There’s no denying that when it comes to property investing and making money from renovating, first impressions count.
Changing the first impression of a property is the second highest returning “add value” technique. Here’s why…
BY ANA STANKOVIC
In this day and age most potential buyers start their search for properties online. They look up the locations they’re interested in, enter their budgetary constraints and select certain property profile details that they require.
Only once they’ve got the search results of this initial selection do they start prioritising which of these properties interest them. Out of the ones that look interesting to them, they’ll go and drive by a number of them and have a look at them from the outside before narrowing it down even further to a select few that they’ll actually inspect.
If a potential purchaser has two properties which are in the same area, have similar profiles (number of bedrooms, bathrooms and parking spaces) and are similar in price, which do you think they’ll be more interested in:
- the one with peeling paint, falling down fence, big bushy plant hiding half of the façade, green eaves, rusted garage door, etc., or
- the one that’s neatly presented and looks light and modern.
The answer is simple. It’s human nature to judge a book by its cover, but it’s only because they’re trying to imagine themselves living there. It doesn’t matter how good your renovation is inside if you can’t get potential purchasers through the door to actually see it.
It’s a numbers game. The more people come inside and inspect the property, the more are likely to be interested and pursue purchasing it, creating competition and pushing the price higher. So it’s in your best interest to get as many people through the door as you can.
Winning Formulas for Success on average gets around $4 for every dollar that we spend on renovating that first impression of a property.
So how do you work out what immediately needs to change with your first impression? There’s a simple way that a colleague of mine suggested a few years ago and it works a treat.
Stand on the opposite side of the street from your property and turn around so that you’re facing away from it, turn around and face it for five seconds and away again.
Anything unappealing that caught your eye in that time should be neutralised or removed. If there was a bright color, falling down verandah, rot, big plant, etc. – anything at all that stood out in a negative light – it needs to be addressed.
Once you’ve done this, have a look at other homes in your area that are in the next price bracket from your property – what are they doing? You want to increase the value of your home so it pays to try and get your property to look more similar to higher priced ones in the same area.
Ana Stankovic is well known as one of Australia’s leading renovating-for-profit specialists and is regularly featured in prominent industry publications, expos and continually educates investors. To find out more or sign up for Ana’s free newsletter, visit www.RenovateAndProfit.com.
API readers – let us know your thoughts or experiences with renovator properties.
