7 Tips to Improve the First Impression When Listing Your Destin Condo or Home For Sale

At Newman-Dailey, our experienced real estate team members frequently provide clients valuable insight into making their investment the most attractive it can be to increase resale value. Recently, we caught up with one of our long-standing real estate professionals, James Duren, and to hear his advice to clients to improve their property’s appeal and improve the first impression when listing a property for sale in the Destin area. Here are his "7 Tips to Improving the First Impression of a Destin home or condo for sale": 

Remove Distractions. When my clients are thinking about selling their home, I ask them, “have you ever walked in to someone’s home and you never even noticed the layout because you couldn’t get past the dirty laundry scattered about the living room, dirty dishes on the counter and kitchen table with food dried on the plates that would have made a great scientific experiment or the beginnings of a new world order and that FUNKY catbox odor?” Well I haven’t either, at least not to that extreme, but I hope it helped make the point that distractions can affect a property’s appeal.

Stand out in a crowded marketplace. Sellers must realize their property is one of many in the marketplace and they want theirs to stand out and sell. Your home must have the features or appeal that a buyer desires.  When buying, buyers look for homes meeting certain criteria and price range. Our goal is to select the home with the best value. However, the winning selection is based on value and emotion. By increasing your property’s appeal, sellers have a positive effect on both value and emotional connection with the home.

You have one chance to make a first impression. You certainly don’t want to be eliminated by a buyer driving by and not getting out of the car. You want to show the buyer that your property has been treated with care and continued maintenance. In general, you need to eliminate as many negatives as possible. For buyers, it is always more appealing to know that they are not buying a property that needs immediate repairs or cleaning. Start by making a checklist of items that could use attention. In our office, we use an extensive checklist to ensure the house is ready for a buyer’s inspection. This checklist takes the entire property into consideration.  

Complete cleaning and repairs before listing your property on the market. By making your repairs now, it makes your home more appealing to more people. Also, by making your repairs now you usually save money.  Your home will sell quicker, with the purchase price being closer to your asking price. If not, expect the repairs to be taken out of the asking price. I know when a savvy buyer purchases a property in need of repair, their offer reflects deductions made to complete those repairs - at their cost, which is usually more than what the seller would invest if they had made the repairs initially. To illustrate this point, let’s say there is a hole in the wall. You could have fixed it yourself for $50, or have a handy-man friend do the repair for $120. If no corrective action is made and the buyer sees it, he will want it repaired and will make a phone call to a professional. After describing the damage, the quote he receives may read “it will cost no more than $400”.  Which figure do you think the buyer uses as a deduction to his offer?

Consider curb appeal. Your home improvement should include the outside as well as the inside.  As you improve the outside, you create “Curb appeal”.  How does your home look from the street?  Everyone knows the obvious outside areas of concern, but don’t forget the driveways, the mailbox, the amount of cars in the driveway, the gate-latches and the chalking around the windows, among the list of noticeable details. 

Inside, remember buyers are looking at the entire house. When you place your home on the market, make sure it is cleaned well and clutter is removed.  Look for ways to give your house more space or the appearance of having more space. Sellers often make the mistake of putting everything in the closets and garage, but buyers open every closet and look in every garage. Also, repair any loose doorknobs and sticking doors and windows before opening listing your home for sale. These are details are noticed by novice and savvy buyers alike. Most of all, don’t forget to look up! Does your ceiling have cobwebs in the corners, dirty fixtures, stains from leaks or dust on fan blades? The more you clean and purge, the faster your property is likely to sell.

Make it a home. Next we have to have your house “feel like home.” It must appeal to the senses--sight, smells, sounds—all matter. For instance, you can satisfy the sense of sight by completing the repairs, touch ups, cleaning and the removal of clutter. For smell, make an effort not to cook with strong spices, smoke cigarettes, have an indoor pet, or dirty laundry that can create offensive odors. Air out your home and add an air freshener to create a pleasing scent when you enter. If you want to impress, bake an apple pie or cookies. Apple pie is my favorite, but I digress. 

After you have completed all these suggestions, it would be nice if the seller had a way of knowing what each potential buyer felt about their home both likes and dislikes. Unfortunately, buyers are often open and candid with everyone except the seller. This is when it is beneficial to have an experienced real estate agent to dig for input and give expert advice. Proactive real estate professionals will follow up on anyone who views a home listed through our office even when another real estate office shows the listing.  This information allows us to adapt quickly to improve the appeal of the home

In closing, remember to clean, repair and eliminate clutter to create more space. Next, remove negatives from your home and create curb appeal to draw buyers in. Most importantly, make your home’s “First Impression” the selling factor. 

Are you ready to list your Destin condo or home for sale? Contact James by email at [email protected]. Learn more about our Real Estate Division online or call us at 1-800-225-8652.

Not ready to buy or sell? Plan a Destin vacation instead. View our premier colleciton of South Walton and Destin vacation rentals online or call one of our friendly vacation specialists at 1-800-225-7652.

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