Why didn’t my home sell?  Tip:  A good 1st impression goes a long way!

You’ve heard the expression, “street appeal” and how important that is when selling your home.  That’s because the first impression can determine how a prospective buyer looks at your home – before even crossing the threshold.  if the yard is overgrown and not maintained, or the walkway needs repairing, or the paint on the front porch is peeling, the buyer starts forming an opinion about your house.  “What else needs to be repaired?”  “This house is not well-maintained.”  “How much is it going to cost me to make these repairs?”   Instead of viewing the home as a whole and allowing a general impression to form – the buyer focuses on negative items – the scuff marks on the flooring or the old faucet in the kitchen.  These small distractions can send up “red flags” for the buyer.  And perhaps a perfectly good home doesn’t sell or generates low offers.   A good 1st impression isn’t going to sell the house by itself  - but it paves the way for the house to be viewed in a more positive way.

So get out that paint can and tool box and start “sprucing up” – and start with the front of your home.  Prune those bushes, replace the broken brick, set out some flowers – even replace garage doors & the front door, if needed.  Pull up to the curb.  Does your house pass the “First Impression” rule?  if so, you’re giving your home the advantage of “best foot forward”!

If you’re selling your home, look for future tips and tools about selling your home in a difficult market.  There’s more information about selling your home on my website.  For up-to-date market reports for the Huntington area see Market Reports.  You also can request a market report for any area in the NY Metro area.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.