The headlines say it all, “coldest February in 20 years, biting cold temperatures, freezing winds and more snow.” With the recent record-breaking cold, it may not seem like the ideal time to put a house up for sale in New Jersey. It is difficult to motivate homebuyers to brave the cold and see available homes on the market or attend an open house. However, sometimes circumstances are such that people need to sell their home in the the first few months of the year. Perhaps the move is due to a new job or downsizing by empty nesters. There are still plenty of homebuyers even in the cold winter months, so whatever the reason, here are 5 must-dos if you are selling your New Jersey home this winter.

1. Accessorize rooms for winter warmth

Homebuyers look at spaces and try to visualize whether the home is the right fit for them and their families. During the cold winter months, accessorize rooms for the colder temperatures. Put throws on couches and warm, fluffy blankets on beds. Add throw rugs for room color and interest and to take the sting off cold tile or wood floors. Add accents to rooms to make them look warm, inviting and loved.

2. Keep the house warm for homebuyer appointments

If you tend to be at work during the day or have moved out of the home, keep the heat up for potential homebuyers that come through the house. No one enjoys walking through freezing cold rooms. When showing a home, the goal is to make the potential buyer feel like it is a home that (s)he could live in, so it is important for the interior temperature to be warm and comfortable. If the house has fireplaces, have fires burning when homebuyers come through, which gives the house a warm, cozy feel.

3. Plow the driveway

Potential buyers that come to look at a house need to access the home easily and safely. If your home is up for sale, do not leave a driveway unplowed or compacted with ice. Moreover, buyers need to access the front door, so the entranceway to the home should be cleared and salted. Even if you normally shovel your own driveway, it makes sense to hire a landscaper to plow the driveway and shovel the walk when the house is for sale. Buyers can demand appointments with very little notice, so a driveway must always be cleared of snow on a timely basis.

4. Remove the snow around the For Sale sign

Within your own neighborhood, the For Sale sign is a key marketing tool. It provides the contact information and phone number for the realtor listing the property. Some of the modern For Sale signs even have QR codes, so interested buyers can use their phones to scan the code in order to access a web page with the home details. After many weeks of snow, the For Sale sign can become partially buried blocking information from potential homebuyers. Dig the snow away from around the sign, or ensure a landscaper does it if you are not living in the home.

5. Maintain winter curb appeal

Nothing can frighten a homebuyer away more than concerns about unexpected home maintenance after the sale. Winter is the season for ice dams, or long ridges of ice along the eaves of the roof and gutter. As the size of the ice dam increases, it can fall off the roof taking shingles and gutters with it. Ice dams can and should be removed if they start to form along the edge of the roof. In the front of the home, mounds of snow sitting atop bushes can look beautiful, but the weight of the snow can ultimately damage and disfigure the plants. After snowfall, brush snow off the tops of the bushes. With heavy snowfalls, contract a landscaper to take snow off the roof too to ensure that it doesn’t collapse or sustain damage.

If your plans require selling your home this winter, I would love to assist. My team still has many more buyers than sellers for homes in this area. If there are any winter-related issues that need to be addressed prior to listing, I have an extensive list of contractors to help address them. And if your home needs a few warm and cozy accents for the interior, I can introduce you to a fabulous home stager that will enhance your home’s appeal so it will sell faster. Call Victoria Carter at (973) 220-3050 or email victoria@victoriacarter.com, and let me help you sell your New Jersey home this winter.

photocredit: Dmcroof (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons