selecting an experienced, motivated, honest and trustworthy REALTOR® should be your first step in the process of selling your property. He or she should be familiar with your neighborhood and surrounding area and be able to easily identify the differences that separate your property from the competition (like properties for sale in your area).
Conversation With Your Real Estate Professional
Prior to listing your home, your REALTOR® should complete a walk through inspection of your home and acquaint him or herself with the features and amenities of your property.The conversation that occurs following this inspection will be the one that separates the amateurs from the pros 
and help you better define the intentions of the Realtor®. Now, some REALTORS® will make no suggestions, while others may reserve themselves to the obvious "keep the house clean and the yard mowed" suggestions.
What you're really looking for is someone, who although concerned about the possibility of insulting you, will provide an honest and accurate evaluation of every item of concern regarding the showing of your property. Occasionally it may require addressing items of a personal nature and can feel uncomfortable and awkward for everyone involved. Although most REALTORS® will be happy to list and sell your property few are anxious to provide the criticism and suggestions that will not only improve the number of showings you receive but expedite the actual time that your property is on the market.
Many buyers will, even before seeing the inside of your home, make their buying decision based upon the curb appeal of your property. Since most sellers are reluctant or unwilling to make substantial investments into improving the property for sale, I have reserved my suggestions to inexpensive, cost effective things that every seller can easily do.
Curb Appeal Tips
To improve the curb appeal of any property, power-washing and touching up the exterior paint and trim is an easy way to freshen up the overall appearance of the house. Don't forget to include any fencing in this process. Flowers or other plants along the walk way and around the front door draws the buyers attention to the entrance and provides a welcoming feeling. A fresh coat of high gloss paint, in a contrasting yet complimentary color, and new hardware on the front door is a good recommendation that always leaves a good first impression.Oh That Smell
Once inside the house, buyers derive their first impressions from the smell and odors coming from the house itself. Tobacco, pets, cooking, the cleaning products we use, normal dust and dirt etc... All create odors that permeate the inner surfaces in our homes. If it's not already a policy in your home, smoking needs to become an out door event or confined to a garage at the very least. To maintain pet odors to a minimum, pets should be bathed and groomed regularly; their beds and areas of the home they occupy should likewise receive extra attention.
Paint is one of the most cost effective improvements that yield the highest returns on the actual investment. Now while I wouldn't encourage every seller to paint the interior of their home, there certainly are a few that would greatly benefit. Homes suffering from obnoxious odors will effectively eliminate many of the odors with the application of a fresh coat of paint. Adding vanilla to the paint won't affect the color and will enhance the odor removing effect and will provide "scent" for several months. Painting high traffic areas, doors, moldings and trims in a semi-gloss or gloss paint will make the entire house feel and look clean. At the very least most sellers would benefit from washing the walls and trim, I have personally found that a Mr. Clean® Magic Eraser does a great job of removing stubborn marks and stains from paint, moldings and other household surfaces. Paint color selection should be reserved to neutral colors. Dark colors tend to be distracting, can make a room appear smaller then it is and may not compliment the furnishings of potential buyers.
The Wall Paper Has To Go
Wall paper and other items that date the property should be removed or replaced. Although a little tedious and time consuming to do, removing wall paper is not difficult. Utilizing a warm solution of water and liquid fabric softener will loosen the paste and ease the process, and for difficult or stubborn areas that don't easily come loose, steam from a clothes iron will often do the job.Size Does Matter
Regardless of the type or size of the home to be sold, buyers always consider the floor space, functionality and livability of the home. As such every possible effort should be made to giving the perception of space, space and more space. Oversized and excessive furniture should be removed. The furniture in every room needs to be organized in a manner that allows for functionality without obstructing the flow of traffic. If at all avoidable, don't place furniture in front of windows or otherwise obstruct the buyer's ability to look out. Clean the windows, window tracks and surrounding area. Remove or replace dark or heavy curtains and remove any sheer coverings or blinds that may obstruct the buyers view. And don't forget to clean the tracks of any sliding glass or french doors. Natural light is always the best light source and you want to include as much of it as possible and when it's not available (after the sun sets) you'll want to turn on all indoor and outdoor lights while showing the property.Tips To Bring The Sale Home
While preparing your home for sale remember that less is more, less of you and more of whomever. You will know that you have successfully completed your task when your house no longer feels like your home. It is your job as the seller to make an environment that will enable the majority of people viewing your house the ability to envision themselves living there. To accommodate that you will need to remove your pictures, trinkets, nick-knacks, memorabilia and any items that might embarrass you if your Grandmother were to walk through the door.You can maximize any space by minimizing the number of items which are utilizing the space to be shown. Organize shelves, closets and built-ins and remove any unused or excessive items. Although buyers don't intend to be nosey they will look in and through anything that is attached to the house. Medicine cabinets should be void of prescribed medications and other personal items, jewelry boxes and any other items of significant or sentimental value should be removed.
