11 minutes. That is the average time a homebuyer spends touring.  In those 660 seconds, the buyer is judging whether the home makes the cut.  A seller needs to hook the buyer emotionally within those 11 minutes to attract an offer.

Unfortunately, the biggest obstacle to creating the ideal environment for the buyer is: the seller.  You, the seller, have spent years creating memories, spending weekends on home projects, and decorating the home exactly how you like it.  It is hard to disconnect yourself from your home and allow others to evaluate it.   Preparing your property correctly, however, ensures it will sell quickly and at the highest rate.  Learn how to get started below.

1. Use the word “property”, instead of “my home”.  As soon as you put your property on the market, you will be faced with your home’s harshest critics. By not emotionally distancing yourself from the property, the feedback and critiques will start to feel personal and cloud your judgement.  Changing your language early allows you to objectively see your home as a property and an investment.
2. Allow a third party to evaluate your property.  Your friends and family love you and by default, usually love your style and home.  They cannot offer the objective opinion you need. (Or if they can, it may put a strain on your relationship.)  Before putting the property on the market, talk to your Realtor about areas of the property that need to be addressed.  The list may include cleaning, de-cluttering, and making repairs.  A home stager can also offer a great third party opinion since they are trained to style properties based on current buyer interests.  The average buyer is 10-15 years younger than the average home seller.  You do not have to like the style the stager recommends; it is for the buyer’s tastes not yours.
3. Don’t rely on buyer credits to hide property flaws. Is your carpet old and worn? Does the roof need to be replaced? Offering a buyer credit seems like the easy solution.  Although this may be enticing, it hurts the buyer’s perception of the property’s value and leads to lower offers.  A property in need of repairs signals to buyers that there may be other maintenance you have not handled.  Or makes them suspicious that you have not taken proper care of your home and they may be buying a lemon.  Because of this fear, some buyers will not even submit an offer.  Others will submit an offer lower than the cost of your credit.  Making the repairs will allow you to list the property at a higher price in the beginning and will appeal to a larger demographic of buyers.
4. Invest in professional photography.  90% of home buyers shop online first.  Pictures are the deciding factors on whether buyers even want to step foot in your home.  If your agent is using their iPhone to take pictures, then you are already at a disadvantage compared to the rest of the competition.  Having the best digital listing possible ensures more buyers walk through the door.  The more buyers who tour your property, the better chance you have of getting an offer. Pictures help ensure the foot traffic you want.
5. Consider staging.  When selling your property, it seems like everything costs money and adding one more expense is the last thing you want. From experience, my home buyers love well-staged homes and almost always request to tour those homes. Staging creates a perception of value that a vacant property cannot achieve.  A well-staged home gives buyers an idea of how to use the space, a sense of scale, and attracts them to the lifestyle your home is selling. Since home stagers use buyer psychology for their designs, they hook the buyer emotionally.  On average, a staged property attracts an offer 4% higher than non-staged homes and staging costs less than 1% of list price.  For a $200,000 home, you could pay $2,000 to get an extra $8,000 at closing.  And staged properties typically go under contract faster.

The goal of selling is to allow another family to see themselves living in your property. You want to prepare it in such a way that a buyer walks in and wants to buy it.  Being able to emotionally detach and prepare your property for sale will guarantee you a higher sales price and less time on the market.  Good luck!

Check out this helpful web site for a checklist of what needs to be addressed in each room of your house:  http://prepmyhomeforsale.com/