How to Bring in the Buyers

In the January issue of Personal Real Estate Investor Magazine, I provide some insight into how to sell homes under current real estate conditions.

With the amount of inventory in today’s market, it’s more important than ever to make your home shine and stand out from the competition.

In my book, I point out that buyers will be swayed by their senses: sight, touch, taste, smell, and sound. You should focus on these five when you’re selling your client's home. I'll give a brief overview of the first one: sight.

The first impression, or curb appeal in real estate speak, is essential.

Here’s a list of exterior must-haves:

1. Freshly painted front door with polished door knocker
2. Landscaped front yard with new plants
3. Clean and clutter free driveway and entry

There’s much more you can do, like paint the entire exterior and redo the landscaping. But if your seller’s budget can’t cover these costs, then pour your marketing money into the first three.

Once your buyers make it inside, I suggest that you stage a home rather than leave it empty. A vacant home has no soul—it doesn’t encourage the buyer to imagine coming home to the space. There’s no place where the buyer can sit, relax and take in the home’s interior.

Staging isn’t an option for everyone. But it’s really important in high end properties. Your buyers are paying big bucks for the home, and it’s worth it to spend the money to fill the property with elegant furnishings.

When I’ve suggested to my clients that they stage their homes they sometimes balk at the price. Once I tell them how much more they can make if the home is fully furnished they give in, and I’m usually on the money.

In the Personal Real Estate Investor article, the writer asked me how I market my homes.

“Post cards and color brochures are done,” I said, “We’re inundated with so much junk mail nowadays. I do a virtual tour. They [postcards and brochures] don’t speak to [buyers] like the video tour does.”

I hire a professional photographer who also shoots a video tour and adds music to the final cut. Then I e-mail four or five virtual tour properties to prospective buyers. They can focus on listings at their convenience. They can watch the presentations in the comfort of their own homes, at their offices, or even on their smart phones. The cost to create a virtual tour varies. A 10,000 square foot home is about $1,000.00.

I’ll provide further detail about how to address the four other of the five senses—touch, taste, smell, and sound—in my next post.

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