The Realities of Real Estate: First impressions are everything

When it comes to selling a house, first impressions are no less important. Just like that first date with the love of your life, people generate an instantaneous expectation of what a house will be like the minute they pull in the driveway and the second they walk in the door. Buyers take their cues from what may seem like insignificant items, but collectively it all creates a first impression that will set the tone for the whole showing experience.

Plus, the first couple of weeks that a house is on the market are especially critical. You see, at any given time, there's a pool of buyers out there, waiting for a certain type of house to come up for sale. They've already seen everything else, and nothing was quite right. So when a house is new to the market, those buyers pounce on it in the first week or two, hoping that yours might be the one. That's why you always see that initial burst of activity for a new listing. After a couple of weeks, all the existing buyers for a property have seen it, and future opportunities for a sale must then rely on the trickle of new customers coming into the market. Consequently, the first impression for a house must be a positive one - otherwise, you'll blow it with your best prospects.

That first impression also extends to how agents view a property. The real estate community is a pretty tight-knit group. There's a lot of networking between agents. As a result, the reputation attached to a property is quickly disseminated, and once established, it's difficult to change. If your house gets tagged as the place that's "way overpriced," "hard to show" or "a mess," that impression is a lasting one no matter what corrective action you take down the road. Conversely, if a new listing is a pleasant surprise and exceeds expectations, that news travels fast, and agents light up the phone lines with their buyers, hoping to beat out one of their counterparts in getting it sold.

The good news about creating a positive first impression is that most of what you need to do won't cost a whole bunch of money, nor does it require any special skills. There are four things that just about any able-bodied seller armed with a $500 Home Depot gift card can do to reap the rewards of a positive first impression. They are as follows:

Clean: Different people have different ideas about what clean means. When cleaning your house for its first day on the market, don't clean it to your satisfaction, clean it to the level of the pickiest person you can possibly imagine. Think about the play and television show, "The Odd Couple." You might be living the life of an Oscar Madison, where clean is a nearly nonexistent priority. But you can bet that the first buyer to walk through your door is going to look at your house with the eye of a Felix Ungar. In fact, we have a video we give sellers. It's called "Preparing for the Buyer's Eye." It's hosted by the late Tony Randall who played Felix on the television version of "The Odd Couple."

We know of an agent who sold their own house, and they actually got out a toothbrush to do the finer details of cleaning the place. We've heard another agent put it this way - "when I say clean, I mean Q-Tip clean." That may sound excessive, but even the most plain-Jane house takes on a special appeal when it's spotless. And cleaning doesn't really cost anything other than a little bit of your time.

Organize: This is closely related to cleaning, but a little bit different. The best way to organize is to begin with purging and decluttering. Most of us have a lot of stuff, and that doesn't contribute to making a house feel big or inviting. Plus, if your home has too much clutter, it's difficult for buyers to visualize what their things will look like in your house. One of the most common issues buyers have is a concern that the place will be big enough for all their stuff.

Now, you don't need to whittle it down to a coffee table and a folding chair. Just try to eliminate all the extraneous items, like your dusty collection of every TV Guide published since 1962. Once you've made a few trips to the mini-storage place, it's time to organize what's left. The people who really have a handle on this are engineers and ex-military - especially those Navy guys. They really know how to put things in their place. If you've ever spent three months hot bunking it on a nuclear sub, you learn a lot about organization. Anyway, when everything is properly stored and labeled, it brings an air of quality to a property. So a little organization can really pay off in the sales price.

Fix: We've spoken about this in previous columns, but it's worth a reminder. We understand that fixing something you're about to sell seems like a real pain. But those little problems, especially if they're health or safety related, won't go unnoticed by the buyer or their home inspector. Buyers also have a way of turning little problems into big expensive ones, as they develop an idea of what your house is worth. Buyers are always on the hunt for ways to rationalize why your house is worth a lot less than you think it is. It's in your best interest to eliminate that tendency up front by fixing anything that's broken. Time and time again, we've seen buyers say they're offering $5,000 less because of something that might cost $500 to fix.

Refresh: In most homes, there are things that might not be broken, but they've become somewhat tired and worn out. Refreshing or replacing certain items can more than pay for themselves at settlement time. However, keep in mind the law of diminishing returns as you decide what to update. It's best to start with the small stuff and work your way up. For example, instead of starting by changing out the stove, first take a look at something like your switch plates. Think about it. When someone comes into a room, the very first thing they look at is your switch plate to turn on the lights. If it's a cruddy, 19-cent plastic thing that's cracked and smeared by the grubby little hands of one of your kids, then pull out that Home Depot gift card and invest $4 or $5 on a nice new one that's made out of something other than recycled milk jugs. For just a few bucks and about 15 minutes with a flat head screw driver, you can significantly improve the first impression for every room in the house. From there, you can move up the line to updating other items like light fixtures and door hardware. It's all cheap, easy and worth your time.

Like they say, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. It's true with people, and it's true with property. That doesn't mean you need to rebuild the old homestead, but before you put the place on the market, take a few days off, make a checklist and get your house in order. A few days of hard work will be amply rewarded with a quicker sale and a higher price.

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Bob and Donna McWilliams are practicing real estate agents with more than 20 years of combined experience in the Annapolis area. Their Web site is www.BobDonna.com, and you can e-mail them at