Nothing instills the sense of "home" upon potential buyers like the smell of fresh baked cookies and few things could be easier to make. The smell of baking bread or dinner in a crock pot will likewise lure guest and see your house not just as another house but a home. In the absence of the real thing scented candles mimicking the smell of home cooking are a good second alternative.
While showing the property pets should be confined or removed from the property. Although to us they are adopted sons or daughters who have short hair, walk on four legs and don't speak clearly, to some buyers they are the very things that nightmares are made of and the last thing that you want to do is scare potential buyers away. 
So at the risk of insulting and possibly offending some of my readers I offer the following advice. The REALTOR® you hire is not your mother, although their input may occasionally sound as such, So prevent that from happening you need to put your own dishes in the dish washer, pick your dirty clothes up off of the floor and put the damn toilet seat and lid down when your done using the toilet.
Central Oregon Real Estate Information
Thesa Chambers • Broker • RE/MAX Sunset Realty
541-771-7064 Cell • 541-536-0117 Office • 888-868-2050 Toll Free
Mailing Address • PO Box 3510, La Pine, OR 97739
Michele - great idea - I think I will do just that - it has been a week in progress
Matt - thanks
Missy - It was written for the contest - I can not tell you how many drafts I did of this... but I ran out of time so this is the final product regardless - I tried - glad you thought it was worthy of submission.
Teri - I mention clutter but not much - I was going for the inexpensive quick fixes - and the items that we hate to bring up.... but MUST
Peggy - thank you - I am pretty proud of it.
Sorry Thesa - I didn't read the other comments first, i just looked to see if it was submitted to the contest. Oh, never mind...now I see it. Just one of those things I deal with getting older! Anyway..Good Luck!
Paula - thank you - I worked very hard on it - it is ok.... you were not the only one that suggested I put it here.
Cyndee - oh yeah we have wall paper - remember the big roses and such - you find them here
Sally - thanks hon - I did work hard on it
Thesa, I hope you got this in the contest. Michele gave you a good tip. This will make a good addition to you listing presentation book. Where did you get the graphics?
Ginger
Ines - thanks your was good too - I appreciate your comments
Ginger - I did - htanks for the reminder - some of the graphics I have collected some are microsoft clip art converted to a JPEG - thanks for visiting
Gena - thanks - now I have to get busy on your contest :o)
Thesa, such great information for consumers and for newbies, I love the information that you always post, you are an awesome resource for AR people :)
Thesa- My Mom really needs to read this.. especially tips to bring the sale home... I keep telling her that she needs to clear everything because it's not her home anymore.. it s going to be a new buyer's home.. but she keeps telling me how plain it looks.. LOL
Ray - thank you I appreciate your comment and the compliment
Kaye - mom's are our worst clients.... that gives me a blog idea I need to write down the day I fired my mother as a blog....
Thesa,
Thanks for the post. I have a standard comment for my sellers: "You may not hear what you want to hear, but you'll always hear what you need to hear". I'd rather tell them upfront than have them whining down the road about not being informed. The point is to make the property as salable as possible and we need their help. By the way thanks for stopping by my blog post which is in line with yours, What's A Seller To Do?
John - thanks - come on up though I'll buy the beer :o)
Chris - I have this is word, but it does not have the headlines or the photos - as I do them directly in AR - if you want it I would be happy to share it with you.
Linda = thanks - me too... I have been trying to find a way to blog about the home I showed that left their "bedroom accessories" in plain sight
Susie - the contest was about content - i tried to get it all in there - it took me most of the week with my schedule - so thank you
EXCELLENT suggestion on the wallpaper! Eegads I can't stand wallpaper.
When I first met my stager she totally sold me when she said, "Send ME in and let me be the bad guy and tell them the wallpaper must go."
Tim - thanks for your comments - but the point was content and advice - this is meant for the person seeking information not just scanning and going to the next post.
