9 Tips for Hot House Selling in a Depressed Market

Posted on September 1, 2007
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Home Selling: If you are selling a home than read these 9 tips to a successful home sale. If there are 20 homes for sale in the neighborhood and you do all these 9 steps you are ahead of your competition.

1. Small things are important.

This falls under “home staging”. Sometimes just moving a couch across the room and removing silly posters makes a difference. See the home thru the eyes of a prospective purchaser and not thru your desires. Remember, you won’t be living there. The buyer will. Anything odd or strange should dissappear immediately. Get rid of all clutter. Put some plants and flowers in various places and especially in the little flower beds around the house. New bark is also very very helpful.

2. Give the home emotional appeal.

Make sure that when you do your repairs, painting, cleaning that you do it in a way that creates emotion. You want the buyer to “feel” the paint job not just see it.

3. When advertising the property don’t give all the details at once. Get the buyers attention and interest and desire (AIDA) to take action by coming to view the entire home.

4. Be prepared for drive-bys and sudden visitors wanting to see the home.

Yup, that means as much as possible have it always in tip top shape. This is difficult for some folks with busy schedules, etc.. but, it will make all the difference in the world.

5. Get rid of plants and rocks and shrubs that are ugly.

Really, red0 or make little garden areas or flower beds as this will help with street appeal, esp. with a new paint job. Have you ever seen a home with a new paint job that has old overgrown and ugly shrubs and planter areas. Not very appealing is it?

6. Get Sensual – no not what you think

Make sure gentle music is playing in the background, scented candles burning, low level lighting, perhaps the smell of some fresh baked bread or cookies on the counter for the visitors. Make them feel “at home”. After all, it may become their home.

7. Dress up the exterior of the home properly. Don’t overdo anything but think of hanging flower baskets, flower pots in key areas, accenting trim on the home, etc..

8. Spend money on your home.

Make sure to update bathrooms, kitchen, trim, flooring, etc.. make the home look like something people would want to live in. A nice home. A lovely home.

9. Advertise to the demographics of buyers that will be buying your home.

For instance if your home is a small older home in an area of rentals and perhaps it is in the lower 20% price band of homes for sale in the community that you would not want to put the listing in a magazine for over $1,000,000 homes. Nor, would you want to put a $1,000,000 listing in a magazine that may serve neighborhoods of homes under $500,000.