Yesterday, a gentleman called me to find out more about my listing services. His home had been on the market for quite some time, and he was looking for another agent to relist with. He began querying me about my services, and how I might fit in to his general plan. What I quickly learned is that he had his own ideas of how the process should run. He didn’t like “lock boxes”, needed to be present during all showings, and needed many hours lead time prior to showings. When I asked how many showings he had received during the time the house was listed, he responded ”not very many”. However, he quickly discounted any reasons buyers gave for not wanting the house, and felt angry that they wasted his time. When I asked about why he was adverse to lock boxes, he responded that buyers would just “have to understand that if they want to see the house, that they must follow my rules”. It is clear that this seller had set up an adversarial relationship between he and buyers. He wanted to control all aspects of the sale. His attitude was combative, and he sees buyers (and most likely agents) as the “enemy”. Read More…
Staging can make a tremendous difference in how quickly a home sells and how much it sells for. Buying a home is an emotional decision. Ideally, when a buyer previews your house, you want them to be thinking “WOW!”. If we can tap into that emotion, they will likely grab their check book and write an offer.
Staging maximizes a homes appeal by showcasing the homes best features, and should not be confused with decorating, which showcases a persons individual style. Staging involves 1. Using neutral colors on the walls and floors to create a calm, soothing, and welcoming impression 2. De-cluttering 3. Deep cleaning 4. Eliminating and/or rearranging furniture to open up space in every room. 5. Accessorizing. If you can “wow” buyers, and allow them to easily visualize their own things in your beautiful home, you’ve got a sale! Read More…