7 Easy Fixes To Dramatically Improve Homebuyer First Impressions

What do buyers see when they look at your house? Is it clean and uncluttered? Is it well maintained?

What kind of impression is your house making when prospective buyers see it?

Why does it matter?

Why is it that buyers just can not see the potential?

The answers to all of these questions may mean the difference between your house selling slowly or quickly.

Or your house not selling at all!

That cut point is a very big deal.

The things you do before you put the house on the market will matter more than you can imagine. Think about your product (the house) that you are going to sell as a series of photos. That is how buyers will see your product. They will see a group of images that they either like or dislike. Make sure all the images are attractive pictures. Any doorway a buyer walks through is an opportunity for you to stage a pretty picture.

1. The first picture a buyer will see will be the exterior of your house. It may be the most important image or photo of your product the buyers will see.

If you have difficulty imagining what buyers will think of your house, take a photo yourself and fix anything that does not look attractive. Paint and landscaping are relatively inexpensive fixes and can make a big impression on prospective buyers. And remember the colors of the driveway, the sidewalk, the siding, the landscaping and the roof all need to work together.

2. Then a buyer who likes the outside of your house will come through the front door. What is the next image they see? Is it the tangle of electronic equipment and wires that make up your AV equipment? Is it piles of shoes and coats? Or is it a nice entry that would make any homeowner proud? Make it look good. For homes with a formal entry a nice rug and a pretty table with some fresh flowers.

3. The next big deal may be the kitchen. Kitchens tend to have a lot of visual clutter. Clean and clear away all the stuff. Take the canisters and appliances that sit in the counters and store them away. You want buyers to see a kitchen that looks as pretty and as new as you can make it look.

4. The next photo that is really important to buyers is the master bedroom and bath. What is the first thing a buyer sees when they look through the door? It should be a bed with a headboard, 2 bedside tables with lamps and perhaps a pretty picture over the headboard. This room is supposed to be a retreat from the cares of the world. The illusion is better for resale and for your bank account.

5. All bedrooms in your house should be staged with a bed, bedside tables and lamps opposite the door. Most buyers want at least 3 bedrooms. If you have more than 3 you can stage one as an office. But remember you can not leave an office with a tangle of personal papers when your house is for sale. A staged office has a desk with a lamp and a desk chair. Nothing else. The desk should face the door with the chair behind it.

6. The next important rooms are the baths. They have to be clean and new looking. Mildew will send buyers running away from your house, not buying it. Minor repairs and fixes will serve you best. Do not clutter the baths with cleaning products and hair appliances. Pretty soap dispensers and fresh towels are OK, but nothing else. Clean, clean, clean!

7. Family rooms and rec rooms are the next important pictures. If your family room is a wreck it will turn off buyers. They often end up being dumping grounds for all the stuff you bring into the house. Schoolbooks, sports equipment, briefcases, purses, work papers, AV equipment and wires. Clean up and make it look like a cozy family space.

Those first impression photo ops are critical for your goal of selling your home. Make sure every door leads to a pretty picture. Notice that many of our recommendations are about cleaning, polishing and getting rid of stuff. When you want to sell a home, less is more. When people buy a home they are trying to realize a dream. Do not show them a nightmare. Show them dream photos.

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