Real Estate Feng Shui: Listen to you buyer's comments

Real Estate Feng Shui: Listen to you buyer's comments

Getting feedback from your showings and those of other agents is essential.

You need to know specifically why a potential buyer did not make an offer. Often, the same issues with the house keep coming up. If you find that a particular aspect of the house is holding off a sale, you can address it with Feng Shui.

Rooms are Too Small-Change Perception

If a chronic complaint is that a particular room is too small, there are several enhancements to change this perception.

Painting one or two accent walls in smaller rooms can remove the boxy feeling and give the room more dimension. If the far wall can be the accent wall, this is a plus. It really pulls the buyer into the room by giving it a bit of drama and depth. You can increase the size of a great room by shifting furniture that divides the room, such as long couches. If the room is broken into two or more seating or living areas, combine them into one for your showings. The first impression of the space will be much larger. Remember, we are staging for the buyer rather than the comfort of the seller.

Using fewer, larger pieces of artwork can also enlarge the room. Several small or disparate pieces tend to fragment the space and make it appear smaller. Raise valances up above the tops of windows, or remove them entirely. This way the windows look larger, allow more light inside, and create a feeling of more space.

Up the lighting quotient. Use "daylight" bulbs to brighten up and expand the feeling in a room. Also, be sure to thin out the furniture if needed and keep only the pieces that are proportional and appropriate to each room.

Too Many Stairs-Moderate Impact

You can moderate the impact of too many stairs in a number of ways. One is to place a strong piece of art at the top. This gives the eye a destination and helps to pull the buyer up the stairs. Make sure the stairwell has good lighting. A long, dark stairwell is very uninviting.

Remove any blocking furniture or decorative objects in stairwells. You want the stairs to appear as wide as possible. The only decor a stairwell needs is light and color. If you hang more than one piece of art in the stairwell, it can emphasize the steepness of the stairs with a "stair-step" effect. Art hung on both walls of a stairwell tends to cramp and narrow the path. Therefore, light, bright, and open is the way to go with stairs.

Too Much Street Noise-Downplay with Diversion

You can't change the street, but you can change the effect of street noise on the buyer.

Determine where the greatest impact of street noise is inside the house. Wherever that might be is the place to create a diversion for the ear of the buyer.

Hang a wind chime outside this window, one that has a nice harmonious sound. This creates a foreground sound and pushes the street noise to the background. The same can be done by adding a small water fountain to a room dominated by outside noise. Another solution is to have soft music playing when the house is shown.

Given an alternative, the ear will always go to the more charming sound in the environment first. So give the buyer a choice and create a sonic diversion.

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