When I meet with a seller, I look at the house the way a buyer would see it. Often sellers meet with me the way they really live, the way a lot of us live - clutter, dim lights, pets, kids' stuff everywhere, etc - most people don't live in a staged home.
My job is to see the potential in your house, to see the highest and best use for it, to see it the way I know most buyers will love it.
How do I know this?
There are a couple of ways. The first one is experience. I've looked at a lot of houses with a lot of buyers over the course of over 10 years. Secondly, when I am there, I pay attention to the buyer's reactions first and foremost.
I recently had a video done as an ad to run on Zillow. The videographer asked me what I look for in homes I am showing to buyers. I thought it was a strange question. The first thing I look at when I am showing a home to buyers? The buyers' faces and body language. What do THEY think. What they think matters far more than what I do. I am not buying every house I show. I work with first time buyers looking for small condos, relocating professionals wanting large acreage, commuters downsizing for a simpler life, and the list goes on. Sure, I point out potential market value problems a buyer might not notice, like proximity to highways or other incurable defects, but the most important thing is their reaction.
Because I've spent years watching my buyers' reactions to homes, I spot trends. I know what most buyers want. Sure there are quirks and specifics, but when you show hundred of homes a year and are truly paying attention, you learn what makes a house sell. What adds value and what does not.
That's why when I first saw this home, I knew it would be a gem. Yeah, it had old carpet and dated paint colors. And of course when I saw it, the sellers were in the process of moving out. But it also had high ceilings, hardwoods underneath and a great location. I advised the sellers on where to spend the money to improve it, advised they move out and let me manage the repairs, and we sold it fast for a great price.
As a listing agent, my number one asset is the time I've spent working with buyers and listening to their needs. If you will let me harness that experience and apply it to making your house the most attractive it will be to buyers, you will experience success in selling your home.
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