Getting Your Edge: How to Downsize Your Home.

From First Impression to Final Offer: 6 Psychological Keys to a Successful Home Sale

• Dennis Day • Season 3 • Episode 67

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Selling your home isn’t just about price—it’s about psychology. In this episode of Getting Your Edge – How to Downsize Your Home, Judy Gratton and Dennis Day reveal six proven strategies that tap into buyer emotions to help you sell faster and for top dollar. Learn how to create a winning first impression, build trust through transparency, and use subtle cues that make buyers fall in love with your home. Whether you’re downsizing in King or Snohomish County—or preparing for a move anywhere—these expert insights will help you showcase your home’s best features and achieve a smooth, successful sale.

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Dennis Day - Co-host:

Welcome everyone. I'm your host, Dennis Day, and I'm here with Getting Your Edge How to Downsize Your Home. I'm with my real estate expert and local advisor, Judy Grattan. How goes it today, Judy? We have an excellent show for you today. We are local downsizing experts, and we have a show called The Psychology of Selling Your Home. And what we're talking about are six strategies that will help you sell your home for top dollar. That's the goal. You want to get the most and best you can. This is an investment. Let's talk about those six things. Number one, there's an old saying, you don't get a second chance for a first impression. What does that mean for home sellers?

Judy Gratton - Co-host:

What does that mean? People form their impressions from the minute they drive into the neighborhood, which you don't have a lot of control over, but especially when they pull up in front of your home. If your home looks inviting, clean, landscape trees trimmed back so it's not overgrown, toys and different items put back where they belong or not visible, that is a good first impression when they walk up to the front door. If the door knob is newer and not dull and worn out or painted over, if you have a kick plate is that shiny and new, not spotted and tarnished, and do you have a nice welcome mat that makes them feel like they're coming into a place that they want to see? So get a new welcome mat. Make sure your doorknob is new, make sure the door is clean and painted, not chip. Things like that. That helps with the first impression. If you can put some flowers out, seasonal flowers, that's always a plus.

Dennis Day - Co-host:

As a seller, you need to think like buyers think. How can I make the impression that leads people to believe they're going to be welcome and they're going to love this home? I can visualize myself living here. It's so important. Basic landscaping can make all the difference.

Judy Gratton - Co-host:

What are your goals about selling this home? Let's say that you are downsizing and you have not been able to maintain the home for a period of time, either because physically, emotionally, financially, you just can't do it. If it has items that need to be repaired or it's really dated, that is going to affect the price of the home. What is your goal? Do you want to sell it in the condition that it's in and just be able to move on? Or do you want to invest some money in it up front to make it look better, to bring in a higher purchase price? And those are things that people like you and I, Dennis, can present to them. This is what you could expect to get in the condition that it's in right now. This is what you could expect to get if you did some fresh paint and updated some of the things. Is it really worth it to do that? And I've had people say, I've got to put granite countertops in before my home. First of all, granite's gone out of fashion now. But in addition to that, why? If the counters are not obnoxiously bad, what kind of return can you expect to get on that investment when you sell? And we have reports that we can provide them with that will show what some of the different remodel ideas are and how much of it you can expect to recoup. It's really important that you have someone working with you, an agent who understands the ecology and pricing.

Dennis Day - Co-host:

First impression, you only get one shot.

Judy Gratton - Co-host:

I can't tell you how many times I pulled up in front of a house with potential buyers, and they take one look and go, nope, not interested, and move on. That's what happens if your first impression isn't a good one.

Dennis Day - Co-host:

Setting the stage for an emotional connection. Yes. It's not about your stuff, it's about helping the buyers imagine a life in your home. What things can they do?

Judy Gratton - Co-host:

