Inspired Real Estate For Today

As I drove into the parking lot of the large grocery store chain, I actually hesitated about parking my car to walk inside.  It was about the parking lot.  Navigating my vehicle to find a slot, I observed stray papers and miscellaneous bits of trash dancing around the ground...skipping about with the wind as though they had not a care in the world. 

Although, I had been told that the store had recently undergone a major remodel, I questioned how nice it could be on the inside if the outside looked like this.  Anyway, I finally decided that maybe the guy who did their parking lot sweeping had lapsed on his duty, so I parked my car and ventured inside.  I was glad I did. 

Gone was the dingy lighting and older displays.  The atmosphere was neat, bright and the store had been reorganized entirely to highlight the new look that the chain was obviously trying to project.  I shook my head wandering why they had neglected the exterior first impression.  If I had not gone into that store, they would have missed out on a $90 purchase!

We are all subject to some degree to the impact of judgments made from "first impressions."  Even when they are completely wrong!  There have been numerous times in my life where my first impression would have me running in the opposite direction, sometimes for very fickle reasons.   This, in spite of the fact that I usually regard myself as someone who has good discerning capacity.  

The fact that human beings tend to make snap decisions which influence their choices is critically important in any marketing effort which involves trying to sell a home.  There are two primary sources of first impressions when buyers first view a home.  For 90% of potential home buyers, the home will be seen on-line, in cyberspace. The visitor brought figuratively through the door by the click of a finger on a computer mouse. 

The expectation for the on-line buyer is that pictures of a home will be showing off its best form.  When a click reveals dark, dingy, smallish rooms and clutter on every frame of the photo's landscape, many potential buyers will determine they don't want to venture any further to see the real thing.

When a buyer takes the time to drive by a home, this indicates a high level of interest in the home or the community.  While the digital image may not reveal the poorly kept lawn or the hose sprawled haplessly around the flower beds and the children's toys littering the lawn and sidewalk, a drive by most certainly will. 

Curb appeal is the blessing and the bane of the suburbs.  Your home must look at least as nice as everyone else's.  But, to really attract the attention which turns a looker into a buyer, your home must have something which stops their tire tracks right smack dab in the middle of your driveway.

Failing to achieve this feat is costly.  Far more costly than investing money in some good landscaping.  So many times, homeowners invest a lot of money in the interior of the home, updating and redecorating and seem to forget that if people never stop long enough to get out of their cars, the efforts placed in beautifying the home's interior will never be seen.

Here are a few simple things you can do to give your home the benefit of a Good First Impression.

1.  Clear all trash from the front of your home.

• Sweep the street and your neighbors sidewalk too if necessary.  Now, that includes your personal belongings.  Bikes, toys, lawn equipment, old cars, and some types of  lawn ornamentation are your personal treasures but rarely achieve the same status with your potential pool of buyers.

2.  Simplify, Beautify and then Amplify. 

• Sometimes, landscaping is more a function of what's on sale at the local Flowerland than any well thought out plan about what is truly appropriate for your home.  It is also easy to give in to the the temptation to plant way too much stuff in the yard.  For a home, this ends up with the effect that is sometimes observed with women who wear way too much make-up.  They may be gorgeous, but excess make-up has a way of obscuring this fact. 
• To create good curb appeal, Simplify by letting only grass grow in your yard.  Get rid of those unsightly weeds!  Simplify by removing some plants and allowing the good rich darkness of the earth to frame and show up the profusion of color.  Beautify by getting the best plants you can afford and planting them in clusters to Amplify the effect on the eye when observed from a distance.

3. Paint and Spruce. 

• Dirty siding may not be visible on a digital picture, but it sure shows up when your home is seen with the naked eye.  Power washing the exterior of the home is an inexpensive way to boost the curb appeal.  Then, invest $25.00  - $50.00 in paint and a paint brush!  Paint the front door and all window frames.  Paint anything on the exterior which shows signs of wear and tear or which is peeling. Speaking of frames, one of my pet peeves are torn screens.  These are so easy to fix.  Just do it!

All of these tips combined may cost a few hundred dollars.  But if they get your home sold, you would have gained thousand more in the value of your investment.  It will also SAVE Thousands of Dollars spent making House Payments for a Home that you're ready to move out of. Don't allow simple, readily fixable issues like these to make your buyer drive away without letting them step over your threshold for a Value Added Showing.

This is part of a 3 part series.  In the next post, we will talk about creating a Memorable Showing and Exploring how different forms of messiness Manifest in our homes and lives. You can contact us for a detailed analysis designed to enhance your homes' Curb Appeal.

photo of shopping carts is courtesy of ShutterCat7's photo stream on flickr.com

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