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 11/21/09 the Rondi Jacob RePage is ranked at 2,984 with 55 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 Baton Rouge, LA

Latitude: 30.45809 -- Longitude: -91.140229

Other Area Cities: Denham Springs Baton Rouge Gonzales Baker Zachary Port Allen Scotlandville

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

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

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

Baton Rouge, French: Bâton-Rouge (pronounced /'bætn '?u??/ in English, and /b?t?~ ?u?/ in French) is the capital and the largest city of Louisiana, a state of the United States of America. Historically, Baton Rouge has been the second largest city in Louisiana behind New Orleans, but as of mid-2005, the catastrophic effects of Hurricane Katrina have, at least temporarily, reduced the population of New Orleans such that Baton Rouge is currently the largest city in Louisiana. As of the 2000 census, its population was 227,818 and as of 2004, the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimate puts the city at 224,097. The Greater Baton Rouge area as of 2000 had a population of 602,894, but has grown to over 750,000 since the 2000 census. It is the second largest metropolitan area in the state after Greater New Orleans. Baton Rouge is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish. Baton Rouge is home to the main campus of Louisiana State University and to Southern University. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Louisiana 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Baton Rouge	Louisiana	United States
Population	227,818	4,468,976	281,421,906
Median age	30.4	34	35.3
Median age for Male	28.8	32.6	34
Median age for Female	32.1	35.3	36.5
Households	88,973	1,656,053	105,480,101
Household population	215,365	4,333,011	273,643,273
Average household size	2.42	2.62	2.59
Families	52,661	1,156,438	71,787,347
Average family size	3.12	3.16	3.14
Housing units	97,388	1,847,181	115,904,641
Occupied units	88,973	1,656,053	105,480,101
Vacant units	8,415	191,128	10,424,540

Visit US Census