How to Ensure Your Home Appeals to a Broad Base of Prospective Buyers

How to Ensure Your Home Appeals to a Broad Base of Prospective Buyers

If you’ve ever toured a model home, it’s likely that you’ve noticed that the secondary bedrooms are typically staged as a boys’ room and the other as a girls’ room. The third bedroom, assuming there is one, is typically done as an office. There’s a reason for that. The developer, by design, is positioning the home to appeal to all types of buyers. Smart?  You bet.

As a home seller, you have the same opportunities.  Here are a few tips:

• Avoid “labeling” the room – Typical labels are “children’s names.” For example “Johnny’s Bedroom.” When buyers enter “Johnny’s Bedroom” the subliminal message being conveyed is that it’s Johnny’s, not theirs. You want buyers to envision it being their home. Another example, and one I see quite often as a home stager in Atlanta (although, I’m sure this happens everywhere) is to see diplomas on walls. While you have every reason to be proud of that accomplishment, it’s another label reminding the buyers that the home is yours.

• Don’t make assumptions – Just because you may be using one of the secondary bedrooms as a storage room, don’t assume that the buyer will want to do the same. In addition, it screams that your home lacks storage. Your best bet is to set the room up as a bedroom.

• Use props – Buyers are motivated by their emotions. “Nice things” evoke “nice emotions.”  Props can range from white fluffy towels to new bedding and no, they don’t have to be expensive.