Selling a home is an art form, and some agents are true artists; the Chernov Team is an example of art in motion when it comes to real estate and getting things done. However, some people like to be in the know; while leaving the execution to their agents. The best way to learn how to sell a home is to go look at what other people are doing to sell theirs. That’s right, if you want to understand how to sell your home, go visit open houses in your area – you will learn quite a bit. This article will highlight some of the things you will learn if you visit other open houses.
First, and foremost, staging makes a huge difference. The idea is to help potential buyers see your home as their future home; and the best way to do that is to highlight what it could be at its best. If you walk into a room and immediately picture your family spending time in that room – the stager has done their job. To give an example of just how important staging is, let’s do a thought experiment. Imagine you are looking at two homes in the same gated community in Encino; assume the floor plans are the same and everything has been repaired perfectly. If it is conceivable that you would prefer one house over the other, the only real variable that could explain that is the staging – the layout is the same, the location is the same, and the appreciation will be the same.
Second, people expect your house to be at its best, and it’s hard to feel that way when the design is outdated or gaudy. It’s difficult to look at your own home and determine that it's anything less than perfect but seeing other houses will help you figure out what to look for. You might walk into a house and see the light fixtures in the dining room and exclaim “how tacky”, only to realize you have similar fixtures in your dining room.
Next, part of Southern California’s value is just how astonishingly beautiful it can be at times; people will want a house where they can spend time outdoors; but they will be looking at the outdoor setup with equal skepticism – it needs to be perfect (see above re: staging and keeping up to date with styles). Even little things can put buyers off; that ashtray on your patio might seem perfectly reasonable to you – but if your buyers aren’t smokers they’re going to have a very difficult time picturing themselves using your patio.
Finally, upgrades give a great return on investment (“ROI”); a house with an upgraded bathroom is good for two reasons: (1) you can fetch more money on the market, and (2) people will want that bathroom (for some reason it’s different to spend more money upfront for something finished rather than spend slightly less later to have it done for you).
At the Chernov Team we understand that knowledge is power, and knowledge of real estate works – that it is as much emotional and visceral as it is logical and pragmatic – is powerful knowledge indeed. At the Chernov Team we know that whoever comes to the table most prepared leaves with the most, and the Chernov Team always leaves the table with the most.