Selling your home? Tweak your thinking for less stress!

Before you put your home out on the Internet, it pays to consider you are not the one buying it—total strangers are. Naturally, they see your home through different lenses. Unlike you, they were not there to see you work hard getting ready to market, or the sweat equity you’ve invested over the years, so their first impression lies only in the final product.

A buyer's first glimpse of your home is the online front photo, and just like “speed dating,” an opinion is formed in a split second. If that main photo meets (or exceeds!) their perception of a good value in their price range, they look at more photos. When they find themselves looking at the photos multiple times, they'll probably want to come see it in person. Once showings start to multiply like bunnies (i.e., perception of value), one or more offers follow! Every time!

The key word is perception. It’s always been true that motivation drives perception. You want the highest price for obvious reasons, the assessor determines fair market value based on other homes around you, and the lender’s appraiser wants to protect the lender (and his own reputation) by making sure the buyer is not overpaying. Buyers have their own motivations, but when a home is priced reasonably, it’s never about the money, even at the higher end of your recommended price range.

It’s always, always (worth repeating!) emotional for buyers—all buyers, all products, all services—pick anything! There’s an emotional reason behind every purchase. Your home, in this case, needs to fill a need beyond price, or marketing would be totally unnecessary. We don’t know each individual buyer’s motivator, just as they don’t know your situation, so what we do upfront is make it as easy a choice as possible for your buyer pool. Years of experience tell us the demographics of this group and what they expect.

Getting back to emotional reasons for buying, think about your own purchases down to why you choose Brand X over Brand Y at the grocery store? There are too many scenarios to ponder, but the overriding reason is not the cost--it’s the value. When selling your home, think like a buyer to meet your own goals!