Part I: Selling Your Florida Home? Make Your Seawall a Selling Feature

Selling your beloved Florida home can be a stressful, and too often, difficult experience. From making an excellent first impression to pricing your property to sell, these general selling tips can also be applied to your seawall, making it a valuable selling feature.

Preparing to Sell

Getting your home or property ready to sell is one of the most important steps in the selling process. It can also be one of the most tedious and time-consuming steps. General preparation usually includes cleaning, decluttering, making repairs and upgrades, and staging the home. And just as you would diligently complete each of these preparatory steps inside your home, you should apply the same diligence to your outdoor areas and seawall.

Cleaning and Decluttering

You only get one chance to make a good first impression with potential buyers, and a dirty, dusty, or cluttered home will not do that. Dirt, dust, and clutter gives the impression that the home has not been well cared for during your time as the property owner. This can lead potential buyers to:

• Inspect the home more closely
• Potentially see and focus in on more red flags or areas of concern
• Perceive the property as less valuable, translating into lower offers
• Turn potential buyers off or even scare them away

Some buyers may be able to see past the mess and clutter inside the home, but they are less likely to be able to look past a dirty, damaged, or poorly maintained seawall. Potential buyers are usually less familiar with seawalls. And the less familiar something is to a person, the more uncomfortable it can make them feel.

Most Florida home buyers understand that the primary function of a seawall is to protect the property from water damage. And a properly maintained seawall is more likely to do a better job of this, therefore, making the property appear more valuable.

Making Repairs and Upgrades

A home is typically one of the biggest purchases people make during their lifetime. It can be a bit scary, especially for first-time buyers. A home buyer needs to feel comfortable with the purchase and confident in their decision.

One of the best ways to make buyers feel good about purchasing your property is by putting your best foot forward. Take the time to freshen up the paint and make any repairs needed. Making some updates to the home, such as replacing worn out floors or carpet, and/or updating features in the kitchen or bathroom(s) can go a long way toward selling your property quickly.

The same holds true for your landscaping and seawall. People flock to Florida for the beautiful weather; they want to be able to enjoy it, especially in their own backyard. By making the yard an inviting space, and making any repairs needed to the seawall protecting this space, potential home buyers know they can begin enjoying this outdoor area as soon as they move in.

Staging Your Property

Potential buyers need to be able to picture themselves living in the home and enjoying the property. Just as you would stage each room in the house, to show how it could potentially be used, you should apply the same staging techniques to your outdoor area and seawall. A few staging ideas include:

• Lining walking paths down to or along your seawall with small solar lights. This can be a relatively inexpensive way to highlight the walkways, drawing attention to them.
• Creating an outdoor living space. Outdoor living spaces can often help a property feel bigger. It can also draw attention to specific areas around the property, and along the seawall. A well-placed sitting area can draw potential buyers out to the water’s edge, showcasing beautiful waterfront views, accompanied by the sounds of waves crashing along the seawall.

Proper staging of the entire property helps potential buyers picture themselves living there, likely leading to a deeper emotional connection with the property. Emotional connections typically translate into higher offers and faster sales.

Learn More About Making Your Seawall a Selling Feature of Your Florida Property

Now that you have tackled the first part of cleaning, decluttering, making repairs and upgrades, and staging the home, we will move on to more tips that you can apply to your Florida seawall making it a valuable selling feature. Read part two of Make Your Seawall a Selling Feature of Your Florida Home here.