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Selling Houses Fast: Basics of Design & Color Psychology
By Jeanette Joy Fisher

Fixing up houses to ready them for sale includes a design plan for needed changes. Save money on transformation costs by choosing design details right the first time. Make more money from your home sale by choosing design details that catch the attention of buyers in your price range.

Design Psychology helps you net more money, faster, in today's competitive real estate market. Your buyers won't even realize that you're using Design Psychology, but they'll want to buy your home, even if it costs more than similar houses.

Whether your target market is first-timers, move-uppers, empty nesters, or mover-downers, keep their needs and desires in mind when developing your sales and transformation plans, always keeping your bottom line in mind.

Budget Concerns

Weigh the cost of an upgrade against its ultimate benefit, and only spend money on those changes that improve your profit margin. Of all upgrades for selling houses, fresh paint is the best investment, dollar for dollar. New kitchen appliances, upgraded bathroom features, and updated lighting fixtures also provide a good return on your money, as a general rule.

Also consider the cost benefits of doing the work yourself vs. hiring professionals. The time saved and superior quality of workmanship often makes hiring pros a better option than doing repairs yourself.

Color Psychology for the Exterior

Choosing the right colors for your home's exterior makes a huge difference in your paycheck at closing. Look at the other homes near yours and choose complementary colors. It's worthwhile to use three, or even four, colors, to add visual interest or to emphasize interesting design details. Limiting your exterior colors to just two lessens the overall effect and may slow the process of selling your home.

If your goal is to attract up-scale, wealthy, or highly-educated buyers, you'll want to use muted, complex colors on the exterior of your home, while less-wealthy and less-educated buyers normally prefer simpler colors.

Color Psychology for the Interior

Don't be afraid to use color, rather than painting all your walls white. Most people actually look more attractive when surrounded by color, and colored walls make people feel happier, so if you want to make your buyers happy (and to choose your home as a result), use color on your interior walls.

Bring into play various shades of your exterior colors inside. This design detail makes your home feel harmonious, and you'll receive an added bonus: if your buyers like the exterior colors, they're also going to be happy with your choice for the interior.

Spending time targeting your market and then using the subtle techniques of Design Psychology will help sell your home more quickly, and for more money than your competition.

(c) Copyright 2004, Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.

Professor Jeanette Fisher, author of Doghouse to Dollhouse for Dollars, Joy to the Home, and other books teaches Real Estate Investing and Design Psychology. For more articles, tips, reports, newsletters, and sales flyer template, see http://www.doghousetodollhousefordollars.com/pages/5/index.htm

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