First impressions matter when selling real estate. I’ve seen sellers go to great lengths to dial in the interior of their house, but they don’t do anything about the chipping paint on the front door or the rotten corner board or the fence gate that does not work properly. Those sellers have immediately put themselves at a disadvantage. The Buyer is no longer thinking, “I’m psyched to see this house; this is going to be great!” Now, they are thinking, “What else is wrong with the house; the owner doesn’t maintain it.” I had a great listing owned by a successful builder. The house was in perfect condition except the front stoop had one broken board. I kept asking him to fix the board because it sends a terrible message right off the bat. It would have taken him 20 minutes to fix. He finally fixed it, but by the time he did, we missed the market and he still owns it. I had another listing recently where the house had issues – it was small, a condo. and not a great location – but the Seller made it look as nice as possible; cut the lawn, painted the front door, etc. To really put the cherry on top, they would bake cookies before my showings. Well, they only had to bake one batch of cookies because the first buyer to see it, bought it. Imagine, walking up to a house with a broken front stoop or to a house with perfectly cut grass, shining front door and the smell of cookies. Goes to show how the first impression sets the stage and can either immediately put you at a disadvantage or an advantage.
