A Beautiful Home is the Best Incentive to Buy

When real estate sales are slow, people start talking about buyer incentives – a little something extra to get people to buy your house. In the current market, with prices flat and sales slow, buyer incentives are getting a lot of play in the local real estate news. We’ve seen stories about sellers who are willing to throw in a big screen television, luxury cruises – even a brand new car. Before you rush out and buy a boat to sweeten the deal on the home you’re trying to sell, check with your realtor. Chances are that he’ll tell you what real estate professionals all over the country already know – the best incentive to buy is a beautiful home.

If your home has been on the market for a few weeks without attracting interest or offers, there could be any number of reasons. One of the most common is that the house just lacks sparkle – that special something that captures buyers at first glance. Adding that sparkle is neither as hard nor as expensive as you might suppose. Before you consider incentives that might attract buyers, take a hard look at your house. Here’s a five step plan for making your home its own buyer’s incentive.

1. Enlist the help of your realtor.

No one has a better grasp of what is keeping your home from selling than the professional whose job it is to sell it. Your realtor has been walking people through your house and is in the best position to hear their comments about it. Ask! Remember, your realtor’s living depends on getting the best price possible for your home. You can expect an honest appraisal of what steps you can take to increase the appeal of your home and get it on the fast track to sell. Some questions you might ask your realtor are:

• What do people like least about our house?
• What improvements can I make in (name your price range) that will increase its appeal?
• What low cost steps can I take to make my home more appealing to buyers?
• Is our asking price reasonable for this neighborhood?
• What features have been most important to people who have bought houses from you?

• Remove high bushes and shrubs that are close to the house. They’ll make the front of your house look cleaner from the outside – and let more light into the house for brighter rooms.
• Define the borders of the yard in some way. Brick or stone borders around gardens and along walks give a neat, uniform appearance.
• Add an outdoor patio space or spruce up the existing one. Outdoor entertaining and play space is a very big draw – as long as it’s neat, attractive and useful. If your home has a patio, make sure that it’s spotless. Invest in new cushions and umbrella for the patio set and if there is a grill, make it sparkle.
• Flowering borders, hanging baskets and container gardens can all add to the attraction factor of the outdoors, but be careful not to clutter. Make sure that any flowering areas are well-maintained. Containers and baskets are especially good for this – you can always turn them or replace them if flowers and plants start looking less than fresh.

• Fresh paint/wall treatments in either room


• New floors in either room


• New appliances in the kitchen


• Resurfacing or replacing the counters and cabinets in the kitchen


• Replacing the tub enclosure in the bathroom


• New fixtures and sink in the bathroom or kitchen


• New lighting in either room

Article Source: http://www.propertymagnate.com/articles

Calum MacKenzie is Owner of Real Living Southern Homes a leading residential real estate brokerage located within Seven Oaks in Wesley Chapel, Florida and also serving the New Tampa real estate and Land O’ Lakes real estate markets.

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