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!

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Local Information for Evansville, IN

Latitude: 37.977166 -- Longitude: -87.550566

Other Area Cities: Evansville Newburgh

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Evansville is a city located in Vanderburgh County, Indiana. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 121,582, and a metropolitan population of 342,815. It is the third-largest city in the state of Indiana. The city is the county seat of Vanderburgh County. In 2004 Evansville was named an "All-America City" by the National Civic League. [1] GR6 The city is situated on a gentle horseshoe bend on the Ohio River and often referred to as "River City." It was commonly referred to as "Stop Light City" before the city's Interstate 164 bypass was constructed. It serves as a regional hub for the Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois tri-state area. Evansville has a humid continental climate (just north of the humid subtropical line) and four distinct seasons. Average temperatures range from 32 degrees Fahrenheit to 78 degrees Fahrenheit. Annual rainfall averages 42 inches and annual snowfall averages 13 inches. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Indiana 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Evansville	Indiana	United States
Population	121,582	6,080,485	281,421,906
Median age	36.5	35.2	35.3
Median age for Male	34.7	33.9	34
Median age for Female	38.2	36.5	36.5
Households	52,273	2,336,306	105,480,101
Household population	116,862	5,902,331	273,643,273
Average household size	2.24	2.53	2.59
Families	30,512	1,602,501	71,787,347
Average family size	2.9	3.05	3.14
Housing units	57,065	2,532,319	115,904,641
Occupied units	52,273	2,336,306	105,480,101
Vacant units	4,792	196,013	10,424,540

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