This morning I walked the neighborhood where I will be holding an Open House this afternoon. I always like to invite the neighbors (who presumably like where they live and have friends and family) to come in and see the listed property. As all Realtors know, Open Houses are primarily attended by curious neighbors.
My plan was to personally invite each neighbor by knocking on the door and giving them an invitation yesterday afternoon. Of course, real life got in the way and I wasn't able to to that. My alternate plan was to string each of these postcard invites with a ribbon and hang them on the mailbox. This morning I walked around, talked to neighbors who were outside, and left the invitations for those who weren't, hanging on the mailbox.
This is what my perceptions of certain houses and owners were based on what I saw of their mailboxes:
- A mailbox that is virtually falling down reflects a house were the maintenance is deferred until it is almost a crisis.
- A well kept, newer, mailbox reflects a home where the homeowner notices problems and addresses them.
- A mailbox where the flag is broken off is a household where the owner is happy with work-arounds (my guess is they drop their mail in a public box or hope for the best when the postman comes by).
- Mailboxes that look like they have been attended to, but are still showing their age, probably reflect an owner who will do enough to present a good front, but who is unwilling to tackle the big challenge of replacement. These houses probably require updating and some deferred maintenance.
Obviously, I am reading a lot in each type of situation, but I do this to make a point. This is how Buyers judge your home; it is the little clues that help them to figure out what kind of homeowner you are.
Make it a point when you are preparing your house for sale to look at how the entire house presents to the public. It might be a little thing like a broken mailbox that inspires a buyer to lower their offer price.
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Oh my, my own mailbox is taped on with duck tape. I have a pretty nice home, but the snowplow takes a serious toll on our rural mailboxes. 5 have been wiped out in one snow storm. I also didn't mention the occasional teenager who accidentally hits it with a baseball bat.
Holly - just a word of warning - it's illegal to attach anything to a mailbox, or even - when the mailbox is attached to the house - to tuck the envelope/flyer between the box and the wall. And it's also illegal to leave anything IN the mailbox without postage. Hope that noone complains.
Thank you for your comments. Your point about the external forces was a very good one, Wanda! Still, if you were selling your house I doubt you would want to have to explain those 'likely accidents' :).
Sharon, I appreciate your advice. While I knew that I could not put anything on the inside, I was not aware that I could not put something ON the mailbox.
Holly: Nice post. It illustrates just how important staging you home, inside AND out, can be. It really is about the "impression" one gets when looking at a home. www.debrasdesigningdetails.com