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-Consider potential buyers spiritual backgrounds in your market before decorating for a holiday.

-Minimize holiday decorations to keep focus on your home and it's features and benefits.

-Less is more when decorating a home for the holidays while you are trying to sell. Streamline the amount of holiday specific decorations you display.

-Christmas trees and other large holiday decorations consume space that might make rooms appear smaller.

-Install and remove exterior holiday decorations 2 weeks before and after holiday.

-Turn off lighted holiday decorations before showings, buyers should focus on your home and not your decorations.

-If you are having out-of-town house guests, ask your agent to postpone showings until after your guests depart.

-Leave out a plate of home-made holiday treats for potential buyers.

-Display summer photos of home and gardens to inform buyers of the features of the home in other seasons.

-Before showings remove snow, ice and leaves from walkways and driveways. Don't overlook outside entrances to basements, garages, and porches.

-If you plan to close the purchase or sale of a home near a holiday, check with your agent, tilte company and lender to verify two business days before closing that they have all the required documents and funds have been wired to complete the transaction.

-If you are closing on your new home, select a mid-week day, early in the day, to schedule your closing time, to accomadate last minute delays by a mortgage loan processor, insurance or title company.

-If you plan to move during the holidays, keep in mind that moving companies will require more notice and could charge additional fees for packing, moving and delivering household goods on week-ends and holidays.

Mark Nash is the author of his fourth real estate book "1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home" and a real estate broker in Chicago. Mr. Nash's consumer-centric real estate perspective has been featured on CBS The Early Show, Bloomberg TV, Fidelity Investors Weekly, Dow Jones Market Watch, The New York Times, Universal Press Syndicate and USA Today. You can visit him online at: http://www.1001realestatetips.com, http://www.MarkNashRealtor.com

# posted by wmbjzc : 12:01 AM