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If Your Seller Authorized You to Spend $2,000...

I don't know about you, but I'm very much enjoying this debate on whether or not we listing agents can positively affect the market value of our listings. I believe we can. And frankly, I'm stunned at the amount of opposition to that notion.

Now, a disclaimer - I don't work in a distressed market, so I shall defer to those who do that they know more about selling homes in that environment. Fair enough. If you work mostly REO's and short sales, you are excused from this discussion. Although... well, I'll get to that in a sec.

For the rest of us... those of who work primarily retail markets...

If your seller gave you $2,000 and asked you to spend it for him with the goal of getting the highest price in the shortest amount of time... what would you spend it on? Obviously every home and situation is different, but give me a list of priorities you'd address.

For example, would you...

Take out a full-color ad in the neighborhood newspaper? and/or
Bring in a stager? and/or
Bring in a handyman? and/or
Replace/refinish flooring?
Paint?
Hold a catered broker open house? and/or
Board the dogs? and/or
Landscape? and/or
Have the house professionally cleaned? and/or.....

I have a very clear list in my head of what I'd tackle first, next and after that, depending on what the home needs, but I'd like to hear yours. But here's the big question... DO YOU THINK IT WOULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE in the market value and ultimate sellability of the home? Or would your seller be throwing his money away?

Your thoughts are very much appreciated!

RELATED BLOGS:

p.s. As alluded to above, perhaps this is not relevant to a distressed market... but maybe it is. What if banks gave their listing agents $2k to spend on improving the property... do you think it would help move these properties faster... for more... or at all?

a&s

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Jennifer Allan, GRI

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Posted by Jennifer Allan, Author of Sell with Soul on 06/30/2009 07:30 AM

Comments (37)

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Originally posted at: Selling Soulfully with Jennifer Allan: If Your Seller Authorized You to Spend $2,000...

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37 Comments on If Your Seller Authorized You to Spend $2,000...

JUN

Depending on the condition of the house , I would use it first for maintenance items and cosmetic changes . Advertising would be last on my list.

That depends on the house, location and price of the home... Taking all of those into consideration you may or may not need the 2000.00 at all.. But I'll play along and say staging and for that I'll charge you 2 cents..

Can I do "all of the above"? LOL. Dream on, my friend.....

Jennifer,

Your book was one of the best reads for me when I started. I think your approach to selling houses nails it.

Gina - thank you! I agree that advertising would be last...

James - Send me a bill...

Margaret - You can actually do quite a bit with $2k!

Thanks for sharing your information with us this morning. Great post I will bookmark it

Without knowing the condition of the house this is a toughy. But will go with paint, professional cleaning and staging. Paint goes along way, clean is a must and staging a necessity? Oh, can we have the handyman too?

Making sure the house was "right would be 1k and then a media blitz newspaper local baord with fliers, other agents offices and high end aprtment fliers with an ad on how they can buy the home and what it will cost them , hopefully less than the rent they are paying

Really depends on the house, I wouldnt spend a dime on print advertising biggest waste of money. Usually paint is somethign that goes along way but not sure there is too much you can do to a home to get more money for it, maybe have someone choose it over another. I think some paint and stagging.

Depends on what needs to be done. If it wall papered I would REMOVE it.

Paint is the cheapest thing to change and gets the most bang for the buck.

I would change the appearance of the house to make it better. Paint for one. I wouldnt necessarily put that money into advertising. That should come from me!

#Landscape (curb appeal) would be tops on the list for me and yes, I do think it could help sell the house. Most of my buyer clients start out driving around looking at the outside of homes before we set appointments to view the inside. If the outside turns them off we never get inside.

Since most of the things on the list would likely cost more than two thousand dollars I would opt for disappearing the pets and talking to a stager---but what do I know---this is from an inspectors point of view:)

I think I'd start with a pre-inspection. For a few hundred $ we'd know where we stand regarding systems, etc. Make simple repairs (ie: GFCI outlets, leaky faucets, hanging gutters, etc.) Then clean, paint, stage and landscape.

No matter how well it shows, if the pesky little things that can turn up at inspection can be addressed beforehand, there are fewer "no's" to contend with down the road.

Advertising? I consider that one of the costs of our doing business, so I would apply the precious $2k toward prepping for sale rather than marketing.

So, JA...when are you going to write your next book: Sellers with Soul ? ;-)

Kim - Funny, I have a book called "For Sale Signs Don't Pay the Bills: 74 Ways to Sell Your Listings" written for real estate agents, but it's not a big seller. Surprise surprise (okay, that was snotty). So, I've considered revising it for sellers - if their agent isn't going to put forth any effort, maybe the seller will!

Charles - I appreciate an inspector's point of view! I've found that if you have good resources, you can get an incredible amount of work done for $2k... The problem is, most people think stuff costs more than it does, so they just throw up their hands and give up.

Jennifer: all of the above. I am gready lol. Its an interesting dream. Once in awhile a seller will listen and "improve" their home....as for now its out of our own pocket.I like the dream though.

Good stuff J.A. You da bomb. Hey, seriously, I like these tips. Some of them are so obvious, but like Vince Lombardi says, if you don't master the fundamentals how can you win at anything. Keep em coming.

Hi Jennifer. I like your list.

A good old fashioned cleaning is tops for some houses!

Thanks for writing,

Ken

My imaginary money will be spent on cleaning.

