Selling your home is a team effort between you and you agent. Having a professional realtor represent you means you’ll be getting solid advice that’s based on experience and in-depth knowledge of the market.

But as much as your real estate agent needs to work hard to deliver the results you want, you also have your role to play in the home selling process.

Here’s what your agent needs from you to make sure that the process is a smooth and streamlined one.

Be Realistic About the Listing Price

Many sellers have an inflated idea about what their homes are really worth. Of course, the more money sellers can get, the better for their bottom line. But pricing too high is a bad idea.

You need to price your home so that it attracts attention, but not so low that you’re leaving money on the table. If similar homes in the area have recently sold for $250,000, for instance, you’ve got no foot to stand on if you insist on listing for $290,000.

Overpricing your home will only scare off buyers, and leave your listing in the dust. The longer the house sits on the market, the staler it will become, prompting buyers to wonder if there is anything wrong with it. You’ll just end up lowering your price down the line in order to garner renewed interest in it.

Keep Your Home Clean

A clean, de-cluttered home obviously shows a lot better than a messy, unkempt one. When your home is on the market for sale, it needs to be ready to be seen by prospective buyers at short notice. That means it needs to be in tip-top shape around the clock.

Sure, it can be tough to keep your home in pristine condition at all times, but that’s all part and parcel of the real estate game. Your listing is likely competing with many others in the areas, so you’ve got to make sure it shows well, or buyers will simply turn their attention away to the other properties.

If you want your home to sell in a reasonable amount of time, keeping things neat and tidy is necessary. Get all your kids’ toys off the floor, put all your magazines away, and wash that pile of dishes in the sink. Taking these steps will help ensure a positive experience for all the homebuyers out there.

Make Repairs Before the Listing Hits the Market

If your home needs a few minor repairs here and there, do them before the house is listed for sale. Why? Sometimes sellers will promise to fix cracked bathroom tiles or replace a broken screen. When buyers hear this, they expect it to happen. If you change your mind after the buyer agreed to buy the home at a certain price that includes these repairs being made, you could potentially lose out on the deal.

If the repairs are too expensive or rectifying them is out of your element, don’t promise anything. Instead, negotiate the price based on the deal that the buyer will take care of them once they take possession.

Or else, if the repairs are minor in nature, you’d be better off taking care of them yourself – it’ll make your home show much better. 

Don’t Be Present During Your Open House

Sticking around while buyers are meandering through your home during an open house is not a good idea. You might be the friendliest face on the planet, but when buyers know that the owners are present, they’ll feel much more restricted in what they can say and which doors they open. Your presence will only alienate buyers and make them feel awkward.

When buyers go to open houses, they want to be free to open all the cabinets and drawers, poke around in every corner of each room, and make comments to their agents or whomever they happen to be visiting with. If you’re there, they can’t really get to know your home as well as they might have if you had just vacated the premises for a couple of hours.

Don’t Be Greedy

You’ve listed your home at the appropriate price point, staged it, and finally received a decent offer. Now’s not the time to get greedy.

Once you see the offer on the table, it’s perfectly normal to want to counter the offer if it’s well under what you’ve asked, or if you know that a similar house down the street just sold for $25,000 more. But don’t give up on the offer and throw it out the window completely in hopes of getting a better offer tomorrow. Anything close to the listing price should be seriously entertained without nickel and diming the buyer.

Similarly, if you come to an agreement on the listing price of your home, then another property lists at a higher asking price, don’t be tempted to relist your house for more. You don’t know if the other home was listed properly.

The market will command the value of your home, so you and your agent will know what offer is reasonable enough to accept.

Before you list your home, go through all the details about what needs to be done before, during and after the process. Make sure you come up with a solid plan of action, and stick to it. Your role in the selling process is extremely important – your agent is counting on you to ensure the end result is a desirable one.

Small spaces certain pose a set of design challenges, but there are plenty of savvy decor tactics that can be employed to make a room seem larger than it actually is, while keeping it stylish at the same time.

Here are 13 ways to decorate your home to make it appear bigger if it’s short on square footage.

 

1. Use Light Colors on the Floors and Walls

Darker colors tend to be rich and sophisticated, but they don’t often work in large amounts in smaller spaces. Go for lighter colors on your walls and floors so that light is reflected rather than absorbed, creating a sense of more space.

2. Declutter

Too many knick-knacks in a tight space will make it feel even tighter. Get rid of anything that you haven’t used in over 6 months. You might have an affinity for all your little figurine collections or like to have stacks of magazines available at your discretion, but too much “stuff” in a room will make it feel smaller.

