Would you buy a used car from this house?

When I say a house feels 'trustworthy' to a potential buyer, what the heck am I talking about? Do I mean the buyer feels the house is honest? Has nothing to hide? Will sign and back an IOU?

Pretty much.

In 'the science and art of staging' on my website, I have a large section called 'tell them about it'. This is all about ways a seller can tell buyers about the location and condition of the house. The more a buyer feels they know about a house, the more likely they are to follow their first impression and, if it is positive, buy the house.

This means if something is wrong that the seller is unable to repair, the seller should be up front about it and not wait for the legal disclosure to mention it. Waiting for the legal disclosure 'feels' like a lie..."Why didn't they mention that earlier???" Having a printed list of issues, and the approximate cost and time needed to fix them, will scare some buyers away, true, but it will make others feel they really know the house - that there are no gotcha's lurking.

That is why I encourage my client's to have a home inspection, address everything they can, write a letter explaining what they did, then put the home inspection report and the letter out where potential buyers can read them. This is a great way for you, the seller, to tell everyone that YOU trust the house. And, if you trust they house, they can too.

So, I suggest my clients be very up front about the physical state of the house.

With one kind-of exception:

Maybe you are the world's most amazing house cleaner. Maybe this means you sterilize the kitchen each time someone gets a drink of water. Maybe this means you figure once a month is good enough for cleaning your bathroom, and your baseboards have never been cleaned.

If the house is clean and neat and staged and all stains have been removed when it is shown, history does not matter. What matters is the house is clean when the potential buyer sees it. Here, cleanliness implies it has always been kept that way. In turn, this implies you, the seller, have always taken good care of every aspect of the house.

Gotta trust someone who cares that much. Gotta trust a house that is so honest about it's flaws and has, fundamentally, been well maintained.

In a previous blog, I said I believe buyers are helped when a house is staged. A staged house should be honest and trustworthy. A staged house markets itself by showing off all positive aspects and explaining any idiosyncrasies. I believe a well staged house never tells a lie.