When you are selling a home in a buyers market, you want to do everything you can to get your market price. That means taking care of the small things like lawn landscape maintenance, and other "first Impression" factors.

Today's real estate market is a buyer's market - Real estate professionals and agents agree this is a great time to be buying a home, but not so great for selling a home. . There are fewer buyers, sellers are willing to negotiate everything , and there are a lot of properties for sale. Market prices are down and the buyer is feeling empowered, and will expect to get favorable concessions to close the deal, There will be a lot of sellers willing to make those concessions, but just because you too are selling your home, you don’t have to be one of them

I want to sell my house! Want to buy a house?

"Appearances are everything." according to an old political adage. This is also true in the real estate market. Taking care of these "small things" will help assure that you get that good first impression and plant the seed in the buyer's mind that this is just what they were looking for. That this is the property they want.

A multiple listing service gets your property noticed, and real estate agents will do all kinds of market analysis and market price comparisons, but it's all wasted if someone buying a home gets a bad first impression of your property.

That's the plan of action for selling your home - taking care of the small things to enhance your property's curb appeal. There are things you can do to sway the buyer in your favor, so they see see your property as more desirable than the other houses for sale down the street. It's your "curb appeal", the first impression of your property that will be what the buyer remembers when comparing it to another property for sale.

Step into the buyer's shoes and leave the seller's perspective at home. Look at the following areas as if you are seeing them for the first time.

What do you see from the curb? How is the lawn landscaping maintenance? Is the landscaping neat and tidy? Are the bushes trimmed and flowers weeded? Are they healthy? Is the lawn cut and the walkway clean? Is the mailbox weather beaten and need of a makeover? What's the overall picture? Is that ugly trash receptacle in plain view, and is there junk by the side door or garage? Is your roof line dominated by a gawky looking antenna? Is the lawn furniture in disarray? What about the main entrance? Is it cluttered with "homey" touches that pleased you, but are the first thing the buyer is thinking of discarding? These are the things you need to consider from the buyer's perspective

Find the "chinks" in your houses' curb appeal. Get your notepad and take a walk around your neighborhood. Look at the properties that appeal to you, and the ones that don't. Take notes about the different things you see that you like and also the things that give you a negative impression of a property for sale. Now stand in front of your property and force yourself to be honest. What is your first impression? Compare the notes from your walk with the appearance of your property. Do you see things that you need to change?

You may discover one or two semi-major projects, but it's more likely that you will end with a to-do list of smaller tasks. Tasks that will take just a little extra time and effort on your part, but when completed boost your property's curb appeal. You should also repeat this same "first impression" project with all other areas of your property. And although there will be some costs to you, there always are, to complete your to-do list, they will be minor compared to the rewards you will reap. The benefits will exceed the cost; nothing will feel better than having that potential buyer become a committed buyer who's ready to deal because of your property’s curbside appeal.

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