 

3. Use Multi-Functional Furniture Pieces

A small room obviously doesn’t have the luxury of housing a variety of furniture. As such, try to find pieces that serve double-duty. For instance, an ottoman that also acts as a coffee table can serve more than one purpose without having to outfit your room with two separate pieces that will take up extra space.

4. Scale Down Your Furniture

Furniture that’s sleeker and less bulky will make the room look larger.  Instead of a puffy sofa with a skirt, for instance, a thinner sofa with exposed legs that offers the same amount of seating is perfect for a smaller room.

 

5. Hang Shelves Up to Ceiling Height

Adding a wall bookcase or floating shelves that extend all the way up to the ceiling can help create the illusion of more space. This helps generate a focal point that draws the eyes upward and visually expands the area by pushing the ceiling and walls out.

6. Use Stripes to Stretch Out a Room

You’ve likely heard that vertical stripes help to make a person appear slimmer and taller. Well, the same concept can be applied to the world of home decor. Arranging area rugs or sofas to run the length of a room at its longest point can help visually elongate the space.

 

7. Skip the Top-Down Lighting

Small rooms with low ceilings should forego central light fixtures in the middle of the ceiling. Instead, use a few smaller lamps and wall sconces to counter the top-down effect of ceiling-mounted lights and draw attention around the entire room.

8. Hang Lots of Mirrors

Mirrors obviously have reflective properties, which can be harnessed to reflect light all around a room and make it seem bigger. Hang your mirrors across from windows or lights so that they can more effectively allow the light to bounce off them and illuminate the surrounding space.

 

9. ‘Float’ Your Furniture

If the space permits, try pulling your furniture away from the walls a few inches. Lining up your sofas and chairs against the walls will only make the room seem tight.

10. Leave Your Windows Uncovered

The less obstructed your windows are, the more natural light will be allowed in. If you want some privacy, you can always hang blinds that can be drawn up when not required. These offer more versatility compared to curtains, which tend to make the room feel cramped.

 

11. Use Lucite or Glass For Furniture

These materials are super hot in the world of interior design these days, so now’s your chance to take advantage of this trend. Transparent furniture allows more light to flow through a room, as opposed to bulky, opaque furniture that just blocks the light.

12. Use Different Shades of the Same Color For Consistency

Creating harmony in a space can be done by using two different shades of the same color. For instance, a baby blue sofa can be effectively paired with steel blue throw pillows to create coherence and make a room feel much more open and airy.

 

13. Keep the Same Flooring Through Adjacent Rooms

If your living and dining area are linked, make sure to keep the same flooring throughout. Breaking it up with hardwood in the living room and ceramic tiles in the kitchen will just cut the space in half, which does nothing for visually expanding the space.

GOLD COAST

Don’t miss your chance to purchase Advance Tickets to the 58th annual Dearborn Garden Walk this Sunday, 7/17, from 12:00p.m. – 5:00p.m. The Gold Coast has 20 gorgeous gardens to showcase beginning at The Latin Middle School at 45 W. North Blvd. and travelling along historic Dearborn Parkway. Choose to explore as a self-guided tour or participate in a narrated architectural tour. Expect special gardening seminars, live music performances, and opportunities to speak with gardening experts along the way. Plus this year’s featured garden will be included in Better Homes & Garden magazine. The $30 Advance Ticket deadline is Saturday 7/16 by noon, then all tickets are $35 per person.

OAK PARK

The Oak Park-River Forest Chamber of Commerce plans to acknowledging their neighborhood all- stars yearly with the Business Spotlight Awards and 2016 will be its inaugural celebration. Oak Park community members get to nominate and elect their neighborhood businesses that excel in the following six areas: Green/Sustainable, Customer Experience, Innovation, Integrated Marketing, Community Character, and Investment & Development. Everyone gets to exercise their common knowledge of marketability and worthwhile resources to promote a long-lasting community.

NORWOOD PARK

Norwood Park residents, since your location is a straight shot towards O’Hare, how have you been sleeping in the wee hours of the morning now that the Fly Quiet Rotation Plan has been in effect since July 6th? The Rotation Plan is a 6-month test that will rotate the use of the 5 runways leading into O’Hare International Airport on a week-to-week basis. The Plan was approved in May by the O’Hare Noise Compatibility Commission and was developed by the Chicago Department of Aviation and Suburban O’Hare Commission to more fairly distribute aircraft noise over residential areas from the hours of 11:00p.m. to 5:00a.m. The most important part of the test will be collecting Citizen Feedback so be aware of how your nights are affected by aircraft noise and plan to complete the Fly Quiet Survey before the test ends in January 2017.

