Put Yourself in the Buyers' Shoes
Residing in a home that is for sale can be quite challenging. You don’t want your home to appear lived in, rather you want it ‘show ready.’ This is very difficult to do for some homeowners but, it’s the absolute best way to sell a home! Remember, it’s no longer about you, it's about the buyer. Can you remember how you felt when you toured your home or the model home that is like the one that you built? What stood out to you when you toured the home? It certainly wasn’t grandma’s photo or your collection of shot glasses that you have proudly displayed in a shadow box! It wasn’t the mural that you have painted in your den or the bright Home Depot orange color you have painted in your dining room!
I recently wrote about selling your Charlotte home and thinking like a real estate agent. Encouraging sellers to think like buyers also helps you to properly prepare your Charlotte home for the real estate market. Times are tougher now than ever before for sellers but, if you're realistic and can put yourself in the buyers' shoes, you'll be a step ahead of the competition.
Your mission: To elicit in a buyer, those same feelings that you had when you discovered your wonderful home. Showing suggestions to bear in mind:
- Neutral colors allow buyers to better picture themselves in your home.
- Appeal to your buyers’ olfactory senses by baking fresh cookies before the potential buyers arrive
- Leave those cookies for your visitors to enjoy
- De-clutter the home, packing away as much furniture and memorabilia as possible. You want to create a larger feeling space and remember, you’re going to have to pack it up or give it away anyway!
My recommendation is that you do ALL of this prior to listing your home. Don’t think that it’s okay to work through all of these projects while you have your home listed. In fact, the largest number of buyers who will come through your home in any given week will be the very first week that you are listed. Those very serious buyers will miss the changes, meaning that you could possibly miss out on your buyer as well.
Read More Charlotte Home Seller Tips:
Pricing Your Home for Sale, Myth vs. Reality
Selling Your Charlotte Home – Leave the Emotions Out of the Equation
Pricing is CRITICAL When Selling Your Charlotte Real Estate
Charlotte Home Seller Tips - Redefine Your Market Value
Charlotte Home Seller Tips - Do Your Research
Charlotte Home Seller Tips - Extend Your Selling Season
*Charlotte Home Seller Tips | Put Yourself in the Buyers Shoes © Debe Maxwell, CRS
Charlotte North Carolina Real Estate
Debe Maxwell, CRS, Realtor®/Broker
SAVVY + COMPANY REAL ESTATE
1920 E. 7th Street
Charlotte, NC 28204
Mobile: (704) 491-3310
Fax: (704) 353-7014
(THE best Charlotte home search available - no kidding!)
Debe Maxwell, CRS/Realtor®/Broker
Broker@TheCharlotteScoop.com
Phone (704) 491-3310
Good evening Debe,
This post gives excellent tips for sellers to get the best showings possible! Putting yourself in the Buyer's shoes makes perfect sense!
Debe- Great information and love that you suggested doing this BEFORE it's listed. I'm often brought in after the property has been on the market for a month, and of course, by then as you said.. there have been many buyers who have already walked through.
Debe, this is a great advice - and I may also say, vice versa should be true, too! When a seller is ready to do whatever to sell the home, buyers come up with an offer 20% off asking price!!!
Debe,
As long as the sellers would picture themselves as buyers and take the blinders off when they walk through their own home to see it as someone else sees the home. I had to physically take a seller out of her house one time and then walk in to visualize what a buyer would see in their home. Sometimes we have to get them to realize what is going on.
This is a fabulous series, Debe. You have captured essence of the buying and selling process. If everyone could see that process from the other side it would go so smoothly.
Debe thinking like a buyer may be a touch challenge for some sellers, but oh it would so worth it to be able to do so.
Great advice Debe, something that not only sellers should do but vica-versa, not to mention that we should also do the same with our clients.
Debe - these are great tips. And doing it BEFORE they go on the market...EXCELLENT. Nice post.
So, I read this post, and it really got me thinking?
Has there ever been a post from Debe Maxwell that was not spot on with the topic and the information?
Scare me...I shudder to think of such!
Well, this was definitely another post and dash! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you but, thank you all for your comments! This advice is really about what sellers tend to 'forget' during the process--they almost always focus on the end target but, have to recognize that there are many steps to hitting that bull's eye!
Have a great weekend everyone!