Making that First Impression
Making that First Impression
By Dan Steward
RISMEDIA, January 10, 2011—When getting a home ready to be put on the
market, it is crucial that home sellers understand the importance of
making a good first impression. While many sellers become overwhelmed
with the amount of changes they think must be made before their home is
listed, there are only a few areas that really matter.
People decide within 30 seconds of walking into a home whether they
might want to buy it, so it’s crucial to make a great first impression.
But nobody wants to overspend on anything these days, so it’s important
to spend only on those things that really matter.
Based on our experience working with thousands of REALTORS® across the
country, here is a check list that you can use with your clients that
will make their homes more likely to sell and garner better prices:
Curb appeal. While people spend lots of time on details
inside the home—to the point of, perhaps, baking cookies to create a
welcoming aroma—too few focus on the real first impression: how the
house looks as prospective buyers step out of their car.
Spending a little money on gardening can remove impediments, such as
overgrown foliage. The effort can also brighten a home’s appearance and
make it much more welcoming. A bit of gardening can help paint a scene,
so possible buyers can see their kids playing in the yard or can imagine
sitting outside in the evening with a glass of wine.
A survey by HomeGain found that spending $400 to $500 on fresh landscaping can add almost $2,000 to the price of the house.
What’s the condition? Conversely, not making repairs
can cut the price of the house. The issue can be partially addressed
just through eyeballing. Sellers should look for cracks, damaged paint
and so on, trying to imagine the impression that buyers will have.
Sellers should also commission a home inspection, so they have their own
view of the state of their home, before the buyers’ inspector begins
aggressively looking for problems. Sellers who have their own report are
better able to push back both about the extent of any issues and about
the likely cost of fixing them.
Even if buyers aren’t turned off entirely by what they see as disrepair,
they typically ask for $2–$3 off the price for every $1 of repairs that
they perceive are needed, so it’s crucial for sellers to know that,
say, the roof needs to be replaced. That way, the sellers can spend the
$5,000 themselves rather than face a buyer demanding $15,000 off the
price of the house.
Finding the right assistance. There are loads of
services that help with staging, repairs, and so on—so many, that
clients are often confused about which to use. Realtors often provide
their expertise here and refer clients to businesses. That approach
works great for many, but some want assurance. That’s relatively easy to
provide these days, based on a little checking on search engines.
Clients should also be encouraged to post queries on their Facebook
pages, asking friends both to suggest businesses to use and businesses
to avoid.