My initial plan was to talk about getting your home ready
for listing, but as I sat at our Tuesday meeting this morning it evolved, and I
wanted to add something else to the topic. What are the things potential buyers
look for in a home? What are things we can, as brokers help you do, and then
the final thing… photos of your home, you know, those 25 pretty images we stick
on the MLS, Zillow and Realtor.com for everyone to see, the ones that are
supposed to be inviting enough to get buyers and brokers in through the doors,
yet honest and realistic enough to steer the same people away from disappointment
and feeling betrayed. Everyone whom has ever been house hunting, knows what I’m
talking about, the moment when you realize that the pictures built a fairy tale
image of a dump conveniently missing pretty much everything imaginable, turning
the “Wow, I have found it! I want this!” to “Is this the same home I liked in
the pictures?!!”
Pictures can tell a prettier truth without photoshopping by
just by leaving things out, the house across the street, the room that no one can
decide what to use it for, the ugly old carpet in the guest room and the list
goes on. Most of us would expect at least some level of honesty in those
pictures, yet I have seen photos that fail to tell you crucial parts of the
story, like the leaking roof covered with a tarp. Needless to say, the buyer lost their interest
after seeing the tarp.
But then there’s the next level where pictures start lying, not
just leaving out but showing you things that really aren’t there. In
professional photos, the green lawns and blue skies are just the beginning on the
list of endless opportunities. Yes, we do want to show the best side of the
home listed, but in a way, that is not misleading or untrue. Did you know we
can remodel your entire home by using photoshop? Change the counter-tops and the
carpet. Paint the walls into a nice calm gray, redecorate your bonus room from
a play area to a sophisticated place for grownups, or remove all the clutter
that you didn’t. We can… and there’s a place for doing that too, showing clients the potential a home can have.
As a part of the listing process I sit down with my clients
for a talk. This talk is the “if it’s broken, fix it prior to listing
discussion”. We all have those things in our homes; the messed-up window coverings
in the kids’ room - a result of your son believing he was Tarzan, or the spot
on the wall where the door hit that’s been there for past five years. The broken
cover on your electrical outlet that you have forgotten about a long time ago. The
things you can no longer see, but a buyer will notice. In the current market
you don’t have to do everything, but you will get more potential buyers in to
your home if your home is presentable.
We talk about curb appeal, or the first impression. What
will the potential buyer see when they stop in front of your home? Dead plants?
Overgrown grass? A pool of mud. A couple of hundred bucks can buy you a new and
better first impression. Maybe repainting the front door that has seen its best
days or planting some new shrubs and fresh mulch to cover the mudpuddle in
Seattle winter.
We talk about making your home appealing to those whom may
potentially buy it from you, and this does not mean spending tens of thousands
of dollars on a full kitchen remodel. This is all the small things as most
sellers don’t want to put a ton of money into selling. Many of these things don’t
cost a penny, like rearranging your furniture to make the room look bigger or
decluttering.
Some of us like really bright colors, but for the potential
buyer a bright green kitchen or even that red dining room can be a turnoff, and
to play it safe, I encourage safe colors… gray, off white and tones of beige. Maybe
a bit boring, but it also makes it so much easier to see the home beyond everything
else. Remember, this about selling your home, not your style and personality.
Yes, painting is quick, easy and relatively cheap so why not
let the buyers just paint it before moving in? Because before you get your
potential buyers in the house, you are going to sell it to them with those
pictures, the ones that make your house look like a perfect opportunity for
them, and quite frankly more often than so, buyers are not looking for fixer
uppers, they are looking for a home that they can carry their stuff in and
think about everything that needs to be done later. Not a perfect home, but
something that is good enough for right now.
Lastly, just to make sure you didn’t misunderstand. Those
photos are important, and it is equally important to use a pro to take them. To
have the correct light and maybe a few different exposures layered for the best
image. It is an invitation after all.
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