You Had Me At The Front Door

Are you thinking about selling your home in the near future? If so, I have a confession to make. Last fall my husband and I were touring open houses. We identified a few areas, knew our budget, open to different styles but getting down to the nitty gritty we wanted something we could snag under market. There were certain conditions we did not want to correct. We targeted neighborhoods where market conditions of homes were good to excellent and values were headed up.

We had our route set for the day and we headed to our first neighborhood. What luck there were three advertised open houses in our price range. As we drove down the first street we noticed two additional unadvertised open houses. I pulled both up on my phone, one was in our range and was obvious it needed work; the other was out of the price ranges we had searched.

We decided to look at both just because we were there and had the time. The home that needed work, REALLY needed work I felt totally overwhelmed from the moment I walked thru the first level.  So, on we go the higher priced home. Wow! I knew the moment I hit the front steps this home could be the one. The house was creamy tending toward yellow siding with not quite brown, not quite green trim and a purple door. Here comes the confession; that door was such a turn off, the color was wrong, the condition was suggested the home wan not well maintained, the storm door was a disaster and it told me right away the seller’s had put no thought into their curb appeal and I could get this house well under their asking price.

Too often sellers do not take into consideration their front door. When you pull up to a home you immediately, often unconsciously, scan the front of the house for the front door. Keeping in mind how you live in a home and how you sell a home are two different life styles. While a purple door is not inherently a no no. For this house it threw off the whole entry. The color did not complement the style, the brick or any of the exterior. The condition of the door and storm door led us to believe the home had not been loved - made it feel like it was lacking in maintenance, style, and generally unkempt. As we walked through the home my negative first impression of the house played a role as I evaluated the floor plan, condition and what I would offer. Lesson one is start your buyer’s tours on a high note and then keep meeting their expectations and end that tour with an offer!