Last week was a very important lesson for me. It is often the smallest things that make the difference. I had to send my computer out to be looked at. Nothing I did was helping, it even appeared as if I had some horrible virus in it. After a few days with the tech guy I got the dreaded call. It's close to dead, you can try reinstalling windows, but we think the drive is failing.
I don't want to bore you with details, but I did one small thing that changed everything. I changed a setting from "show windows side by side" to "show windows stacked". BINGO!
It got me to thinking about the little things that make all the difference in the world in real estate.
When you have your home listed it's a fairly safe bet you have cleaned it up. But check the little things that will make your house stand out above the others they have seen.
- Got cats? Make sure the cat box is clean, super clean.
- Dogs? Check that Fido's smell doesn't linger after he leaves the house for the showing.
- Walk up to your front door, the way the buyers will come in. What do you see? Are the bushes overhanging the walkway? Are the stones in the walkway secure?
- And speaking of walking in the home, check your front door. No spider webs please, and clean the door! A quick coat of paint might solve the door problems.
- Before that key goes in the lock box, make sure it actually works! Recently I showed a home where the owner had installed a new door knob with a lockset. Something was wrong, getting in took me over 5 minutes and I really thought I was going to break the key. If it isn't easy to open, do something about it!
- Dress up the entry way outside with flowers if possible.
- Leave something out for the buyers, and let them know it is for them! A bowl of candy, some cookies, small bottles of water.
When buyers are talking about the houses they saw they will usually identify the homes with something that stands out. I have heard them say things like...
- the smelly house
- the wasp house (no one wants to be attacked by bees or wasps)
- the house with the broken front door
- the cat house
- the dog house
- the house where we got the cookies
I have had sellers that left a letter for potential buyers, telling them why they have loved living in their home. That was unique!
It is often the little things that grab a buyers attention, both positive and negative, and make all the difference in the world!
If you have questions about listing your home for sale in southern Litchfield County, CT, give me a call at 203.460.1775. I would love to share my marketing and sales plan with you!
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