Emotional Appeal

The greatest value in a home is an unquantifiable unmeasurable factor called Emotional Appeal. Emotional Appeal might sound like an Intervention, but it is about the attractiveness of a home and the degree in which a home makes a person say, "I gotta have it!"

Previously, I've written that all decisions are made because of emotion and justified by logic. Since all buying decisions are emotional decisions, as a potential seller of a home you want your home to appeal to the emotions of buyers.

Emotional Appeal consist of a number of factors. One of the factors is the setting or location of the home. A home on a highway or on the side of cliff will not be as appealing in general as a home on a lush private lot. The homes near your homes and the area in general will also affect your homes Emotional Appeal. Since you can't change where your home is located or what is around it, here are 3.3 things to do to improve your homes Emotional Appeal:

1. Curb Appeal
Curb appeal is the attractiveness of your home from the street. The degree to which the yard has been landscaped or maintained is a large portion of this factor. Colorful flowers and lush green grass give the impression that a home has been well cared for. In some cases, an unkempt yard can make a buyer feel like a project or a fixer-upper is being purchased. A number of other factors like the front door, porch, and exterior cladding/paint are all big factors in the Curb Appeal of a home.

2. The First Impression
While the exterior of a home can turn a buyer away, it is the first impression that a buyer gets when they step inside the home that can make or break a buyer. Having a bright and open feel when the door is first opened is the key to making a killer first impression. A home that is clean and smells clean is a home that will show well and be Emotionally Appealing. Remember that the goal is for a buyer to be able to see themselves living in a home with their furniture and their stuff. It is said, "You only have one chance to make a first impression." This is essential in selling a home and making a home appealing to buyers.

3.Kitchen and Bathrooms
The two most important rooms in a home are the Kitchen and the Master Bathroom. The Kitchen is the center off socializing. It is often what brings people together and it is the source of life-sustaining food. It seems that people who don't even cook place a lot of importance on the Kitchen. Having an updated Kitchen that is functional and relatively spacious is one of the greatest appeal factors in a home. The Bathroom is probably the most influential factor of a home. A functional, clean, moderately spacious, updated bathroom is the single most influential factor that sells a home...or not. The Kitchen and the Bathroom are the two rooms in a home that the most money, time, and energy should be invested in a home and will be the rooms that make or break a sale 9/10.

3.3 Clutter
Clutter...I've talked about it before. I talk about it again. Clutter on the walls, on the floor, on the refrigerator. Clutter is everywhere. Clutter is too many pictures on a wall. If you can't see the paint because of the stuff on the walls--that's clutter. If you can't walk through your living room without getting dizzy or lost--that is clutter. If your refrigerator has more pictures than your computer--that is clutter. Some people like living that way and that's fine. When it is time to sell your home, it is time to box up the clutter. While your mementos and memories are meaningful to you, it is just clutter to everyone else.