Funny Thing About Home Buyers – Tips for Sellers
If you shop for a cell phone, a LCD monitor, or even a washer, you probably have some ideas about the ins and outs of that particular product. You read reviews online and chat with friends about their experiences. You may often find tags or brochures telling about the nice features of the product when you are in stores.
Buyer is less prepared
When it comes to real estate, the most expensive purchase for many of us, ironically we are a lot less prepared than we think. The most we can do is to know the price range and the area we are looking. Most of us do not have a clue as we walk in one those properties for sale.
My realtor friend once told me that when prospect buyers come to an open-house, they really don’t know what to do. After all, no one would think they should pass a home inspection exam before they shop.
Usually, that is the moment a listing real estate agent comes into play. They perform the old fashion selling job. Besides listening to what the agent has to say, deep down in the heart, a buyer has a need to “kick some tires”. They touch and play with things in the house, such as flicking light switches, opening everything with a handle, turning on faucets and flushing the toilets. Hilarious it is, but it sounds familiar, right?
A “poor-man” strategy
Now we get a poor-man’s strategy to make good impression if you are a seller without a big budget. Simply clean the surfaces of sinks, refrigerators, faucet knobs, cabin doors, stove tops, toilets covers, and so on. Make them shinny and look like new. There are many inexpensive ways to clean metal, plastic and porcelain surfaces, such as using baking soda. Replace those small broken parts. Fix any leaking problems.
The bottom line – buyers tend to judge from their basic senses, and you can create the “love at first sight” by simply making your home clean and pleasant.
No, I am not taking side
Sorry buyers, but I am not taking side here. The best advice I’ve heard for buyers is not to fall in love at first sight. Don’t get too hung up on the first impression and go back to the fundamentals.
However, I bet you will ignore this advise, because according to my realtor friend, scene setting or staging is still the most powerful technique to get the house sold quickly. There you go. I got my proof that it is a die-hard habit for buyers to stick with their romantic emotions when deciding a place to live.
I came across with this article by Jane Muller. It describes better than I do about a buyer’s state of mind, but I find it interesting because it kind of validates my point of view.