As a first time seller you might not realize just how many challenges you will face listing your home during the winter season.

Gone is your lovely green lawn, the daylight hours are limited for showings and everyone is trampling dirty snow in and out of your front door. If you plan on selling in the winter, use these tips to help you make it a less stressful endeavor. 

1. Keep it Warm 

You might not be home all day long, but if your house is on the market, your real estate agent might be bringing in prospective buyers to check out your home. This means it needs to be warm and comfortable. Do not turn down the heat just because you will not be home all day; you want buyers to be toasty, too. 

2. Keep it Clear 

Your walkway and drive need to be clear enough for your real estate agent and potential buyers to park and walk to your front door. If it has been snowing and your house is inaccessible, you might just lose out on a sale. 

3. Open Your Home to Natural Light 

It is an often overlooked aspect of selling, but in the middle of winter, the view can be rather spectacular. Open your blinds so that your house has plenty of natural light and your buyers can see the lovely view of your neighborhood while it is white with fresh snow. 

4. Make Your House Cozy 

While winter comes with a set of challenges for sellers, there are also some benefits that you do not get during the summer. Winter strikes thoughts of curling up by the fire with a glass of wine or cocoa and a good book. It makes people think of the holidays and the scents that go with. Try staging your home to look exactly how they picture it in their minds so that they see each room with their belongings and their family curled up by that roaring fire. 

5. Keep Windows Washed

If you live in a snowy climate, you need to keep your windows washed. As lovely as the snow is it can make your windows appear dirty. Keep them clean so that potential buyers can see outside. This way buyers are left with the opinion that your house is clean and well kept. 

6. Light a Candle

You do not want to light a candle if you are not home, but if you are home and a buyer is coming to look at your house. Light a candle. The best-selling candle scent during the holidays is fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. Light this candle in the house to make it smell inviting. If you do not have a cookie candle, you can use anything that smells like cinnamon, apple or anything vanilla. It makes buyers feel right at home. 

The middle of winter is the time in which buyers will not get to see the glorious view of the blooms in your garden, your lovely green grass or your pretty shade trees that make summer so wonderful. Because they are missing out on so much that your home has to offer during the winter months, your job is to make your home more appealing in other ways. Take these steps and you’ll make potential buyers feel right at home. 

For more real estate advice, check out our blog or contact us for information about selling your Northern Virginia home.