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Help Buyers Fall in Love this Valentine's Day

Posted by Blog Admin on Tuesday, February 14th, 2017 at 10:44am.

It’s Valentine’s Day and love is in the air…unless your home has been sitting on the market for weeks without any interest from buyers and you feel nothing but frustration.  Not to worry – the real estate “love doctors” at Peggy Slappey Properties have expert tips to find your home’s soulmate and help them fall in love.

Make a Great First Impression

Most buyers start their home search online, so their first impression comes from photos and brief descriptions.  Review these, compare them to other listings, and make appropriate changes.  Bad grammar and hard-to-read text can turn buyers off in a hurry.  But succinct language that touches all your home’s high points can lure them in for a showing.  And photos are everything in online searches!  Professional photography – with proper lighting, angles, and staging – can make all the difference in today’s click, swipe, and move on real estate scene. 

For those buyers who reserve judgment for a personal visit, clean up your home’s curb appeal.  If you made your front porch and lawn look great for listing photos but slacked off when the weather got cold, it’s time to get to work.  Sweep away dead leaves, put out a friendly welcome mat, buy seasonal decor for the front door, and make sure flower beds are weed-free and groomed.  When buyers see the outside of your home is cared for, they will be enticed to find out what the inside is like.

Clean, Clean, and Clean Some More

When buyers visit for a showing, your home should be as spotless as you can make it.  Step back and use an objective eye.  Are the shelves too cluttered? Are there too many small appliances on the kitchen countertop?  Is the bathtub as clean as it could be?  Buyers can get hung up on small details, even when they are easily changed or fixed.  Make all small repairs, put up a fresh coat of paint if possible, and focus on making your kitchen and bathrooms sparkle.

Scent Matters

After you have deep cleaned your home, freshen the air with plug-in air fresheners, scented candles, or a batch of cookies in the oven before a showing.  The scent you choose should make buyers feel at home and welcomed, but should not be overwhelming.  Especially if you have pets, this tip might prove invaluable.  Scent is subtle, but unpleasant smells can send buyers running for the door.

Price It Right

It all comes back to price in the end.  Check your listing against similar homes for sale in your neighborhood, and try to set emotion aside.  If your home has been listed for a time without buyer interest, it is likely overpriced.  Trust a PSP REALTOR to evaluate your home with a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA).  A CMA accounts for a host of factors, including location, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, square footage, the age of your home, acreage, amenities, etc.  It is a great starting point for determining price, and every qualified REALTOR at PSP is trained to craft comprehensive, careful CMAs targeted for a quick sale and a fair price.  Get your free CMA HERE.

We hope these tips helped to bring a little love to your listing this Valentine’s Day!

Peggy Slappey Properties, Inc. is a Metro Atlanta real estate brokerage with over 30 years of experience in real estate sales and marketing.  From new home construction to resales, we can help you find the home of your dreams.  To see our current listings, visit www.psponline.com and call us for expert advice at 770-271-5555.  Keep up to date with the latest PSP events and offers by checking in on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/peggyslappeyproperties and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/psponline.

Photo credit: point2.com

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