CHAPTER 2 How to Stand Out Financially and emotionally, a home is often an individual or family’s largest single investment. That makes selling a home—whether a single-family residence, duplex, or condominium—the single largest, most complex transaction a person will undertake, and for most people, no more than two or three times in their lives. It involves new terms and concepts, financial acumen, and larger monetary figures than people usually deal with. Furthermore, real estate transactions involve multiple decision points and often substantial investment for the home owner’s time, energy, and money. As a seller, you want to find that home shopper who simply can’t resist buying your house at the highest price. To do that, you must provide potential buyers a striking home sales presentation that outshines other homes on the market. This requires creating a fantastic first impression, giving buyers an immediate feeling that they’re traveling up the front walkway of “their” new home for the first time, and not visiting someone else’s. Selling a house is about getting a buyer to fall in love at first sight, from the curb, in those initial (and fleeting) seconds. Here’s the big news—not everybody gets the price they could when selling their home. For example, take two little ranch houses across from a well-kept cemetery in a nice suburban city near Cincinnati, in southwest Ohio. One of them, 25 Cemetery Road (3 beds, 1 bath, 936 sq. ft., built 1957) was described as: “Neat as a pin and ready to go. Complete remodel kitchen w/SS appliances, breakfast bar, flattop stove, beautiful tile. Complete bath remodel. Hardwood floors, replaced windows. Great fenced yard, covered rear patio.” It was being fought over at $124,000+. 4
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