HomeMortgage Almanac Book Review:
Dress Your House For Success
by Martha Webb, with Sarah Parsons Zackheim
Crown Publishing, $12.00, 192 pp.
Reviewed by Stephanie A. Chisholm
Many Realtors suggest that home sellers cook some cinnamon on their stoveto give their house a home-like scent and feel during an open house. InDress Your House For Success, Martha Webb takes this concept to anentirely new dimension.
If home sellers only do one thing to prepare their home for sale, theyshould purchase this guide and follow the detailed instructions inside.
As the subtitle suggests, this checklist-filled book is de-signed tohelp sell your house, apartment or condo for the highest possible price.As Ms. Webb acknowledges herself, everyone knows that a house should beclean before being shown to buyers. But what exactly does "clean"include? For those not sure, mountains of detailed, room-by-room checklistsshow sellers how to first unclutter and then clean like one has never cleanedbefore.
Once a home is thoroughly cleaned, Ms. Webb advises sellers on analyzingwhich repairs should be considered. The important key to repairs is makingsure that additional sales dollars generated by the repair are more thanthe cost of the repairs themselves. Dress Your House For Successguides sellers through this decision-making process by suggesting whichrepairs payoff best and by providing numerous inexpensive repairs that yieldbig results. For example, oiling squeaky hinges and replacing worn switchplates may have as big an impact as painting a room.
If this guide stopped at repairs, it would seem that home sellers couldsimply hire the best cleaning service and home improvement contractor andput their home on the market Two additional steps, however, set this bookapart from any other on the market today. Neutralizing is the process ofeliminating "distracting odors, colors and accessories that preventa buyer from visualizing their things in your house." Using paint andair fresheners while avoiding smoke and pet odors accomplishes these goals.Ms. Webb points out these important issues in a straightforward, non-judgmentalway, as few people want to hear that their home smells bad to buyers.
The last step shows where Ms. Webb's experience as a video producer shines."The goal of dynamizing is to create a memorable feeling that lastsbeyond the tour and makes a buyer want to come back to your house...to live.Dynamizing reaches the psychological needs of home buyers." To givean example, Ms. Webb suggests buying brand new place mats, napkin ringsand dish towels. In addition, tips for furniture placement and "props"to "stage" your home for viewing are listed in abundance.
All of the suggestions included in Dress Your House For Successare done with an eye toward improving the bottom line profit for a homeseller. In that light, specific examples of budgets for each step make upa good portion of the guide, so that sellers can evaluate the net benefitof each step. In fact, the only possible negative to this guide is thatit may ask too much for home sellers with lower priced homes because theymay not realize a return on their time and money. For owners of more expensivehomes, however, the benefits of implementing this guide may exceed eventhe most optimistic of expectations. As Ms. Webb reminds us, "A buyer'sfirst glimpse of a room...forms the first impression of that room or area...youhave only a few critical seconds to make a positive impression."
About The Authors of Dress Your House For Success:
Martha Webb is a marketing consultant and the founder and presidentof BCW Video. Her work promoting the Dress Your House For Success concepthas won her wide recognition in the real estate community. She lives inMinneapolis, Minnesota. Sarah Parsons Zackheim, the author of two previousbooks, lives in Westport, Connecticut. A companion video is also available.