It has to be clean, clean and clean. New flooring and new paint is just deep cleaning.

"For Sale Signs Don't Pay the Bills: 74 Ways to Sell Your Listings" I bought that one, whadya mean it was not a big seller.

Carpet and Paint would probably do wonders in most homes! the color add, and open house with food etc... would all be equivalent to flushing the bills down the toilet!

Hi Jennifer,

It depends on the situation..

First things first - if repairs are needed - get that done.

Interior cleaning and painting are next.

If the exterior needs help - I would emphasize curb appeal...get them through the door!

Staging would rank up there if needed...

Of course every house is different ...so its difficult to judge. There was a condo I sold recently that really would have benfitted from staging. It had odd angles and people couldn't visualize their furniture there. I couldn't get the seller's on board. I think they would have done a lot better had they listened regarding paint color and hiring a stager for layout issues. However, some places have such terrific layouts - that perhaps the money is best spent elsewhere...

Biggest bang for the buck.......I would paint, and then I would stage the house best I could by decluttering and using whatever was on hand. Repairs would depend on the need. I wouldn't replace anything that I could make look great with elbow grease.

Thanks for all your thoughts! Your ideas run along the same lines as mine... here's my list:

Obvious scare-the-buyer repairs - water-stained ceiling, exposed wiring, active leaks. spongy floor, smoke or cat urine smells.
Obvious cosmetic repairs - paint, flooring, switchplates, awful countertops, ugly light fixtures.
Cleaning
Not-as-obvious inspection items
Staging consultation

I'm not saying that you could do all of this for $2k, but this would be my order of priority. I never advise staging a house unless items 1-4 are handled.

If you have a good handyman, it's amazing how much fun you can have for $2,000... and if you approach your seller with confidence and a can-do attitude, they'll find that money more often than you think they will!

Jennifer - In a flat or declining market, like mine, staging and repair might make a home seller faster, but not necessarily for more money. Of your choices, though, I would say "repair", though.

I would probably go with the staging, then paint and handyman - there always is something that needs to be done.

JUL

Depending on the listing, any of your suggestions could positively affect a listing. I wasn't aware of a debate on this subject (no surprise there.. I'm usually clueless about drama) but how could any seasoned listing agent believe that they couldn't help the sellers make more money on their sale, just by getting them to (insert applicable helpful tip here).

Jennifer- It does depend on the house, but as a general thought I would work on the curb appeal...probably new paint and landscaping.

Lisa - travel on over the drama-blog-in-question and see how many agents don't believe they have any power to affect price! http://activerain.com/blogsview/1132322/any-idiot-can-give-their-house-away-if-price-is-all-that-matters-what-do-they-need-us-for-

Wendy - A sale is good! Which brings the seller more money than a non-sale!

Even if you cant see the $ value of the investment in terms of selling for X or Y... if it sells the home faster it will save thousands in carrying costs and in a declining market it could save thousands in lost equity as you wait to sell!

Bottom line, Fix the little stuff and prep for a quick sale!!!

Jennifer - Of course if you had $2k to spend on a listing, it would help it sell. It almost wouldn't matter what you did. If you worked on the inside - cleaning, staging, painting, etc; exterior - landscaping, curb appeal, painting; or marketing - getting it in front of pontential buyers; any one of these will at least help. I don't feel that any of these things would be a waste of time, but you do need to know what may work best given the condition of each home, and also, keep in mind that pricing is still very, very important in getting a home sold.

JUL

Paint, carpet, handyman, then staging. Skip the print ad and Broker's open.

JUL

Jennifer, I absolutely would spend the money on fixing up the house. Maybe paint a room a fantastic, color, or rip out some carpet, or refinish hardwood floors, or replace old appliances.

JUL

One of the first things would be improving the curb appeal and then a through cleaning inside, whatever is left, if any, for painting.

JUL

"What if banks gave their listing agents $2k to spend on improving the property... do you think it would help move these properties faster... for more... or at all?"

Banks won't give money to brokers/agents. Used to a broker/agent would have their own contractor business and double dip the profits as they were taking a reduced commission from a bank or paying a refferal fee to the asset company handling the banks portfolio.

Any repairs now the broker/agent has to get approved and submitted or it will not be re-imbursed. If it doesn't sell and the listing gets re-assigned have fun chasing them to get the money back.

Generally distressed properties spell deal and buyers won't pay more for them. If it needs a good cleaning,carpet,and fresh coat of paint might make a difference.

Most buyers expect these things done as maintenance issues and not upgrades they will pay more for.

I am talking distressed market which is alot of markets around the U.S. currently.

JUL

professional clean and declutter, professional photography, front yard landscape pick me up, RealBird website with special domain, lovely open house for brokers and a bottle of champagne when it sells!

JUL

Although I'm new to the industry...I can honesty say that advertising will not guarentee the sale of a home. However, the cosmetics of the home will stand a much better chance (cleaning, painting, fixing items, and staging)

I would even consider placing staging near the end of the list because while I'm not a professional stager, I know that less is more and removing items in a room that would make the room less than optimal is a good thing to do.

Thanks...good question!

De'Janiera

AUG

First, Clean

Then, repair cosmetic issues, paint and carapet

Then, how about an energy audit that shows a buyer how they can buy the home and at the same time reduce the cost to live in it by rolling those upgrades into the mortgage.

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