Buying a home is a bit like dating. Twenty-first century dating, that is. Here are some tips to make your property attractive to those scoping your profile … uh, listing.
95% of homebuyers start their search online. I presume fewer daters start their search online, but many check out the options. As a homeseller or a swingin’ single, you can easily turn people off, or preferably catch their interest, with what you present. The more interest you garner – the more likely you are to find just the right buyer for your home.
Like an online dating profile, your listing makes a potent first impression! Viewers eliminate those that are totally inappropriate (too few bedrooms/ too chronically unemployed). They look for those that meet their basic criteria (right price range/ shared passion for Chia pets). And then? Much of the rest comes down to 2 things: Attraction and Instinct.
Attraction. A magnetic draw towards someone or something.
As a homeseller, there are many ways you can create appeal for your home. Here are a few.
- The Three Ds. The basics of preparing to sell are: Declutter, Depersonalize, and Deep Clean. These three things alone bring huge returns on the time and money you invest, and help you make the right impression. According to the HomeGain 2011 survey, cleaning and decluttering offer the single highest return on investment of any home improvement! The cost is minimal but you can expect $5.86 back for every $1 you spend. Sweat some equity or hire the pros.
- Pare Down. Here we mean furniture AND stuff. Do you have too much seating in your home? It’s needed when you have 20 people over for a special occasion. But on a day-to-day basis, you should have enough seating in the dining room for as many people as there are bedrooms, plus 2 to 3 maximum. Two-bedroom condo? Seating for four. Three- or four-bedroom house? Seating for six. As you pare down the linens, clothing, and collectibles that you’ve outgrown, we hope you need fewer dressers, armoires, shelving units, or stand-alone storage cabinets too, which can either be donated or stored off-site. In this way, you’ll reduce distractions and show off your home’s square footage.
- Look Great in Photos. With all those buyers looking online first, your listing photos can make or break your home sale. Potential buyers quickly eliminate homes that look bad in photos – unless they’re looking for a fixer-upper. In which case they are also looking for a bargain. The good news? If you’ve done the Three Ds and Pared Down, your listing will photograph better than many competitors’ listings.
On to …
Instinct. The sixth sense. That gut feeling.
A professionally trained stager makes it a priority to understand buyer psychology, to know what will trigger instincts. This isn’t to manipulate buyers, but to present a well-maintained home that’s inspiring, beautiful, and relaxing. Like having a really great conversation with someone that makes you fall head over heels in love. Substance and style.
Sometimes stagers get a bad rap, and I think part of that has to do with people misunderstanding our role. Some suspect us of being devious in some fashion. I’d like to challenge that myth.
Firstly, distracting buyers from serious flaws is super unethical. Anyone calling themselves a professional covered that in their training (training that is ideally approved by the Real Estate Staging Association. Click here for RESA Code of Ethics.) .
Duping buyers is not only unethical. It’s also unlikely to ‘work’ in the long run. Same as pretending you’re a neurosurgeon to impress your date. You’re bound to be found out sooner or later, and when buyers and Realtors find you out, you end up with spoiled property sales AND a bad reputation. Blecchh.
Rather, what we want to do is capture interest by:
- Taking care of basic maintenance and repairs. Staging to sell? Replace broken tiles and fix dripping taps. Ready for a dip in the dating pool? Pay attention to hygiene and get over your ex already.
- Being considerate. You can always create a good warm feeling by being genuinely interested in someone else, whether they’re a first date or a hypothetical homebuyer. What are they interested in? What’s going on in their life? What makes them happy? Then make updates to your property that reflect their needs, interests, style.This is especially important for our empty-nesters. Let’s say your target buyers are families with school-age kids – often the case. Most families are busybusybusy and prefer a home that is well-maintained, updated and move-in-ready. If you bought the place to raise your own family in 1986 and haven’t replaced the carpet since, it’s probably time for a little refresh. Or if you let your teenage son paint his room blood red & black during his goth years, know that leaving it that way risks turning off potential buyers. And scaring their small children.
- Helping them to see the potential for their own lives. Depersonalizing by taking down family photos and religious items; sorting through messy storage areas and getting rid of things you don’t need; creating lovely focal points and flow throughout: these are ways that you can help buyers to envision themselves living in your home, enjoying a fresh start, and growing in the next phase of their lives, whether they are moving up or right-sizing for their later years.
All of these things give buyers an instinctual “good feeling” about your listing.
There you have it! Whether sampling the dating scene or getting ready for the real estate market – attraction and instinct are not to be ignored.
Jessica Hagel loves to help homeowners transform their homes! Whether for selling or for dwelling, Jessica assists people in getting the most out of their homes, protecting equity for sellers and setting up beautiful spaces for those who just want to enjoy their home more. Jessica is a fully trained Certified Staging Professional and Eco-Professional and founding member of the Calgary & Area Stagers Alliance. She values diversity, professionalism, community, and the opportunity to get down on the dance floor whenever possible. Contact Jessica at 403-708-3260.