…And a Beauty Contest.
If your home is on the market, or soon will be, let’s face it. There’s a lot of competition. And no doubt you want the best price.
And the unfortunate thing about competition for sellers is that it not only puts downward pressure on prices, but makes buyers WAY more picky than when goods are scarce. And that includes real estate. Especially homes.
Today’s buyers have options, and like all buyers regardless of the market conditions, buy on the process of elimination, comparing houses seen before to houses that will be seen, to narrow the choices. Buyers are scouring the Internet, driving neighborhoods, getting email updates of new listings, all in an effort to narrow the choices.
One of the biggest influencers is the way your house looks. Inside and out. Every room. The basement, the garage. The closets, the little-used areas…all of it.
Most buyers will look at cleanliness and clutter and make other determinations–right or wrong–about your price, your level of maintenance and upkeep, and how much they should offer.
So. That means you keep your house like a fine hotel room for every showing, every time. Like a never-ending job interview, having your house on the market is about first impressions. The Internet is filled with thousands of article on getting your house ready to put on the market, and keeping it ready to be seen by buyers.
Cleanliness gives the buyer extra confidence
Here’s the short list:
1) Outside: trimmed, cleaned and up-kept like you have staff working for you…all the better if you actually do. And that means the surrounding landscape, front, back and sides, as well as your main entrance.
2) Inside: Clean and clean-smelling. You can’t fake it…it’s got to be real. When buyers smell masking scents, they wonder what else has been covered up.
3) Clutter-free: Like a hotel..nothing extra. Remove family photos and keepsakes, and try to keep your personal touches to a minimum. “Taste-specific” is the term we use in the industry to mean, “the house that’s French-Country,” or, “the house with all the velvet paintings.” You want to be remember as, “the really clean house,” but by something that agents and buyers use to identify your home.
4) No Secret areas: Closets, refrigerators, basements, attics, garages, sheds. No place is immune from prying eyes and picky buyers. You can’t hope that all the clutter from one area moved to another will cut it with savvy buyers. That might mean renting a storage unit while your home is on the market, calling on friends for storage, or using this as a great time to cull your clutter.
I have a lot of great strategies to help you manage getting your house on the market. We’ll work with your budget and timeframe to maximize what you have and put you in the best position to shine during showings and open houses.
