Catch Their Eye

What makes that cute little bungalow cute? What makes any house on the block desirable? What can you do to make your house stand out and catch the eye of a prospective buyer or renter?

Certainly the style of the building has certain eye-catching appeal, some people are looking for a two story, or it could be a ranch style with lots of room. It could be the roofline, color, window accents or even the rain gutters or lack of, that finds favor in the eye of the traveler going by. The Realtor or For Sale by Owner might be the factor that first catches their eye but it will soon travel past that and take in what is offered and if that shows neglect or disarray chances are they will keep right on traveling and a possibility has been lost.

Having a property for sale, or rent is more than sticking a sign in the yard and then sitting back while the world beats a path to your doorway. It might be on a good street where it will get plenty of exposure and once it is bought or moved into it will take on the character of the occupants. But NO one wants to start out with the yard overgrown, leaves and tree trash on the roof, gutters overflowing, flower beds full of weeds. It may wind up that way due to any number of reasons. If they own the property it is a matter between the neighbors, or city ordinances that would compel them to clean up their act. As a landlord there is a little more control by careful screening and if necessary taking the matter into your own hands. Comment might be made as long as they pay the rent who cares? I would, if it were my property, first it reflects on you as the property owner. Second it devalues the assets, third it makes it harder to clean up, and get ready when the old tenants finally move out.

I recently encountered a Realtor putting up her signs on a corner I frequent often, stopping I asked what she was selling. She excitedly told me where the vacant lot was situated and the price. It was a little further than I normally travel but I drove by. One quick glance told me her three signs would stay there a long time, there was nothing there to catch my eye, overgrown with weeds, a falling down shed, and price in my opinion way over the value of what the market and location would bear. As I have explained before I am not a Realtor and probably have no right to try to tell them how to run their business, but to me common sense would make me want to present the best looking commodity as possible. It is hard to visualize your dream home on a lot when all you can see is weeds, small trees, and derelict buildings. I personally would not want to go tramping around in such a mess, one quick drive by was all it took for me and I am sure for many to come as well.

The point I am trying to get across here is you may have a well kept home and still have it on the market for longer than you might want. There might be and probably are reasons for this, we can discuss them later. But if you are wanting top dollar for what you have, it better show the value from the street because if it doesn’t, your foot traffic will never transpire and all the signs in the world in the yard will not help.

It might take a couple hundred dollars, maybe more, depending on the condition, but a little money spent on the front end will manifest its self quite nicely on the business end and make the cash flow into your pocket a lot quicker. Time is money, and unless your pockets are full the less time the more money.