Recently, I was contacted by someone whose parents’ home had been on the market for quite some time. I went over to the property and made some suggestions about how I would position her home differently. For example, she had a lot of dated furniture that made the house look older. I told her that if she staged the home with more modern decor, the property would appeal to more buyers. Staged homes sell faster and for more money than homes that are decorated with the homeowner’s style in mind.
When they brought me in, they took me through the garage and their back hallway. The walls were all scuffed up, and the carpeting needed to be cleaned or replaced. None of the other agents she had spoken to told her these things needed to be addressed. She was sick of lowering the price of the house to generate some attention, so I gave her the pointers others had neglected.
This is why the quality of photos is really important. Sometimes pictures can pick up the imperfections in the home. In my client’s case, she removed about 75% of the furniture, area rugs, wall art, and accessories from her house. Those items can camouflage the imperfections of the property, which is why I so strongly recommended that she touch up her paint, clean her carpets, and at least digitally stage the home.
“If they don’t like the first three or four photos of your home, they’re probably not going to look at the rest of them.”
She hadn’t even seen the photos that her previous agent was using to market the home. I pulled up the MLS and went through the pictures the agent had taken; the second photo was a picture of the family room from an upper view looking down. It was really busy and only highlighted the clutter in her home. Remember that the confused mind doesn’t buy! Looking through the rest of the photos, I saw that there was way too much going on, and they weren’t in the proper order.
Think about it in terms of a dating app. People will look through your photos, and if they don’t like the first three or four, they’re probably not going to look at the rest of them.
Ultimately, you need to put your best foot forward when it comes to marketing your home. If you have any questions or need advice about marketing your own home to sell quickly and for top dollar, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I’d love to help you.
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