House Hunting With a Slingshot

We've been house-hunting the last week.

And I just gotta say,
some people have no freaking clue
how to sell a house!

I have a method to finding a home,
much like everyone else's--
I look at homes online,
forward the MLS's to my realtor
so she can make the appointments,
and I show up expecting to be
"AWED" by the experience.

Most home buyers WANT to be "awed"
every time they pull up to a potential home sale.
They're crossing their fingers and toes
that the house they're pulling up to
is
the house.


If you're selling a house,
you have the ability to AWE someone!
All you really have to do,
is exceed their expectations.
And believe me,
it's not impossible to do that
even in this home market.

For example,
we looked at a home,
that, when I saw it online looked really nice--
backs up to a natural preserve
with walking trails--
already this home had something special going for it--
location.
BUT, upon pulling up to the house,
I realized within the first 7 seconds
that it wasn't going to awe my senses
in the slightest:
the yard was overgrown,
and mostly weeds.
It got no better inside:
a rug-cleaner at the entry,
worn-out, old, entry rug,
laundry on the staircase,
and a haggard homeowner saying,
"We're still doing projects to clean-up the house."

I walked around each corner,
hoping to see evidence of a finished "project"
somewhere--
but only found more clutter and mess.
The floors especially concerned me--
three different kinds of (dirty) carpet on the mainlevel--
even Berber (ack!) in the family room.
Wallpaper borders in the kitchen and bathrooms--
which basically screams "out-dated".
Countless dead or half-dead plants lined the windows.
All of the woodwork was in need of a fresh coat of
polyurethane,
the walls were also dirty.
A bedroom painted Navy Blue.
Sloppily painted navy blue.
Each room took only one step inside
to discover it wasn't a room you wanted to go inside of,
without at least a slingshot.

I could go on and on,
but the point is obvious:
The house was NOT ready to sell;
not for their asking price at least.
I was definitely not "awed"...
more like "ewwww-ed".

As we left,
my "home staging" instinct was to turn around
and go back to the homeowner with some major counsel
to take the sign out of the yard
until
the house is cleaned up,
painted,
and updated
120%.

Home sellers can "awe" potential home buyers
by just exerting some 'awesome' efforts--
your hard work really will pay off.
Go the extra mile, Do the extra stuff--
clean the yard up,
update the fixtures,
make the house shine like a new penny,
get rid of the clutter,
open the windows and blinds,
have cookies or home made treats waiting for each showing.
Remember, the realtors are your partners too!
They want your house to AWE their clients--
and if your house shows great,
it will get alot more traffic!

Too many home sellers have a defeatist attitude--
"it's a buyer's market", blah blah blah...
All that means is you have to bring your best game on!
Get competitive!
Showcase your home like your rich Aunt Milda's coming over--
spit-shine the flowerpots,
make every room pass the white-glove test,
and treat every potential home buyer
like a welcomed guest
not a Wildlife Ranger.

Your Welcome Mat should translate into:
"Welcome Home".