Secrets of Homes that Sell for Top Dollar

My big secret is how to get Top Dollar for your house. I have been working on my formula for years and studying the market to understand what motivates a buyer to buy one house versus the other. For a seller it can be hard to understand the need to invest in staging a home that they plan on leaving. However I have seen it time and time again, a buyer needs the story painted out for them and that’s why I find it so important to make a house feel like a home when you put it on the market.

Don’t just take my word for it, I can show you facts. As I spoke about last week when sharing two homes that were listed in nearby neighborhoods, one that was my listing that was staged and one that wasn’t mine that wasn’t staged. Both homes had been beautifully renovated. With my listing I came in and told the seller that I strongly recommend that he do some very specific staging. He followed my advice and within the first 4 days we had offers coming in for $115,000 more than the other listing that wasn’t staged. And as the week progressed, we got even more offers and we ended up selling it for $150,000 more than the house that was not staged. Our total investment in staging was $8,000, which is a relatively small amount when you are getting $150,000 more. The houses were very similar, in fact, the house that wasn't staged had better finishes, was bigger, had more property and was in a slightly better neighborhood than my listing.? If that doesn’t show you the power of staging I don’t know what will.

Why is staging so important??

Any imperfection stands out when a home isn’t staged. I took a client to see a home in Westchester that was listed for $4.5 million. This was a beautifully gut renovated home but it wasn’t staged. It had 11 rooms, a large swimming pool, and over two acres of land. We walked through the empty house and the buyers couldn’t figure out what room was for what, where to put the dining room, which one is the living room. Even the pool was closed up in 85 degree weather.? My buyer could not conceptually understand what it's like to live in this house. I asked them, what stood out for them the most in this home when we were finished and they pointed out that there was dust on the floor and cobwebs on the ceiling. They were looking for flaws.?

People fall in love with the furniture, even though they're not getting the furniture, psychologically when they fall in love with the furniture, they see the space as a home. They need to walk through the different rooms and picture themselves hosting holidays or having a book club over. I always make it a point to use the whole property if there is a pool or a beautiful garden you want to make it feel accessible and show buyers how they might use it. I always have lemonade pitchers out by the pool so that anyone walking through would feel like they came to a party. A beautiful visual evokes a very strong emotion. Emotion not logic makes people take action.

What is the specific type of staging I swear by?

It has to work with the photography and be balanced, which is very different from interior decorating. The pictures have to pop online.

The space needs to feel open and clean but warm at the same time.

I use a lot of virtual staging especially these days. Most buyers are spending a lot of time looking at houses online and virtual staging allows sellers to create a story for the whole house.? Of course the majority of the house is actually staged . Virtual staging is the icing on the cake. It's so that every room of the house, every space is so appealing. People's mouths water when they look at my listings online. Even if they cost more than they originally were going to spend. Why? Because my homes stand out so clearly as the best one I find it really brings buyers through the front door and helps them to see the potential in any home.

Marketing to the buyer is vital to selling a house for Top Dollar and fast. I really feel for the homeowner when their house is sitting there collecting cobwebs, accumulating property tax and maintenance fees. My formula is all about putting your house on the market in the best way possible and getting you that Top Dollar within the first 60 days.

I invite you to call me for a no-obligation complimentary consultation. You can text me, call me at (914) 500-9198. Or you can respond on the Facebook page, or you can email me at [email protected]. I will be happy to show you what it would take to sell your home for top dollar. I believe so strongly in this that I'll hand you a check for $10,000 if you follow my process and for some reason your home fails to sell in 60 days.