Home buyers in the Los Angeles real estate market want a house that is move in ready.

Home buyers don’t want an allowance to repair the roof, replace the carpet or repaint. Allowances are for teenagers. They want a well priced home, in a decent location, that they can move right in to without spending another dime.

Its a big fallacy that home buyers want to choose their own carpet or paint colors. If you choose a nice, neutral color carpet and nice neutral color wall paint (both things the best home stagers can help you with) most home buyers will see your home as more desirable because it is move-in-ready. They’ll be thrilled they don’t have to worry about picking out carpet and having it installed or find a painter who has time in their schedule. If your home stager can’t help you with this, then you are working with the wrong home stager.

Most home buyers are maxing out their home purchasing budget by making an offer on the nicest home they can possibly afford. They don’t have extra money to paint, install new carpet or retile the bathroom. They want to move in as soon as escrow closes, not after they have to make a lot of repairs to make their new home livable.

Here’s what happens when you offer a $5,000 allowance for repairing the roof that should have been replaced 5 years ago:

1. The buyer thinks “What else didn’t they repair that they should have?”
2. The buyer thinks “What structure got damaged by the leaky roof?”
3. The buyer thinks “Is it really going to cost only $5,000 to repair the roof?”
4. The buyer thinks “How much time will it take me to get bids, hire a roofing company & get the work done?”
5. The buyer thinks “What happens if (fill in the disaster: it rains, the contractor absconds with the deposit, a worker falls off the roof)?”
6. The buyer thinks “The seller must be desperate since the house isn’t in good shape.”

Here’s what happens next:

The buyer accepts your offer of $5,000 to repair the roof, and then also knocks off another 10% because they think the house is not in good condition or you are desperate…

~or~

The buyer rejects your house and moves on to the house down the street that is move in ready.

Here’s what happens when you offer a $3,000 allowance for new carpet:

1. The buyer thinks “Will $3,000 really cover new carpet for the whole house?”
2. The buyer thinks “I’m not from around here. Where do I buy new carpet?”
3. The buyer thinks “That house down the street already has new carpet. Why should I take on the added stress of shopping for & installing new carpet?”

Here’s what happens next:

The buyer accepts your offer of $3,000 to buy new carpet, and then also knocks off another 10% because they think your allowance won’t cover all the costs …

~or~

The buyer rejects your house and moves on to the house down the street that is move in ready and already has new carpet installed.

By not repairing and updating your home before you put it on the market, you are asking home buyers to assume risk and additional expenses. You add more stress and uncertainty to the situation. Many home buyers are already investing every penny they can get their hands on in order to purchase a home. They are unable or unwilling to purchase a home that will require repairs before they can move in. Additionally, the condition of your home may effect the appraisal causing the buyer’s lender to refuse the loan.

Want to get a Los Angeles home sold? Price it right, hire the best full service Realtor you can find, hire a professional home stager and make sure it is in move-in ready condition.

A home staging consultation by an experienced Los Angeles home stager will give you a clear understanding of what condition issues need to be addressed before putting your home on the market.

Here’s a terrific video from Jay Papasan, VP of Keller Williams Realty that explains it very graphically and in easy to understand terms. Its the best use of 3 1/2 + minutes I can imagine before listing your home.

This weekend I went to a real estate conference (RainCamp) at Loyola Marymount University and I learned the following:

• 87% home buyers are using Internet to search for homes
• 94% of 24-44 year olds are using Internet in their home buying process
• 37% of home buyers found their home on the Internet

How can you use these home buying statistics to help sell your home in Los Angeles?

• List your home with an internet and social media savvy real estate agent.
• Have your home professionally staged so it looks great in person and in on-line photos. Professional staging allows you to make your best first impression on the internet.
• Have your home professionally photographed after its staged. Some listing agents include professional photography as part of their marketing because they recognize the difference it makes. Point & shoot photos from a snappy pix camera won’t create a compelling desire to see your home
• Make sure your listing agent posts 10-20 photos of your home on the MLS (each MLS limits the number of photos allowed, so number of photos may be different)

Michelle Mills, the reporter I spoke to writes:

Minch understands how real estate marketing works and how home shoppers think. With that in mind, she counsels her home-selling clients to identify changes that can make a house more appealing to a home buyer, and how to get those changes done in a cost effective manner.

Click here for a PDF to learn more about hiring an expert home stager to market a picture perfect home page one and page 2.

The home owner found Moving Mountains Design as the result of a this Pasadena Home Stager in the Pasadena Star News that appeared last week.

Despite (or maybe because of) her Senior Citizen status, she recognized that home staging is a wonderful tool that could help get her Glendora condo sold.

She is a retired real estate agent, and she told me that she wished “home staging was around when I was selling real estate. How much easier it would have been”.

The home owner put a lot of effort and money into getting her townhome into market ready condition, but hasn’t caught any buyer’s attention….yet. Let’s see if home staging is the magic wand to get this cute Glendora townhouse sold.

This townhome is 1,426 sq. ft. with 3 bedrooms & 3 bathrooms and is listed for $359,000.

For more information about this Glendora townhouse, contact the listing agent, Chris Purkiss at (626)335-8118.