How Selling Works, Part 2

The Sale Starts Long Before the Sign Goes in the Yard

One of the biggest misconceptions about selling a home is that the process begins when the listing goes live.

Most people imagine the sequence looks something like this:

• hire a Realtor,

• take some photos,

• put the home online,

• and wait for buyers to arrive.

After 20 years in the real estate business, I can tell you that's rarely how the best sales happen.

In fact, many of the most important decisions are made weeks, and sometimes months, before the photographer ever shows up. I've often said that 80% of the marketing happens before the marketing ever begins.

The truth is that there are really two different homes involved in every sale.

The first is the home you've been living in. The second is the home we're about to introduce to the market.

Those two versions of the property are often very different.

A home can be a wonderful place to live, full of memories and functionality, while still presenting challenges when compared side-by-side against competing homes for sale. Buyers don't evaluate a property in isolation. They compare it against every other option available to them.

That's where preparation becomes incredibly important.

One of the most valuable services I provide is a detailed walk-through of both the home and the property. Drawing on my background as a contractor, performing approximately 700 home inspections, and two decades of helping sellers prepare homes for market, I walk room by room and area by area making specific recommendations about what should be addressed before photos are taken.

• Sometimes that means painting.

• Sometimes it means landscaping.

• Sometimes it means cleaning, decluttering, or removing furniture.

• Sometimes it means making repairs.

• And sometimes it means doing absolutely nothing at all.

The goal is not to spend money. The goal is to spend money wisely.

One of the most common mistakes I see sellers make is assuming buyers will evaluate repairs logically. Unfortunately, buyers rarely do.

A loose handrail might cost a few dollars to fix. Worn carpet might cost a few thousand dollars to replace. A damaged deck board may be a relatively simple repair.

Yet buyers routinely multiply the perceived cost of those repairs by five times or more in their minds.

What might be a $1,000 repair to you suddenly becomes a $5,000 problem to a buyer.

And when they see 3 or more “repairs areas”, the home becomes – in their minds – a “fixer-upper” and now they want a deep discount. 

What might be a weekend project becomes a major concern – and a major blow to your sale price.

Visible wear and tear creates uncertainty. Buyers begin wondering what other deferred maintenance may exist that they can't see. That uncertainty often impacts their willingness to make an offer, the price they're willing to pay, or both.

That's why strategic preparation often produces such a strong return on investment.

The good news is that sellers don't necessarily need large amounts of cash to make improvements. Through our Concierge program, qualifying sellers may access up to $25,000 in interest-free funds that can be used for home improvements, repairs, staging, moving expenses, and other preparation costs. Those funds are then repaid through the proceeds of the sale at closing.

Asking the Right Questions Before Listing

The question isn't whether every home should be updated.

The question is which improvements will help the property compete most effectively in today's market.

Before a single photograph is taken, I want us to answer several important questions.

• Who is the most likely buyer?

• What other homes will they compare this property against?

• Which improvements create value?

• Which improvements are a waste of money?

• How do we position this home to stand out from the competition?

Those decisions often have a bigger impact on the final result than any advertising campaign that follows.

Because once a home hits the market, buyers begin forming opinions almost immediately.

First impressions are powerful. They are also difficult to undo.

The goal isn't simply to get your home listed.

The goal is to launch it in a way that creates the strongest possible outcome for you and your family.

And that process begins long before the sign goes in the yard.