Homes which are dark inside, or which feel dark to potential buyers, are much more difficult to sell, and virtually always sell for less money than those which are perceived as “light, bright and airy”.  While a property’s owner might love the cozy feeling of dark paneling, deep overhangs and low lighting, it’s not what most buyers want today.  To maximize the amount a house, condo or townhouse in Silicon Valley will sell for, it’s imperative to make it as attractive to buyers as possible.  In many cases, that means it needs to be lightened and brightened to sell for top dollar.

How can a home owner make a house or home be – or seem – more bright?  One of the biggest “offenders” in this area involves windows! Here are a few window-related problems that can make a home feel significantly darker than necessary, together with some potential solutions:

• an interior room with no windows (seen with additions sometimes) or dark hallway

**consider adding a sun tunnel or skylight (as well as ceiling & other lights)

• tinted windows

**remove film, if applicable, or replace with non-tinted windows

• curtains/blinds which obstruct part of the window

**pull back so that 100%, or close to it, of window is visible

• shrubs, and trees covering some of the window

**trim back so the window’s glass panes are 100% visible, if at all possible, to let maximum light in

• deep roof overhang which prevents sunlight from directly entering the home for much of the day

**look into adding skylights over the porch – keep the overhang but allow more light in!

Once you’ve done as much as possible to allow the maximum amount of natural light into the home through the windows, it’s time to tackle other areas where light is either absent, minimal, or otherwise obstructed. (more…)

Sometimes when I meet prospective clients who are thinking of selling their home, I hear immediately, “we only want to sell As Is“.  In the next breath, they tell me, “and we want top dollar for our house”.  Those two are often mutually exclusive desires – that is, getting one usually means you won’t get the other.  But not always, and I’ll show you how to increase the odds of doing both.

To get top dollar, a Silicon Valley home for sale must appear to be the best value for the money and attract the most qualified buyers who step forward with a strong offer.  Buyers will pay more IF they feel that your home is a better value.

There are a number of things which need to be done for that to occur, but one of the most important has to do with the condition and appearance of the property. Confident buyers write stronger offers than buyers who are concerned about the house or condominium and potentially unknown risks. (Buyers are thinking “risk, risk, risk” and “beware of hidden costs”!) Home buying is both a business decision as well as an emotional decision.  To get top dollar, your home has to make sense and appeal to buyers on both levels, and we’ll discuss both in this post.

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