Selling your home? First impressions are everything!

One of my favorite services is helping clients pull their homes together for a sale!

I take a lot of pleasure in making a home show like a model for the owners to enjoy until the for sale sign flips over to "sold."  I love it when the client tells me that they like what I have done so much that they don't want to sell the home.

Spring is the time of year when (in Florida) lots of part-time residents are thinking about putting their comes and condos on the market.  It is also when homeowners hopefully try to sell their home over the summer and try to get settled before school starts. 

At least that is the way it was before the market took a tumble.  Times are uncertain.  Money is tight.  That home could sit on the market for a while.  But I still receive lots of calls asking me what I can do to help a home sell and to increase the resale value.

We all know that first impression are everything.  Sometimes it is the only chance you have to make the sale.  And sometimes the best ideas are the simplest.

So, with my tools of the trade in hand, ready to share some secrets of how to beat out every other house for sale on the same street, I show up at the front door.  But the appointment actually starts the minute I pull up in front of the house and step out of my car.  Everyone is so concerned with the inside (and rightly so) that they often forget that the first impression begins with the front yard.  So, before I share some guidelines for the interior in a future blog,  let's run through some quick, inexpensive, totally effective ways to get prospective buyers in the front door!

And even if you are not selling your home, try these tips for an easy spring refresher to your home: 

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Give Me Liberty! Or Give Me a Trip to Target for the Liberty of London Collection

When it comes to a really great experience on a chilly, rainy afternoon in London, it doesn't get any better than a trip to Liberty.  And now, all we have to do to get a good taste (and far less expensive) of the store is run (don't walk) to Target!

Target may not have the tea room and the aged hardwood floors of Liberty in London but it has a great collection: Liberty of London for Target that was just launched.  It is destined to be hugely popular, so don't wait too long!  When I was in Target at Gulf Coast Town Center in Estero today, the employees were stocking the shelves and customers were picking up everything as fast as it was displayed.

So, if you are looking for some spring inspiration, head to Target or check out a  sampling of prints and products that can be seen on Target's Web site. Some of my favorites: decorative items (don't miss this great lamp), storage items (great file boxes for just about anything that you need to store), comforters, sheets, pillows, clothing, scarves, sun dresses, flirty summer tops (great prices) and adorable children's clothing.  Who could resist these boots?  There is even a Liberty print bicycle.  And flip flops.  And the chairs.  You can make a purchase that will make you feel like spring for very little $$$.

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