Let’s face it, every home has its flaws and its strengths. You’ll almost never hear that a home is “perfect.” But as a seller, your job is to market the home by minimizing flaws and maximizing opportunity and potential. Let’s look at a few ways to do that.
The home’s location can’t be altered, so whatever’s going on in the neighborhood (access to schools or public transportation, for instance) the seller can’t influence. Two very similar homes can be for sale at the same time, and one might be closer to a major thoroughfare while the other is farther away. The one closest to the major road might sit on the market a lot longer. Nor can the seller influence the availability of financing. But there are plenty of things the seller can influence.
For instance, if the home you’re trying to flip is close to the major thoroughfare, can you install visual or sound barriers? If you planted a hedge, installed an attractive fence, or installed a bubbling little water fountain alongside the back patio, that would go a long way toward offsetting the challenge of the home’s location. Hopefully you considered this location issue prior to purchase and have a competitive price in mind to list your investment property.
If your home is in a less-than stellar location, consider putting a little more into the finished product. “Turn-key” home buyers will pay more if the house is completed to the point that they won’t have to do anything with it once they take over. Perhaps that includes you sweetening the deal with an offer to repaint those boring beige walls with the color of their choice.
Curb appeal is important, but online appeal is even more important nowadays. The vast majority of home buyers start their shopping online. So the staging, the photos and the order that the photos appear on the website is crucial to your home selling success. Get your home staged and photographed by pros. You may think it’s an unnecessary expense, or you may think that you can take “just fine” pictures, but the professional service fee is worth it if you can sell your house for more money and more quickly than without it.
Make your home as accessible and available as possible. Home buyers want to shop and see homes at times when it works for them. They likely have jobs and families and have a hard time working around someone else’s schedule. If they want to see the home at 10 o’clock on a Saturday night, try and make it happen. You’ll start up a conversation with an interested buyer and show them that you’re willing to be flexible. That’s a good way to begin a home buying-selling relationship.
Prepare a file on the local neighborhood. If the home you’re selling is appealing to families, create a list or map of the parks that are nearby, family friendly restaurants, libraries, schools, pools, or other points of interest. Include a location of the nearest public transportation spots, entertainment and nightlife, shopping, grocery stores, and police or fire stations. Families considering moving into the neighborhood would really appreciate knowing what’s nearby.
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