May 5, 2006: 'Homey' feel is a lure for attracting women home buyers
Here's a cautionary tale for all home sellers: In most cases, a woman will not buy a home if she cannot picture herself taking the Thanksgiving turkey out of the oven - with her mother-in-law hovering over her shoulder.
What does this mean? For a home to sell to a woman buyer or a couple, it must be as clean, as inviting - as "homey" - as possible. Most often, single men will buy any house that satisfies their checklist of required features and amenities. In general, men are much more interested in getting the home-shopping job done quickly.
But a woman has to feel herself at home. More than features and amenities, she wants to be able to experience her future in that home. If she can't, she won't buy that house.
A professional house-cleaning costs about $250. Having the carpets steam-cleaned and deodorized costs around $75 a room. Picking up the house and doing the dishes costs nothing - and only takes a few minutes' time. But the value of these simple expenditures could be thousands of extra dollars and months less time on market.
I once represented the buyers in the purchase of a home that had languished on the market for months. It was in pretty good shape overall, but one member of the family liked to cook on the patio. The grill was greasy, as was the surrounding concrete. There were piles of dirty plates and skillets lying around. Family after family would have toured that home, and each one of them left as soon as Mom saw that mess on the patio. Whatever appeal the home might have had, until then, would have been colored by a visceral revulsion.
My own buyers were made of sterner stuff. The mother of the family said, "Oh, my. That's going to take at least two hours to clean up."
We deliberately bid low on the house. It appraised for $20,000 more than we paid. Two hours of cleanup paid my buyers - and could have and should have paid the sellers - $10,000 an hour.
Greg Swann is the designated broker for BloodhoundRealty.com, a full-service Metropolitan Phoenix real estate brokerage. This article originally appeared in the West Valley regional sections of the Arizona Republic.
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