Beth - I keep trying to get people here to become stagers - to no avail - they do not think the people here would pay for it.
Alecia - nice to have you back in the Rain.... glad I could help - thanks for the comment
Cyndi - thanks it was a lot of fun and something I needed for my Listing Presentation
Congratulations on Second place in the Carnival of Content :) You had a wonderful piece here, with lots of information.
Lexa Montierth
Dear Thesa, Congratulations and My Sincere Best Wishes. Job well done!
Sincerely,
William
Lexa - thank you - this post was actually long over due for me... I have been needing to create something like this for my listing packet now it is done and look what it brought me. thanks for your comment.
Brad - thank you - I am pleased - surprised but pleased thanks again.
William - If I remember right I read your post too... and it was very good. thanks for the kind words
Gena - thanks for the flowers - now on to get your contest completed
Mana thank you - I think you are pretty great too
Thesa ~ Wow! You are such a great real estate expert. I didn't know half of the information you listed here in your article. Anyone who is selling a home in Central Oregon that needs to sell their home quickly, effectively and for the most money, needs to contact you!
Excellent post, Thesa. Congratulations on the second place in CC! Your post should be required reading for everyone thinking of selling their home.
I hope you have a wonderful and productive day,
Jo
Thesa,
Congrats on your post for the CC. great information to give the consumers.
Thesa:
All I can say is WOW......Congratulations on second place and a star! You earned it. One of your best articles.
Sandra
Thesa,
You did a great job! Congratulations :)
Thesa, Good going! This post certainly deserved to be in the winners circle. Congratulations!
Ginger
Congrats on 2nd Place!!
Great information! I know it is hard on people with such emotion tied into their homes to hear "get rid of that" and "make this place less personal"... but it definitely helps!
and wallpaper... geez.... I lived in a townhouse after some renters papered the walls in the bathroom.. .it would have been very nice had they put a few coats of paint on first because I felt like I pulled 1/2 the paper off the sheet rock! It was thick and iridescent vinyl paper... it was horrible to pull down... none of the chemicals or solvents helped!
so my advice is "Don't put it up!... just paint!"
Thesa I loved reading this for several reasons; it was clearly written with excellent advice; it also gave a 'window' into what we do as Realtors® which I am starting to think we should do more often. Sometimes I think consumers are still of the mindset that all we do is post on the computer, put up a sign and hold open houses. And some of that is our fault. This post helps with transparency for the consumer and gives good advice all at the same time.
Congratulations on your Carnival win!
Thesa,
Another well deserved win on this one! Warm congrats to you! Love the Title and the post is excellent advice.
Thesa,
You offer some great information here for sellers to follow. It may be hard to do but it is better to know the truth than to have a home that you can't sell when you need to move.
What can I say, this is origional, and so professional and full of humor, I love it, great job Thesa,
Randy - thanks - I love gold stars :o)
Leah - thanks so much for the kind words I really appreciate them.
Jo-Anne - Thanks - it was a fun post to write
Neal - thanks it was a lot of fun.
Laura - thank you - appreciate your comments
Sandra - thanks - I love stars - I must admit Lenn's post was great.
Suzanne - thank you
Diane - funny how we often feel like their mothers isn't it?
Bryant - thank you
Jennifer - I keep polishing the star to make it shine :o)
Ginger - thanks
Jennifer - they never believe it - I had one lady say - I understand what you are saying about ugly wall paper I am so glad mine is not ugly... it was big roses with that velvety stuff... It was not ugly it was GROSS
David - thanks I love your advice on wall paper
Carole - it was a lot of fun... now I just hope a few sellers will take this to heart and realize it is about them.
Michael - thank you - it really works the vanilla that is
John - thank you - your opinion means a lot to me
Lisa and Robert - thank you it was a fun one
Ryan - I hope it helps you along the road to success
Rita - I thought about using the tag line "Your Straight Shooter in Real Estate" but thought well.... there are some that would not find the humor in it.
Paula - you rock - thanks
Bob - humor? me? Nah? that is a cover up... thanks I love seeing your smiling words back here on a regular basis
Excellent post, Thesa. Well deserved feature and second place win. Bookmarked for future reading. What a great way to bring home some critical things sellers need to know.
Jeff
Thesa, and you do not love it when you get featured ? :) you have many and many great comments for many fellows, congratz my friend !
Ups , was me :) ray, sorry for that !