Customer Reviews

Dress Your House for Success: 5 Fast, Easy Steps to Selling Your House, Apartment, or Condo for the Highest Po ssible Price!

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I bought this book after reading the rave reviews and editorial, as I'm in the process of selling a home for the first time, and renovating 2 apartments to rent. I thought it would contain helpful tips on getting far better prices. Wrong! This book should have been called "Cleaning for Dummies, Lazy Teens & Completely Clueless Adults". It contains nothing but common-sense and the obvious.

The first 3 sections are insultingly simplistic, i.e., "the buyer will see your clutter", "clean the stove", a list for cleaning ("sponges, bucket, glass cleaner"). If you have to read that broken tiles, whether on the floor or bath, should be replaced prior to showing your home, and that you need to clean the windows, wash down cabinets and tighten loose doorknobs, I'm afraid that you have far worse problems than selling your home!

Section 4 basically tells you not to paint your kitchen orange and yellow, or your bedroom pink, but rather paint everything white, as a base for a buyer to use for "their" color, and so as not to distract from key features.

The 5th and last section is still more from the "Dummies" series... "don't display empty flowerboxes, put fresh flowers on the table, serve coffee, don't have blank walls yet don't display provocative, political or religious items, clear debris." I now know that I can make a living as a writer, with little effort, as this one does.

Basically, if you've ever rented a white-wall/beige-rug apartment in a complex, that's the look to which she's aspiring, perhaps adding a few no-controversy items from a mid-range hotel lobby, like a simple wreath or inobtrusive floral display...

I did and I made $66k MORE than I thought I would. I did everything I possibly could right down to how I folded my towels and sheets in the closets and decorating, that's right, decorating my outdated pantry to look quaint instead of old. My family said "we can't live like this" and I told them this isn't for living, this is for marketing! My husband was unemployed and I am a housewife so the only way I could generate income for my family was by maximizing my profit from my home. I did, with this book.

I have no immediate plans to sell my house, but I bought this book anyway. I'm following the author's suggestions and I'm very pleased with the results.

If I need to move, I'll already have myself positioned to list my house quickly. If I stay where I am, I will still have a nicer looking home. By taking care of the small things now, I won't have as much stress down the road.

Don't think that dressing your house for success is "fast" process, as the title implies. Some of us just don't have the time to get everything done in a short time frame. Still, this book has a lot to offer, and when I'm ready to sell I'll be very glad I read it.

It was unbelievable that by following their guidelines my house was transformed just like some fairies had descended upon it. Every person selling a house should read this.

This book will pay for itself a thousand fold if you follow its directions. Our previous home had been on the market for about a month with no real response. This was in a market where homes around us were moving in two to three weeks. After we read this book and "dynamized" our home, we sold our home within two weeks at the listing price (which our realtor thought was too high based on her market analysis). We are now "dynamizing" again in preparation for selling our current home.

This is an excellent book. I used it when I was selling my home on my own and it works...and now that I am a Realtor, I give it to my customers. Martha gives not only very helpful advice about neutralizing, cleaning, etc. but goes a giant leap farther by her "dynamizing"...turning an average house into a model home. I've seen homes that are worth so much more go for $30,000 under appraisal for the simple fact that they don't know how to get their home ready to sell. This will work, use it and get out of your home what you deserve.

This book is the voice of objective common sense needed to help you get your house fit for the market.

What I really love about Martha Webb is her warm and friendly guidance, and she illustrates from her own experiences both as a buyer and a seller. This isn't a cold "out to get the buyer no matter what" book. (which is why I am also going to buy her new book, for buyers!) Instead it shows buyers to be intelligent, discerning, savaay - and therefore worthy of your greatest effort to persuade and convince, by letting your house speak for itself, at its very very best.

Martha Webb outlines her 5 steps: (1) Uncluttering (2) Cleaning (3) Repairing (4) Neutralizing (5) Dynamyzing. Step by step she takes you through, and even gives estimate costs. I found the Dynamising section the most fun - you are encouraged to use your imagination and style. Its a real thrill to approach home selling at such a professional yet possible way.

Better than hiring the house cleaners - you'd probably get your money's worth by buying this book.

Would you rather move into a house with broken stairs and peeling paint or one that had been fixed up? I would rather buy a house with fresh paint, newly carpeted floors and windows that shone as you looked out of them. My husband gives real estate advice to many of his clients and gives this book to many a client. We all see our own homes as perfect. The problem arises when someone comes into our homes and can see things we don't see or don't care about as much as someone else does. This books will tell you everything you need to know. Try to think of the buyer and then of course how much more money you will be making. Good Motivation! My advice is to do all your decorating and repairs first, then get a cleaning service and deep clean everything. When you move out you will not have to work as hard! Who wants to clean two houses then? Your attention is better spent on your new home at that point. Who knows, maybe after your home is all spiffed up...you won't want to sell it! Just kidding!

After only 2 months on the market our house sold! That's saying a lot in that the average listing time for most homes in our area is 120 days. I have seen other homes languish for 6 months to a year or more.

I believe it sold in large part to Martha Webb's help. I was told by realtors our house was the second best home listed in our price range. The first best was less than a block down the street and it has been on the market for a year.

We didn't get our listing price. However, we did receive $8,000.00 more than the house was appraised for 2 years ago.

The book is a quick read. There are lots of ideas, checklists, and drawings to help you move your property.

A word of caution...If your spouse is like mine they might believe you've gone over the edge with Martha's tactics. Hey, it works.