By Corey S. Koshman
News-Sentinel staff writer

The first impression is always the most important. It especially applies in the real estate market where a manicured lawn, clean front door and swept patio can bring the buyers inside.

What are some key tips to selling our home? We gathered a slew of suggestions for local real estate experts.

Curb appeal is the most important part of selling a home, Realtor Rose Marie Mendoca said.

“Curb appeal is when you drive up to the house and it looks really neat,” said Mendoca, a Realtor in Lodi for 25 years. “Looking at it just makes you want to go inside and see what the rest looks like.”

Selling a home can be a very tiring and stressful time, especially during the summer months when there is added competition with a large inventory of homes on the market. Just the smallest touch can mean the difference between selling your home now at top dollar or much later for less.

Mendoca recalls taking a client to see three large, expensive homes. The first two had average curb appeal but once inside they were very clean and the decorating was amazing. The third home they stopped at had a great curb appeal but once you opened the door it was just “blah,” she said.

“If they could have spent a little extra money on furniture they would have gotten that much more out of the house and taken the nice furniture with them,” Mendoca said. “So it’s the whole package that sells a home. Cleanliness does go a long way, too.”

Having your home ready for buyers at all times is very important.

“I tell them they are living in a fish bowl. Everyone is looking in on you,” said Rita Rott of Century 21 M & M All-Valley Realty. “Generally keep the house clean and ready for show at all times.”

She always suggests to her clients to clean off their counter tops. “Simplify,” said Rott, a Realtor in Lodi and Stockton for 18 years. “Get rid of the clutter. If you have a ton of knick knacks, start boxing them up because the less cluttered the house is, the bigger it looks.”

The front door should always be painted or cleaned, said Joylynn Novacek, a Lodi Realtor for 17 years with Coldwell Banker-Grupe. “The outside is what carries the buyer inside. It’s the first impression.”

The continuous upkeep of your home is what will eventually sell it.

If people do not take care of their homes by mowing the front yard or cleaning up the house, then buyers may wonder what else may have been neglected, Novacek said.

Little things that don’t cost much money can do wonders for the house, she said.

The difference that a clean yard and a “staged” interior can make may be the difference in selling your home for an added $10,000 to $20,000.

Staging includes rearranging or buying furniture, changing the towels in the bathrooms, setting the dining room table with napkins, glasses and silverware, and bringing in plants. A common thing in the Bay Area, agents have been known to get a seller an added $100,000 for a home just because it has been staged, Novacek said.

A home that Novacek recently sold originally listed at $289,000. The home was in such good condition that Novacek suggested to the seller that she should raise the price to $310,000 — a $21,000 difference.

“The yard was perfect and the home was in pristine condition. It was precious. When I saw it I told her to raise the price,” Novacek said. “When you buy real estate it’s a visual thing and you know when you walk in the door.”

The increase of homes on the market can have a negative effect on homes that are not kept up.

Instead of showing three to five properties to potential buyers, Novacek is showing 10 or more in the same price range. The better ones are going to get the offers, she said.

The scent of a home is also something to consider when getting your home ready for the market.

Vanilla candles are a good idea to have in your home if you are a smoker, Novacek said. For an open house, the smell of fresh-baked cookies or scented candles is always an added bonus. Animal odor, cigarette smoke and a fish dinner from the night before are tough odors for Realtors to overcome.

“It’s a feeling,” Novacek said. “You want to feel comfortable in the house. You can’t wait to come home to it. You want to sit in the backyard and drink iced tea.”

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