This is something I wanted to bring up. When someone comes to see your home, studies say that they are already 80% there on buying your home. You're in the location they want, your home is the size they think they want, and it's in a price range they're comfortable with. So all you have to deal with is just the 20% more to get them over the hump to make an offer. One of the biggest things that are really hard for realtors to discuss is what does the home smell like? And sometimes it's things like pet odors, and those must be addressed. That will turn people off faster than anything when they come into a home and it smells, you will lose a lot of money if you don't address that. Odors are really important. I would suggest having someone you trust come in and tell them you want a really honest opinion about does my home smell. One of the simplest things to do to combat that, not go out and buy a bunch of air fresheners and plug them in all over the house because people go, what's wrong with it? Sometimes it can just become overpowering. Instead, paint a wall. Even if it's only one wall, the smell of fresh paint is positive in people's minds. And they don't go, well, why does it smell like fresh paint? It smells like fresh paint because the seller cares enough to have done something. Could just be that the carpet's rolled it. You need to address odors. Start packing. You're moving anyway. And the psychology of selling your home is it is no longer your home. It is now your product. Ideally, people don't put wrinkled dresses on mannequins. If they sell the dress, the same thing is true with your home. Pack up your personal belongings, political or religious artifacts because it opens your home up to more people who may not agree with those things. So you stay very middle of the road, you clean it up to the best of your ability, you take down the items and excess furniture. It's not bad for a home to be vacant when you put it on the market. You should have the home deep cleaned. And that means the oven, the stovetop, the inside of the refrigerator, the rungs inside of the windows where you slide the windows back and forth, or the sliding glass door, the windows and the doors themselves. Everything should be clean and smell clean. And then the staging is beginning to fall by the wayside because it's become incredibly expensive. And it can be anywhere from three to five to $10,000 or more to stage a home. That initial payment is good for 30 days, then you have to pay rent on the furniture, considering that our market time is longer now than it was in the past. That can become an issue. I know many realtors who are happier with a vacant home or one with very little furniture in it. And then they're having it digitally staged. Furniture is put into the photographs that go onto the multiple listing service that show some ideas of what can be done. And they also disclose that it's digitally staged. Interestingly enough, I'm not sure which of the large sites it is. It might be realtor.com that actually has a feature where you can cut the staging out of a photograph so you can see what the vacant room looks like. So we're beginning to see a shift in that thought process around selling a home. Don't feel that you absolutely have to have staging, but it needs to be as clean as you can get it. Your personal items need to be removed. The majority of the furniture needs to be removed. Now, I'm a bit different than some realtors because if you're still living in that home, yes, you live there. So start moving it out that way. You must leave some paths in the garage to get to the electrical panel and the hot water tank. Should an inspection be done, but we have to be realistic here. Give people the opportunity to have some grace in their transition. Start moving out to the garage, but clean it up to the best of your ability. Have everything as clean as you can get it. Cocky around the sinks, tubs, and toilets. Make sure that's clean and not moldy or missing. Those sorts of things will indicate to a buyer that you care and they start feeling more comfortable that they could put their furniture in this home.

Dennis Day - Co-host:

When we first decided to move our home, we start packing stuff. And we had three bedrooms. One of them was where we put all our pack stuff. You can't fill up a room and then expect people to be interested in your home. So we put it in storage.

Judy Gratton - Co-host:

And there are those pods now that they'll come and pick up. And so that's definitely something you can do. But at the very least, start moving it into boxes out in the garage and make sure that you leave some room to get to the things that people have to get to.

Dennis Day - Co-host:

Another factor in the psychology is you want to create the perception of scarcity and competition. Pricing strategies matter. Sometimes listing slightly below the market value creates a sense of competition. More people coming in.

Judy Gratton - Co-host:

If it looks like a good deal, and if you can generate a lot of interest around the open house, you have a lot of people in there. Whenever there are a lot of people in a home, they begin to feel this sense of urgency that someone else is going to buy it out from under them. That psychology works in your favor as a seller because they'll be more anxious when they write that offer. The competition thing comes into play at that point. That is up to your realtor to help you develop that type of environment. And then the other one is turn on all the lights and open all the curtains. Uh, it is the kiss of death to walk into a cold home with all the curtains drawn. So they may live like that, but they don't necessarily want that.

Dennis Day - Co-host:

There's a perception of the effort versus reward. Most homebuyers don't want to walk into a project. Some buyers, perhaps one is a contractor or has experience with tools and remodeling, looking for that deal. You want the highest and best price, you don't want your home to be like a project.

Judy Gratton - Co-host:

There are a lot of people who are looking for investment properties to flip. They're looking for the lowest price, and they don't care how much work goes into it, they're gonna flip it and hopefully make a profit. So if your home is in need of repair, you're gonna attract that. Or we have a lot of people who are looking for investment properties that then become an Airbnb or a rental property. They're willing to put some elbow grease in, but then there are other people who don't have the skills and would have to hire all the work done and they just don't want to do it. Who do you want to attract? To have the whole move in ready, paint colors is another huge thing. So if you're thinking of selling and you're really into a certain color, you may consider replacing things that are that color neutral, a light, not stark white, a nice quiet, beige, soft gray, uh, off-white sort of a thing, cream colors. That's what's going to allow people to see their own creations in that home. Think like a buyer. Think like a buyer. It is your product if you want to sell it.

Dennis Day - Co-host:

Most buyers are really stretching themselves financially to come into a home and then see I need to put in flooring, I need new carpeting, I need to paint, I need to do this and this. Holy moly, they've just spent uh almost all they have on the down payment and the monthly payments. There isn't that extra money to do those things for most buyers. So you want to make it perceive the issue as a move-in ready, uh, they don't have to do a whole bunch of expenses to make it the way they want it. Next one trust and transparency. Trust is another big factor. Buyers pay more for what they confidently feel is a good home.

