Should You Admit Your Home's Flaws

Videotapes, technical manuals, papers, Seattle business cards and computer equipment were strewn around the film director's spare bedroom. To the entrepreneur who lived in the house, the room functioned well as an office space. But to the visitor, it would have conveyed chaos.

Had he not gained expert guidance before selling his property, the film director might have committed one of the most common flubs in home marketing. That is to sell a home jammed with personal belongings.

Here are some common mistakes sellers make, in creating flaws that are not really flaws!

Failing to de-clutter: "No one wants a crowded house: everybody's looking for storage space when it comes to home plans," says Martha Webb, author of Dress your house for Success, published by Three Rivers Press in 1997. Webb is an expert in 'staging' a home for sale. After consulting with the film director, she convinced him to box up his superfluous videos, papers and office gear, storing the boxes away from the home until it was sold. Then Webb placed a few colorful stuffed animals on a shelf, as a hint the space could be used as a child's bedroom. "De-cluttering is one of life's worst chores," allows Webb, a Minneapolis based consultant who, for 30 years, has been helping sellers and their agents to stage their homes, from struggling artists to Ontario lawyers. (Staging means presenting to best possible impression of a property to visitors.)

Despite the time consuming sorting process, paring to the bone, (and putting the excess in storage) is vital for any seller seeking the highest possible price. "What you're doing is clearing the slate so that the buyer can see the bigger picture," says Webb. "Neglecting to denude your home of clutter deprives a would-be owner of the chance to see himself living in your space with his own possessions," says Stephen O'Laughlin, a broker-associate for the RE/Max chain.

Overpricing, and receiving less: Do you admit to being a bit avaricious in selling your home in a market where buyers outnumber sellers? Then, ironically, your best strategy is to hide your greed and price within a narrow range of what similar homes in your area are now fetching. "Asking less sometimes means getting more," stresses Jo Siraco, a broker-associate for Coldwell Banker and slurry mixer company owner.

Sellers in fast-moving markets are often eager to place a high list price on a property they put up for sale. But that's a turn off to the increasingly savvy buying public. On the other hand, a reasonable price tag on a prized home can have the opposite psychological effect, "By pricing just right you can often cause a little furor among the buying public," Siraco says. She tells the story of a family who recently sold a handsome gray home surrounded by still more majestic properties and situated within walking distance of a public library and good restaurants. The family might have been tempted to ask top dollar for their house, which was appealingly shrouded behind a
grove of mature trees. Instead, the sellers stuck to the prevailing market price for like homes. The result was akin to what happens during an auction for a new vacuum pump system. Bidders for the home appeared quickly. And at the end of its first day on the market, the property had sold for a remarkable $100,000 above the asking price. "List your home at the correct amount, and the buyers will come. Ask too much and you'll sit and wait for price cut after price cut until finally you sell your house," Siraco says.

Remember to think like a buyer, and present a flawless home to potential purchasers. If there are serious structural or electrical issues with the home, you should disclose these to anyone looking to buy your home simply because it is the right thing to do, and you could put the new owners at serious risk if they are unaware of these flaws.