LOOP

The Chicago Riverwalk along Wacker Dr. between State and LaSalle Streets is getting a facelift. Already the ramp leading down from Wacker Dr. west of Franklin St. is taking shape. Next week, work will be done on the foundations to build floating gardens and fish habitats. That means there will be temporary daily road closures along the westbound curb lane of Lower Wacker Dr. between LaSalle St. and State and Lake Streets between 7:00a.m. and 5:30p.m.; and Upper Wacker Dr. between LaSalle and State Streets from 9:30a.m. to 3:30p.m.

LINCOLN PARK

The Bauer family, owners of Marcello’s Father & Son Italian American Restaurants are looking to open a new establishment in Logan Square at 2475 N. Milawaukee Ave. They also own restaurants in Northbrook and Skokie and so they plan to offload the Marcello’s Father & Son Plaza at the corner of North Ave. and Larrabee St. The nearly 1.7 acre property expects to draw bids of mid-$20 million to mid-$30 million. Zoning permits will need to be properly filed with the City depending on potential developer’s needs. According to Crain’s, the Bauer family are still looking to make a sale. Know anyone who’d got an extra $30 million laying around? You know who to call if you are someone you know is interested in getting help to make a purchase….

CATHY MALLERS & DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO

There are plenty of factors that go into the approval of a home loan, including your debt-to-income ratio.

While your debt-to-income ratio doesn’t have a direct impact on your credit score, it’s an important part of your overall credit health. It’ll also play a key role in how well your application will fare when you’re trying to obtain a mortgage.

What Exactly is a ‘Debt-to-Income Ratio’?

Lenders are not in the business of handing out large chunks of money to people who may not be able to pay the loan back in full. They have a set of criteria that borrowers need to meet before any money is loaned out. By setting up these requirements, lenders are able to hedge against any potential risks they may face.

In addition to your credit score, financial history, and collateral, lenders will also have a look at your debt-to-income ratio. This little number is basically calculated by dividing your monthly income by all your monthly debt payments. That includes any auto or student loans, credit card loans, and any other types of debt you may have. You’ll need to provide proof of income, since it’s not reported on your credit report.

Your debt-to-income ratio gives lenders the ability to judge how much more debt you’d be comfortable handling, and how much of a risk you might be for the lender. For instance, if your gross monthly income is $4,000, and your monthly debt obligations total $1,500, then your debt-to-income ratio is 37.5% ($1,500 divided into $5,000).

What Should Your Debt-to-Income Ratio Be to Secure a Mortgage?

The lower the number, the better. Ideally, your front-end ratio shouldn’t be any more than 28%. This specific ratio is the percentage of your income that would be dedicated to paying all your home’s expenses, such as your mortgage payments, property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, and HOA fees.

The back-end ratio shows what percentage of your income would cover all of your expenses, including your housing expenses and all other debt obligations you have. Ideally, this number should be less than 36%. It’s the back-end ratio that lenders tend to place the most weight on. Studies have shown that borrowers who have a higher debt-to-income ratio are more likely have problems meeting their monthly mortgage payment demands.

Lenders might accept slightly higher ratios depending on your credit score, down payment, overall amount of savings, and the exact type of loan you’re applying for. But generally speaking, anything over the 36% mark will raise flags for your lender.

Not only does calculating your debt-to-income ratio protect your lender, it also protects you from getting yourself into a potentially challenging financial position. If the money you make just barely covers all your expenses, you’ll essentially be left with nothing at the end of each month. Rather than being “house poor,” you might want to wait until your debts have whittled down somewhat, your income increases, or you’ve found a more affordable property that more closely matches your financial capabilities.

Even if you are approved for a mortgage with a high debt-to-income ratio, you’ll likely be slapped with a higher interest rate. Much like borrowers with low credit scores are offered high rates if they’re approved for a home loan, borrowers with high debt-to-income ratios will often be offered the same.

For lenders, it’s all about making the most on a return on investment. The main reason why they charge borrowers with a high ratio a higher interest rate is to offset the potentially greater default rate.

The Bottom Line

Your debt-to-income ratio is a critical component to the mortgage application approval process. Lenders want to make sure you’re fully capable of covering all of your expenses after adding a mortgage to the pile. The lower that number is, the higher your odds of being approved for a mortgage with a decent interest rate.