The Silver Lining- Marketing the Positives of your Home

You’ve probably been there-”2nd full bath in basement” and that full bath turns out to be a toilet, next to a concrete stall with a sink in the stall (I actually had this exact setup last week in a house).  Talk about disappointment! 

Instead of making up facts and then dealing with the inevitable disappointment, it is important to find the positives and accentuate them in the marketing of your home.  For example, is the house vacant?  Then it is move-in ready!  If your bedroom is small, call it cozy – just be sure it really is a bedroom (with a closet and window).  If your house is a fixer upper, be honest and tell potential buyers it “needs TLC” or “bring your hammer and paintbrush”.

Did you see that segment on the news a few weeks ago about the importance of words in selling your home? The teaser said, there was one word that you should never use in marketing. I watched the segment with bated breathe, hoping I didn’t have that word in one of my listings- or I knew I’d be getting a call from an angry seller. Whew! I was safe. The segment said that words that sound like desperation, such as “motivated” or “must sell” slowed sales by 30%. I’ve always felt that those terms are kind of superfluous, aren’t all sellers motivated? They’ve put their home on the market- of course that are ready to sell!

An article at MSN agrees. “Beautiful” and “gorgeous” sold 15% faster, “landscaping” quickened the sale by 20%. I think what is important to take away from this is that marketing matters. Be sure your agent has tailored their marketing to your home, to accentuate all the positives.