For every seasoned homebuyer in the world, there are at least a couple of novices… first-timers who are looking for a nice, modest home in which to begin the next chapter of their lives.
Tapping into this audience of first-time buyers can be a powerful way for you to sell your own home, especially if you have a smaller place that would work well in a starter-home situation.
The question is, what steps can sellers take to intentionally appeal to first timers? We’ll offer some strategic considerations in the paragraphs that follow.
First, just a quick reminder: Whether you’re pursuing a traditional real estate transaction or selling your house for cash, you can get personalized guidance in your copy of the SOLD.com seller’s report. Grab yours today, totally free of charge!
With that, let’s get back into some tips to help you sell your own home to a first-time buyer.
How to Engage First-Time Homebuyers
A few tips:
- Maintain your property. There’s just no two ways about it… if you’ve never owned a home before, you’re probably not going to be quite as comfortable or as confident in your home maintenance abilities. There are exceptions to this rule, of course, but largely, it’s safe to assume that first-time homebuyers are going to prefer a place that won’t require a lot of immediate elbow grease and TLC. Make sure you handle basic maintenance issues before you start showing the place.
- Be honest and transparent. One thing to remember about first-time buyers is that they are going to be equipped with a lot of information, including information specific to your property. Indeed, the Internet makes it easy for buyers to look up tax listings and other key information about your home. As such, it’s always best just to be honest and direct, rather than trying to obfuscate. Show some transparency in order to earn their trust.
- Don’t reject low offers. First-time homebuyers won’t always have a great sense of scale when it comes to negotiation; they may make an initial offer that strikes you as a major lowball. Maybe this is strategic, but it may also be that they just don’t know how low they are supposed to go. Rather than reject their offers out of hand, see if you can make a counteroffer that brings them back into the realm of possibility.
- Highlight key amenities. Another important strategy is to use your real estate listing to highlight the features or perks that first-time buyers might gravitate toward… and in particular, features or perks that might help them save a few bucks. For example, if you have an energy-efficient tankless water heater, that’s definitely something you might mention in your listing.
- Make the most of your space. Some first timers may be young couples who plan to have kids in the not-so-distant future; as such, they’ll be looking for a home where they have some room to grow into. Make sure you declutter your home and then stage it in a way that really makes the most of your available space.
- Have a pre-inspection. This isn’t always necessary, strictly speaking, but it’s worth thinking about. First-time buyers will understandably be jittery about making such a big financial decision, and they’ll be looking for ways to feel like they can trust One way you can build trust is to go ahead and have a pre-listing inspection then provide buyers with the report, letting them see that you are truly willing to be utterly transparent with them.
These are just a few of the ways in which you can make your real estate listing particularly attractive to those who are in the market for their very first home.
SOLD.com is Here to Help You Sell Your Home
As you consider your best options for listing and selling, don’t forget to claim your free seller’s report from SOLD.com.
Remember, our goal is to help you sell your home, specifically by providing independent and unbiased recommendations for how you can achieve your real estate goals.
Whether you want to sell through a traditional agent, or you’re interested in selling your home for cash, we invite you to claim your SOLD.com report today.
