Selling Your Home? First Impressions Matter More Than You Think
Do first impressions matter in the home resale market? Yes, absolutely! "You never get a second chance to make a first impression," said Will Rogers. When people are shopping for a home, they're envisioning themselves living in the home that they are touring. If you're in the process of preparing to list a house, consider walking in the shoes of a potential buyer and looking at your own home with a different set of eyes. The goal is to make your home inviting, so that the potential buyer can in fact, envision themselves living there. Now, let's break it down some more in this article by three main categories to consider for these impressions: clutter, cleanliness, and repairs. Even if you're on a tight budget, small steps towards addressing these concerns can make a big impact, and lead to you not only selling your home faster, but getting more of a return in your profits.
By meticulously decluttering, deep cleaning, and addressing repairs, you’re not just presenting a house; you’re crafting an experience for potential buyers! A clutter-free, well-maintained home speaks volumes, inviting them to envision a future within its walls. We all live busy lives, and sometimes let items in our home "pile-up," so by taking a look around the house if there's any piles of clutter it may be worthwhile to carve out some time to organize and put the clutter away - even if it's shoving it in a "junk drawer"! Next up on the list is cleaning, and this is also very important for first impressions. If you don't have the time to do a deep cleaning, you may want to consider hiring a local professional cleaner - spending a few hundred dollars could make you a few more thousand dollars in the long-run. Finally, addressing repairs is something you'll want to consider prior to listing your home. According to RubyHome, 88% of buyers use a Home Inspector in the home purchasing process. Any repairs that need to be addressed will most likely appear on a home inspection report, which can be used as another means of negotiation for the buyer during the purchasing process - so why delay now? Being proactive in getting the repairs fixed sooner not only makes the process more efficient for all involved, but also contributes to making your home more desirable during that first impression phase of a buyer touring your home. For example, if your deck needs to be repaired, and a potential buyer is touring multiple homes in a day, they may consider purchasing the home that needs less repairs even if it costs more than yours - food for thought!
Questions? Contact me at:
Lindsey Januskiewiecz, Assoc. Broker, Swan Realty
Lindsey@swanrealtyinc.com 575-613-4243