You don’t get a second chance at making a first impression.
I can’t claim that as an original saying but it sums up one of the most important things to consider when selling a property.
It is one of the big points of discussion I regularly have with sellers as they try to work out how much time, effort and money they need to put in to get their property ready for sale.
The obvious point is that you only put money into something that is going to give you a significantly better return than the amount you have put into it.
If you have a long-term strategy to renovate bathrooms and a kitchen then that is great and if you have an old property in a good area the renovations can produce fantastic results in a growing market such as ours.
However, I am thinking more about the sellers who don’t want to undertake major work but, instead, want to put a bit of effort into ensuring they get the best possible return on a limited investment of money and effort.
You need to make the first impression a good one because buyers make their minds up about things quickly. The first 60 seconds are crucial. That’s not to say it’s the only thing that matters but buyers do draw certain conclusions very quickly.
I tell sellers to go for a drive and pull up at the front of their property with their buyers’ hats on. Buyers are looking for reasons to question the asking price. They are very good at making assumptions based on a first impression.
If you have got rickety old stairs with peeling paint at the front of your high-set house the buyers are going to draw some conclusions about your property. They have already started discounting the price based on the stairs and what they see as the inevitable other problems inside the house.
You need to have a critical look at the front of your house and assess what you could do in terms of pressure cleaning, painting, yard work etc that is not going to cost a fortune but will create a good first impression.
Another thing to take into account is that buyers never underestimate the cost of something that will need to be done to the property they are inspecting.
If the paint is peeling off the walls and the carpet is threadbare, the buyers will typically calculate the cost at much higher than the reality.
So, when a property is in need of a coat of paint and new carpet, it is often best to get it done before going on the market. I couldn’t count the number of times I have sold a property for a better than expected price simply because of new floor coverings or a coat of paint.
That is because there is another intangible feature of a property; how it makes the buyer feel. People remember how a property made them feel.
There are plenty of other things to consider when selling a property and I will, from time to time, go through them in my weekly column.
One thing I can say is that many of my best sales have come about when a seller has asked me to go to their property to do an appraisal and, as part of that, make suggestions on what to do to prepare their property for sale.
I get an understanding of what, if anything, a seller wants to spend and get to make suggestions that will bring the best return on their investment of money, time and effort.
The $20,000 underground irrigation system you are planning in your back yard might not be value for money.
