ANATOMY OF A SUCCESSFUL HOME SELLER

I have the good fortune of working with some really great homeowners.  Lately it seems they have been better than great. It also seems like lately, many of these great homeowners have become successful home sellers.

So, you may ask…….What makes a success home seller?

I have a great example to share with you today. 

A realtor recently called me in to consult with a homeowner on a new listing.  I met the realtor (whom I’ll call D) and the homeowner (whom I’ll call D) at her soon to be listed home.  She had already purchased another home and moved most of the family’s belongings.  My job was to stage the home using the furniture that was left behind.

Oh, and of course, they also wanted the house to sell quickly.   You know me; I could immediately see the possibilities……

D and R gave me the tour of the house.  We went back through the house.  I gave R her “home work” and an estimate of the cost for me to stage the house.  She immediately agreed to the cost and gave me a key to the house.  We tentatively scheduled her homework, my staging work and the target listing date.     

Within the next week, R had her “home work done”!  I staged the house and D had the house on the Realtor tour.  Ten days later, D presented R with a contract.  I “un-staged” the home today since the closing is in a few days.  R and D are really happy.

So, what made R a successful home seller?  

·         She hired D, a Realtor she trusted

·         R was open to her D’s suggestions because she trusted her. One key recommendation was to hire a home stager (whom I’ll call CG!?!?!)

·         R viewed her house as a product to sell.  She knew staging the house was not about her and how she decorated her home for her family.  It was about packaging and marketing her house to sell.

·         R trusted me.  She believed that letting me “do my job” would yield the best results.

·         R did all her homework without question.  She later confessed that she initially doubted the new front door paint color but dutifully painted it anyway. 

I have to admit, most of the homeowners I work with are open and motivated to make the most out of their relationship with me.  But, selling a home is an emotional experience for many different reasons.  There are times when these emotions sometimes drag on the home selling process and make it more difficult on all involved.

I think R (whom I’ll now call Rhonda) was successful because she emotionally viewed this experience as not moving away from something, but, moving toward something else.  And in the end, she quickly became a successful home seller which was the point in the first place.  Professional home staging can make a huge difference.

Dwell in possibilities!

Cindy