If you have made the decision to place your home on the market for sale you may have already thought ahead as to the potential number of buyers who may soon be descending upon your property. This is often a complicated process for many homeowners as they ponder the fact that people they have never met will soon be scrutinizing the place they have created and made their home. The thought of strangers rating their furniture and home furnishing choices is enough to deter some from even placing their house for sale!
However, if you are going to sell your home, you need to get past the personal part of strangers commenting on your decor and work towards making it clear for them to see the further potential if they were to purchase the property for themselves. After all, at the end of the day, you don’t need their judgment, you just need their cash!
Here are a few easy and simple ways that you can make your home as encouraging as possible in the eyes of potential buyers:
Look at your home from a stranger’s point of view
What do you think they will notice the most and is it for a good or bad reason? Work on viewing your home externally, and you begin to understand that what you may feel is cute or modern, may just be the complete opposite in a stranger’s eyes. Are there any elements of your home that look and feel too personal to you, and can you imagine viewers feeling the same? If you can spot these areas immediately, these are the ones you should start working on to rectify.
Ask somebody else’s opinion
Better still, if you really struggle to detach yourself from your home, ask somebody that you can trust to give you a brutal opinion. Sometimes it takes somebody else’s views and ideas to get us thinking about our homes overall look from other people’s perspectives. The more people you can get to offer up their advice, the more likely you are to cover as many bases as possible regarding potential viewers.
Declutter, declutter, declutter
A piece of advice that cannot be stressed often enough when selling your home! There is nothing worse for potential buyers than walking into a house that looks great on the outside only to be greeted by clutter. Think about how you are presenting the possibilities of each room when they are awash with confusion. How can buyers visualize for themselves the potential of this home if they can’t even see the floors or walls? As much as you practically can beforehand, get rid of as much stuff as possible and make your home minimalistic. Pack the ornaments, photos and children’s certificates away and keep them ready for your new home.
Be prepared to change your tactics
Sometimes when a home is receiving many viewers but is still failing to sell, it may be time to admit defeat and begin to change your own attitudes and outlook regarding the current state of your home. Though none of us want to spend any more money or time on improving a house that we hope to be moving out of some time soon, you may have to admit defeat here. Think about investing a little time, money and effort into re-decorating or visually improving some aspects of your home that may be putting potential buyers off. For example, are your kitchen units tatty and worn and could do with a refit, or does the vibrant color of your dining room give people a headache when viewing. Now maybe the time to try upping your game and making over a room or two to change its overall presentation.
Get immediate feedback
If you are working with a competent real estate broker, you should be getting instant updates on all your viewings, and that includes viewer reactions to your home. Sometimes the only way to discern why your home is not selling is to ask the experts- that is the people who are merely refusing to buy your home after viewing it! Make sure your broker is asking the right questions from every visit and getting adequate feedback, which can thus help you improve your chances of selling to future buyers. If there is a specific area that continues to be mentioned by almost every viewer, you can immediately get to work and resolve it.
Get acquainted with similar sold houses for ideas
Look at homes like your own type that have been successfully marketed and try to work out for yourself why they were purchased. What is it about them that potential buyers would have been swayed by and see if you can implement any ideas into your own home. Is there something immediately visual that made these homes stand out to buyers and could you recreate the look? Could you also speak to your real estate broker and ask them to get some feedback as to why these homes sold so well?
Ultimately, remember not to make this whole process personal. Potential buyers are not buying your visualizations – they want to be able to see themselves in your house. Make the viewing process as easy and as straightforward as you possibly can, allowing them to see themselves living in this property. Though it may be a difficult transition for you to go through, if you want to sell your property and move onto bigger and better things, it is worth pushing through your concerns and making sure your house is as sales worthy as it can possibly be.
