Put Desire in Your Property Listing
Being a Home Stager®, I tend to notice properties for sale as I drive through my Atlantic Canadian home town and I can’t help but wonder “what is the real reason why some of these houses are listed for sale?” It seems to me, from the way they are promoting their home; the last thing that they really desire is to have the property actually sell.
Case in point, one home for sale that I used to drive by quite frequently had a barricade of Adirondack chairs in front of the door. I agree that Adirondack chairs are quite lovely, are maritime appropriate, and add a nice touch to most properties when placed properly. However, if they are in desperate need of new paint or stain, are placed in front of a very small front entry, and prevent visitors from accessing the doorway easily, they are weakening the marketability of your home.
So why were they there? Is it because the homeowners didn’t want people coming to the front door? Could it be that the homeowners weren’t aware of the importance of curb appeal - showing the exterior of their home in the best possible light? If they were selling on their own, perhaps, but they were listed with a Realtor and, I am sure, with the knowledge of today’s Realtors, being aware of Home Staging® as a marketing tool for selling homes quickly and profitably, that couldn’t have been the case. Therefore, all I was left with, was the conclusion that those homeowners didn’t really want to sell.
It is quite common that homeowners, for reasons such as divorce, death of a spouse, unwanted job transfers, loss of jobs, etc., need to sell and must sell quickly but actually don’t want to sell.
What happens in these situations? The need vs the desire scenario of Home Selling. Well, the Home Sellers will typically find themselves torn and upset with the fact that the house is sitting on the market so long without any acceptable offers. Why is this? The property is still on the market. Shouldn’t it still sell regardless of the Home Seller’s motivation? Not really. The house can, and usually does, reflect the homeowner’s desire and if it is showing signs of neglect, buyers will either walk away or try to cash in on what they sense as a need to sell over a desire to sell. Any offers that do come in will be for much less than the home is actually worth.
If you, as Realtor’s, have clients in this situation, you owe it to them to educate the downfalls that can happen, if the absence of desire to sell is present. Have the home professionally Staged® and only you and your client will know the real reason it is on the market.
