Tampa, FL - While talking to a neighborhood acquaintance, a nice woman who's been trying to sell her home for over 2 years, I realized that she'd been given some advice that many realtors would likely offer... "Don't do a thing to fix up your home."  While this may have been reasonable advice during Florida's real estate heyday, I disagreed with it then, and disagree even more so today.

Her home is considered by many to be a 'tear-down'.  It is very likely that a couple or a developer will build a big, new, McMansion on this property, and I do agree that this is probably a good idea.  However, this home is liveable - the seller has been living there for several years - and real estate is a game, especially when it comes to pricing strategy.

If one wants to sell a 'tear-down' for the highest possible price, a home must be attractive to buyers who want to live there.  Otherwise, there is no way anyone who intends to build something new on the property will pay top dollar.  Why would they?  If a place is not up to market standards, whatever they may be, most buyers will not pay market price.  They'll likely offer something well below market, (I'd offer at least 25% below in our current environment), especially today.  But, if the same buyer realized that the property could be used by someone else as their home, they would have to pay more - and savvy buyers know this.

Another good reason that sellers of real fixer-uppers should invest some money to make their home more appealing to folks who'd consider living there seems obvious, and is even more important in the slow real estate market we've been stuck in: A home that people would consider living in will appeal to a much larger pool of buyers.  In today's market, the larger the buying pool, the more likely that a property will sell - at any price.

One does not have to spend a fortune.  A home just needs to give a good first impression and, often, simple fixes that don't cost much can be enough to make a huge difference.  For more about pricing strategy, please visit: www.PrettyDogRealty.com.