To Increase Sales, Find the Silver Lining

This is an excerpt from Daily Real Estate News on August 7, 2008 about finding the silver lining to sell a house. Some of these are pretty funny…

As the crooner Bing Crosby once sang, “Accentuate the positive. Eliminate the negative. Don’t mess with Mister In-Between.” If you’re trying to sell a house, truer words were never spoken.

The National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents has compiled some of the descriptions that emphasize the affirmative in a booklet. Here are a few of the most memorable ones:

• Cozy bedroom. Room for a twin bed and one very small dresser

• Damp basement. Three feet of water rushing across the floor

• Easy access to everywhere. Backing up to an expressway

• Galley kitchen. A hallway with cupboards

• Gorgeous home with great potential. Refers to the crack through the middle of the foundation

• Grandma’s house. Hasn’t been improved since she moved in and it still smells like her

• Light, airy basement. You can see daylight through the cracks in the foundation

• Low-maintenance front yard. Paved over with concrete

• Move-in ready. Vacant

• Period home. Kitchen in the basement

• Quaint cottage. Frame house from the ‘50s smaller than 600 square feet

• Retro décor. Original avocado appliances and paisley vinyl floors

Source: National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (08/01/2008)