When you’re selling your Guelph home, keeping it in show-ready condition isn’t easy. Maniacally cleaning up after yourself in a place that probably looks like a hotel suite isn’t really a normal state of being.And as if that weren’t stressful enough, factor in things like leaving the lights on for showings and bumping up the air conditioning or heating might give rise to worries about rising utility bills.
I get it. I live in a tiny old house and we really try not to burn up energy. I don’t crank the AC in the summer and I do bundle up in the winter. Still, somehow my utility bills always seem ‘too high’ when they arrive. But here’s the thing. If you’re the kind of person who keeps the house a little warm in the summer or a little cool in the winter, because you hate to spend a lot of money on heating and cooling… you’ll simply need to adjust your mindset – and your thermostat – while your home is on the market.
In the winter, run your furnace slightly higher than normal. In the summer, if you’re lucky enough to have air conditioning, keep it set so that it kicks on the moment the home becomes too warm.
Why? The answer is simple: prospective buyers are likely to stay longer in a house that’s comfortable. This past summer, I took some clients to a beautiful home for sale in Guelph’s Old University neighbourhood. Our visit happened to take place in the midst of a heat wave. The house lacked air conditioning, but my clients like me aren’t huge users of AC. Then again, with not a single fan running in the house, maybe we were all of a sudden thinking about the lack of it! Even during our evening showing, the place felt like an oven; we didn’t linger for long.
In winter months, a cold house isn’t comfortable but more disconcerting is that it can make buyers nervous. What’s wrong with the furnace? Is there inadequate insulation in this place?
By making your home a temperature sanctuary, you avoid these questions. Consider it one of the many costs associated with selling your home which, if done properly and using a great Guelph real estate agent (hint, hint,) shouldn’t take long at all in today’s market.
