When your home in on the market, the first impression is not the foyer, kitchen, or master bath – it is your exterior!
Buyers have a subconscious checklist of what they are looking for – above and beyond the criteria they have discussed with their agent.
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. In our experience, it can make the difference between selling and not selling.
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.
These are helpful tips for those on the market, and we have an extensive marketing plan that includes helping sellers overcome buyer objections. Contact us today about selling your home!
