Selling Your Charlotte, NC. Home--Does It Feel Warm And Like Home?

All the time sellers ask the question on what can I do to help get my house sold in Charlotte, NC? I receive a lot of showings and the feedback is good but I am not receiving any offers on my home.. One thing I have noticed lately with both buyers that I have shown homes to and sellers whose homes I have listed is that the feeling you get when you walk into the home sets the tone for the whole house and the showing. How does the house feel when you walk into it? Does the home give a feeling of warmth or like home feeling? Or does it give a dark and cold feeling or one that is distant? I have been thinking about this post for a few weeks to write it and I decided that every time I walked into a house for a listing presentation or with a buyer I was going to make a conscious effort to see what I felt. i was not passing that information on to anyone; just collecting the data of the different charlotte area homes I viewed to see what; if anything the perception does for me. I was a little surprised that walking into some homes that from the outside had nice curb appeal and met the buyers criteria for their wants and needs in the house; felt different when we actually got through the front door. That feeling tended to carry on throughout the house and it felt like the house was fighting an uphill battle after that. The home did not present the wow factor when they walked in. How do you change it and what can you do to give your home that warm feeling as prospective buyers enter your house depends on the layout of your house. But one thing is certain, first impressions are crucial. When they enter the house if they are turned off you are fighting to keep them interested. I am telling everyone that i list a house for to take a picture standing in the front doorway and take it on different angles and views. Then sit down with your realtor and some friends and ask for honest answers on how you can make the entrance into your home feel a little more comfortable or warm for the buyers when they walk in. I viewed a house the other day with a buyer that had that feeling. it was nothing special that they did; it was the neutral colors and the scented candle on the table at the entrance way to put your keys on with the bright light shining in and the cleanliness of the house that instantly grabbed my buyers. Every house we have looked at since has been compared to that one. Even to the fact that we all could not remember some of the features that distinguished that house form the rest anymore that we have to venture back to look a second time before we put an offer in. As sellers you are competing against a tough buyer market right now and the pendulum is beginning to swing back in your favor. A lot of buyers know that the market is beginning to swing and are looking for that right house still. It seems to be that they want certain things in a house and do not want to settle for something that they are not going to be completely happy with. so, as sellers you need to appeal to all of their senses when they are looking at your house and the easiest way to engage a buyer is through the first impression they receive when they walk into your house.... Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker Coldwell Banker United www.davedicecco.com