When it comes to prepping a home for sale, the majority of that work falls to the owner. The realtor’s job is to take what they have to work with and showcase it to prospective buyers. If you’re going to be able to sell a buyer on a home, you need to first understand what factors they care about.
Quality of the Neighborhood
Every realtor worth their salt knows that location is critical when it comes to real estate. No one wants to move into a bad neighborhood, and you can expect prospective buyers to ask you questions about the one your client’s property is in. Take some time to learn about the neighborhood. Is it busy? Are there a lot of kids? How close is it to businesses such as grocery stores and hospitals? What schools are nearby and what are they like? The more you know, the better of an impression you’ll make on the buyer and the more confidence they’ll have in their decision to make an offer.
Curb Appeal
A close second to location, first impressions are also of vital importance. This may be a good thing to stress to your client early on in the process. Encourage them to clean up their home inside and outside. You can remove mold and other growths by pressure washing your home. Suggest that they keep up on their landscaping throughout the sale process, touching it up regularly as needed. If you know of any quality landscaping companies, consider recommending one to your clients so they don’t have to worry about handling it themselves.
The Floor Plan
While the exterior appearance and quality of the neighborhood are absolutely important, the interior of the home also matters. People live inside, so the floor plan is what they’ll have to deal with daily. It should make sense and have a good flow to it. It’s not usually a good idea to have to go through one room to get to another. If the floor plan seems a bit odd, you can try repurposing the rooms when staging the home to make it make more sense, or you can encourage your client to change the floor plan altogether. Changing a floor plan can be expensive, but altering it to optimize it can both increase the value of the home and help it sell more quickly.
Understanding what buyers care about in a home can help you as a realtor know where to focus your efforts and give you insight into how to sell a buyer on the home. Factors such as the quality of the neighborhood, the home’s curb appeal, and the interior floor plan have the potential to be deal-breakers or the things that convince a buyer to make an offer. Focus your attention and pitch on the things that matter to make the most of everyone’s time and land an offer as quickly as possible.
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