Real Estate Investing Articles

Your potential buyer has just pulled up in the realtor’s car. Quick! You only have one chance to make a good first impression, and a potential buyer makes the decision as to whether or not they’re interested in the house within the first 8 seconds of seeing it. So, what do they see when they pull up to the curb in front of your house, even before they alight from the car? Is it a (curb) appealing view? Or do they see window shutters with peeling paint, chipped wrought iron railings, dirt encrusted aluminum siding, patchy brown grass, the remnants of a vegetable garden and the kids’ bicycles and skateboards lying scattered in the driveway? If your answer is yes, then you’ve just lost a sale.

Staging your home for sale is a two part job: inside and outside. Your outside has to be as inviting as your home, because it’s a part of your home. So stand back, and open your eyes. What it will take is probably no more than a pressure washing, a little painting or touch-ups here and there, and a weekend’s worth of landscaping. Your destination should probably be your local home improvement center, where you can get everything you need complete the task.

Let’s look at some of the basics to getting your yard and the outside of your house, properly staged.

Declutter the yard – Remove all trash cans, bikes, building materials, garden fertilizer and the like and stow them neatly in your garage.

Eliminate unnecessary junk – Put away the plastic lawn chairs and tables, the kiddy pool and even the barbecue grill if it’s greasy and nasty looking. If you’ve got a car on your property waiting for rehab, now is not the time to leave it languishing – garage it, donate it or junk it.

Cut back the jungle – Prune or pare down all shrubs, trees and plants, especially those situated directly in front of your house. They should enhance the look of your house, not block a potential buyer from looking at it.

Basic yard maintenance – Depending on the season or need, ensure that your lawn always stays well mowed, weed-wacked or raked, and that your flower or vegetable gardens are well tended and neat. Mulch or fertilize to encourage healthy, vital looking plants.

Clean up the property – Pressure wash dirty aluminum siding or even sooty brick, as well as driveways, decks and patios.

Fix or replace damage – Take a good look at your driveway and walkway. Are there cracks or holes, oil stains, patches of grass coming up between the pavers? If they are beyond the need of a little patch work or a lot of scrubbing, consider having them replaced.

Make it colorful – Consider buying vibrant colorful annuals, and plant them in decorative planters, window boxes or along walkways, or flanking an entryway. A new mailbox, house numbers of hardware are inexpensive touches that translate well.

Scrape and repaint – Freshen up anything that looks dingy or has peeling paint, such as wooden shutters, window trim and railings, and most especially, the entrance way door — it needs to be inviting and welcoming.

Brighten up – Buy and install some solar lighting for night time showings; solar lights are more efficient than ever, easy to install, reposition and remove.

Decorate for the season – Don’t hesitate to pull out a couple of seasonal or holiday trimmings, but nothing should be garish or overwhelming. A holiday wreath or trim on the front door, white lights, a jack-o-lantern, they’re to be expected – you don’t want to create a haunted house or Santa’s workshop.

Real estate agents estimate that, with landscape staging, a seller’s return on investment is between 300 and 400%, depending on the area of the country your property is situated in. That $300 or $400 you “invest” at the home improvement center translates into more than $1,200 on your return. That’s a nice net profit.

If you don’t take it upon yourself to make this kind of “investment,” one of two things will happen. Either your potential buyer will reject your house outright or counter offer your asking price. And it won’t be just $300 or $400 less; no, they’re going to shave a few thousand dollars off of your asking price.

In any economy, especially one that favors a home buyer, you need to add the little touches that will make a house a home, even before your buyer signs the contract.

Barb Zigah is a freelance writer covering real estate and business topics.

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Posted by Barb Zigah under Real estate investor resources & real estate marketing | 1 Comment »