Judy Gratton - Co-host:

Yes. So with our sellers, we try and gather as much information as we can about the home, the age of the appliances, the age of the roof, what sorts of improvements have they done? When did they do them? I've had a made list of recent improvements in the last five years and what it costs. Because if you've done them and you've maintained the house, that's showing the buyer that they can trust buying this home because you've taken care of it. The more information that you can provide and double check, the better they're going to feel about it. We have had sellers who go ahead and have an inspection done by an inspector, pay for it and provide it to an interested buyer to review. There are some downsides to doing that because if the inspector does find something that needs to be repaired or replaced, I'm talking about structural and safety items. If they see that there's a problem, you now have knowledge of that. And there's this disclosure form that you have to fill out for the buyer, and you have to disclose that you know it. You can't lie because they could sue you. You have to fix it if you choose to, or you're probably going to have to adjust the price. And it could be the fact that there are rodents under the house. I do have exterminators. A lot of people don't. So they find out nasty things are going on under there, and that can be a very expensive repair. Are you willing to take the risk? Have you been under your house? Do you know the age of the roof? Those are things the inspector may discover. If you get that inspection done, that really relieves the buyer. In high sellers' market, where you're getting, you know, anywhere between five and twenty-five or more offers on a home. The buyers would really like to do an inspection, but they know if they do, you may choose another offer. So they become very nervous, even if you've done a really good job. So those are things that you need to have an informed realtor who can help you waive and make a decision about what direction you want to go in terms of how you build this confidence in your home. But there are a lot of things you can do.

Dennis Day - Co-host:

And the market has shifted. Years ago, when there was two weeks inventory, you could put up a house and people would waive everything, inspection, this, that, that, and buy it sight on scene from the internet. It's not that same market anymore. There's three months of inventory. You've got to present a good home and build trust because the competition is not as fierce right now. The power of storytelling in every home. There are ways that sellers can tell a story that makes buyers more interested and love the home. What do you think?

Judy Gratton - Co-host:

This is one of my favorite things we do with the sellers. Frequently, it's kind of old school, but there's a thing called a home book that we can get from the title company that has demographics for the area and can tell you a lot about the home. We add to that a letter from the seller about why they bought it. Because I can't tell you how many people will go, why are they moving? And so the seller, if they'll write a letter, we put it in the front of that book. I even upload it to the listing. So if the agent for the buyer wants to pass that on to the buyer, they have some idea of who that person was living in that hall and why they're leaving. It can be things like, I love my neighborhood. I we have a great community here. We help each other, our kids play together, whatever it is. I'm five minutes from Boulevard Park. I walk down there all the time. I go to the farmer's market in downtown. These are the favorite things I love about my home. And suddenly now there's a story around it. And if they have pictures of, let's say they're selling in late September and the flowers are gone from the spring and summer, maybe they have a beautiful garden. If we can put those pictures together and display those in the listing and in that homebook, it shows people, it tells a story about that home and it suddenly becomes something special instead of just a building.

Dennis Day - Co-host:

They're buying more than just drywall and kitchen sink. They're buying a lifestyle.

Judy Gratton - Co-host:

You can tell that story. And that emotional connection to that home is what we're trying to achieve.

Dennis Day - Co-host:

We've given you six takeaways that will improve. Bottom line, first impression creates anchor value. You drive up and you say, nice yard, love it. The setting inside the home, does it smell neutral? Are the walls in neutral paint, driving the scarcity, getting to the point where people think, oh, there's going to be competition for this. Pricing is super important. A move-in ready home, not a project, is going to help sell that home. Building trust with all the disclosures. Maybe a pre-inspection, making it look well maintained. And the story building of the lifestyle. Think like a buyer. Our psychology isn't about fooling people, it's about creating environment that buyers will fall in love with.

Judy Gratton - Co-host:

I've never really been into commercial real estate because there's no emotion in that. Whereas here, it's all about the people. It's always been about the people and how they feel. We have some incredibly great stories and some sad stories. It's always a new day in real estate.

Dennis Day - Co-host:

That wraps up today's session on getting your edge in six ways to get a top dollar for your home. If you're considering selling, reach out to us. We can help you all six of these. Our information is free. Homes are not just brick and mortar, they're about a feeling, an emotional connection. Hit the like button if you enjoy this information. Share this with a friend. If you are thinking about downsizing, reach out to us and we are happy to give complimentary ideas on how to support your next transition. Hope to talk to you soon. Thank you so much, local real estate expert Judy Grattan. I appreciate your time.

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Dennis Day

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Judy Gratton

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