As they say, first impressions last. A good first impression could lead to a lifetime of friendship. A bad first impression, on the other hand, could be disastrous. It might cast doubts over an important transaction.
Therefore, when selling a house, making a positive first impression is crucial. It would drum up more interest in the property and immediately find a buyer who would gladly take it off of the market.
Here are the things you need to do to make a good first impression on a potential buyer.
Making Repairs Show Responsibility
A house in decrepit condition would not be an easy sell, even if the price is below the market average. Most buyers are looking for a house where they can immediately move into and would not require more expensive maintenance work in the future.
Before you start property viewings, you would need to spend a little time fixing some things around the house. The task could be as easy as giving the wall a fresh coat of paint to make the property look newer, or it could be a little more complicated such as bringing the lawn back to life after neglecting it for too long.
One of the most important parts of the home that needs to be taken care of before a sale is the air conditioning system. Make sure that there are no water leaks, bad smells, and strange sounds coming out of it when it is in use. It should also be clean before a visit. A simple AC repair could entice an aspiring homeowner to sign the papers and close the sale. It ensures that the house, although lived, was loved by its inhabitants.
It also shows that you are a responsible seller. Buyers are likely to place their trust in you knowing that you made the effort to make repairs and maintenance before you transfer the ownership of the house to them.
Improve the Curb Appeal
Make a good first impression as soon as potential buyers pull up on the driveway. Before they walk in the door and be impressed by the interiors, the first thing they will see is the exterior of the house.
That is why curb appeal matters. It is not the open-floor kitchen or the hardwood floors that they will first lay their eyes on during a walkthrough. It is the facade of the house that sets the mood and expectation.
Chipping paint, although easy to remedy, might turn off a potential buyer.
After you do repairs indoors, give the outdoors a little prepping, too. A pressure washer can take off the dust and mud that have accumulated on the walkways and exterior walls. Replace dying plants with new ones.
In addition, buy a new doormat. It is cheap, but it is an easy way to refresh curb appeal.
Take Insta-Worthy Pics
Photos of your home will be the first thing that potential buyers will see in the property. Their interest lies in whether the photos of your home look like it belongs on a spread of an architectural magazine or not.
The photos used on a listing are extremely important. It can raise the price of your home without much effort. In fact, according to the Wall Street Journal, listings with good photos get between $900 and $116,000 more.
So, unless you know how to take good photos of real estate, you might want to leave the task to a professional. An iPhone camera, although it has come a long way, will still generate bad photos in the hands of an amateur. Whereas a professional photographer, with their expensive cameras and lighting equipment, can show every good side of the house. They know how to play with light, both natural and artificial, to show a more accurate color of a room.
A good photo on the listing page can entice more buyers to check out the property. You will receive more inquiries and requests. Eventually, you will have multiple interested buyers which will create a bidding war that will increase the value of the property.
Making a good first impression does not have to involve costly remodeling and renovation. As a seller, you do not have to follow every trendy interior design feature online and in magazines. You do not have to buy new furniture to dress up the property, either. Treating the property well, and taking great photos for the websites and social media pages might be enough to find an interested buyer as soon as possible.