So what’s the secret? It’s a combination of many things, location, street appeal, price point, current stock levels and quality marketing. A key factor can be in the vendor recognising the power and the rewards of a property makeover. But between the vendor and the property makeover specialist, what’s your role as an agent?
The Function of Detachment
You’ll come across vendors who believe that their property can be sold as it is. The challenge for you is to help them transition from being a homeowner to a seller. How? By helping them to change the way they approach the process. They are selling their home and therefore the property becomes a product rather than a home. Detachment involves dissociation – the act of distancing the owner from the property.
Homeowners value their home based on the emotions they invested on it. To start their transition, help them strip their home but leave the bare essentials intact. A little decoration won’t hurt but personal effects have to go.
The function of detachment is simple: it creates an opportunity for potential buyers to feel at home in the property. With personal effects an impediment, the property will only stay appealing to its original owners. The key is to allow buyers to feel emotional towards the property.
The Role of Informed Decisions
Because you’re a professional, it’s easy for vendors to let you do all the work. Your task, though, is to turn them into active decision-makers because they have to be involved in order to understand the entire pre-sale process.
How? With the right communication.
While listening to professional advice is important, vendors also need to understand that every decision, consent, or objection they make will affect the direction of the sale. After all, selling a property could be the biggest transaction they’ll ever make.
Along the way, they may feel doubtful and will raise a lot of questions. This is where you, the expert can help. By recognising the space where you, the vendor, and the market belongs, you’ll approach home selling in a more positive way.
The Rewards of a Property Makeover
Time and time again, the importance of a pre-sale property makeover has been proven when it comes to maximising a property’s value. But some vendors assume that buyers will see the property’s potential; and some of those who are willing don’t know where to start.
Fixing things that can still be fixed is important. From the buyer’s perspective, any flaws in the property merit a deduction – it’s the same line of thought when they (home sellers) start to look for a property to move into.
Once convinced, both you and the vendors will need to consider where to start. This is where a property makeover specialist comes in. Which areas of the property need value-add work? What skills are needed? How will it progress? The answer lies with the property makeover specialist.
The Power of a Property Makeover
Apart from maximising the value of a property, a pre-sale property makeover also helps power saleability and can make your life as an agent a lot easier. But what is it that makes buyers purchase, apart from favourable market conditions? The answer lies in the concept of ‘value-add work.’
Value-add work means that all work done in a property makeover project helps highlight the hidden gems of a property to evoke an emotional response from the buyer. Makeover elements like colours, finishes, furniture, and space utilisation have to work together harmoniously to create buyer appeal.
That homey feeling can then arise from the experience of the senses: the warmth of the colour scheme, the feeling of space, and the acoustics. After all, it’s the buyer’s response to the property during the first 15 seconds that evokes the necessity to buy, to consider, or to move on.
In sum, all actions taken during pre-sale preparation should support the goal of making a sale. With the spring season ahead, real estate agents and vendors have to work together to beat the competition. In between, the property makeover specialist’s role is to create a balance of need, value, and appeal.
This guest blog post was written by Belinda Grundy from BG Property Styling.
Belinda Grundy is the Founder of BG Property Styling - a pre-sale property makeover specialty company based in the Northern Beaches, and a finalist to the NSW Business Chamber Business Awards and the Northern Beaches Local Business Awards. You can contact Belinda on T + 61 2 9986 0524 or via email here.
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