Selling Your Home - Why Should Buyers Choose Yours?

November 20, 2008

Assuming certain factors are the same - such as location, amenities, approximate price range, features - what would entice a buyer to put an offer on your house instead of another in your subdivision?

It’s been my experience that most buyers lack imagination when it comes to looking at properties. They are effected by your decorating, your taste and how your home makes them feel. Only about 20% can detach themselves from your decorations and imagine their home in its place.

So how do you appeal to the 80% of buyers who want to walk into your house and feel at home?

The first step is to de-clutter your home. Any clutter translates into a read-between-the-lines detractor of “not enough storage space”. If you truly don’t have enough storage space for all of your possessions, treasured though they may be, then rent a small storage space. Go through your home and remove everything except the most flattering and visually appealing items. Your home does not want to look bare, but it needs to give the impressions of elegance and space.

The next step is to take care of any maintenance issues before you put the home on the market. You may be temped to say, “I’ll fix anything their home inspector finds”, but in my experience, your initial offer will be lower (or even non-existent) if the impression the buyers get is that you have not taken care of the home. So replace rotten wood, fix and paint damaged or grubby walls, replace torn or damaged flooring, service HVAC units before you call your real estate agent.

The final step is to thoroughly clean the home. Hire someone to help you do a deep spring cleaning - clean baseboards, polish mirrors, shampoo carpets. Make your home sparkle. Buyers will notice on a subconscious level that the home is clean. Why do you think new homes are so attractive to buyers? It’s because no-one’s dirt is there - it’s virgin and pristine.

Once you have listed the home, keep it clean and tidy. Make beds and put away dishes before you leave in the morning. So often I’ve tried to make appointments to show a home, and the seller has said that we’ll have to come back another day because they left the home in a mess that day. Normally there is no “another day”. So if there is a day you’ve had to run out in a hurry, take a deep breath and let it be shown anyway and hope that the buyers are the 20% that can imagine the dishes in their right place!

As of 12/02/09 the Walt Berhalter RePage is ranked at 7,591 with 45 points.
The monthly top RePage owner will receive a cash prize. Help this agent by bookmarking this site and posting it to blogs and other Web pages and encourage others to visit.

Local Information for Koloa, HI

Latitude: 21.907137 -- Longitude: -159.465877

Enter our Photo Sweepstakes and Win $200 for your Koloa photos!

Click on Photos to Enlarge. To see all Koloa area photos Click Here.

Submit your photos of Koloa and become eligible to win $200. Click Here for details.

Koloa is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kaua?i County, Hawai?i, United States. The population was 1,942 at the 2000 census. Koloa is often incorrectly translated as native duck, which is the correct translation for the similar-looking koloa (without the macron). Koloa has no known translation. As of the census of 2000, there were 1,942 people, 693 households, and 507 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,629.5 people per square mile (630.1/km²). There were 748 housing units at an average density of 627.6/sq mi (242.7/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 20.24% White, 0.36% African American, 0.26% Native American, 43.77% Asian, 7.78% Pacific Islander, 1.24% from other races, and 26.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.38% of the population. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Hawaii 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Koloa	Hawaii	United States
Population	1,942	1,211,537	281,421,906
Median age	35.9	36.2	35.3
Median age for Male	33.9	35.1	34
Median age for Female	37.8	37.4	36.5
Households	693	403,240	105,480,101
Household population	1,942	1,175,755	273,643,273
Average household size	2.8	2.92	2.59
Families	507	287,068	71,787,347
Average family size	3.25	3.42	3.14
Housing units	748	460,542	115,904,641
Occupied units	693	403,240	105,480,101
Vacant units	55	57,302	10,424,540

Visit US Census