Selling Your Horse Property
By Crista Vesel
Published in Today's Horse Trader Magazine
Selling a horse property can be a challenge in the current real estate market. Yet, the number of equestrian-zoned acreage parcels continues to diminish, making this type of property a valuable resource.
Horse property owners need not spend a fortune preparing their properties for sale. By utilizing simple staging techniques in the house and barn, pricing the property correctly and marketing to the right Buyers, a home owner will have a better chance of selling quickly and making a profit.
Make a Difference by Staging
Staging a house for sale is different than decorating and designing it for your own family. When you actively live in a house, you want the interior and exterior to reflect your own interests, passions and lifestyle. This makes the house a home, a comfortable and personalized place.
This should change the minute you decide to sell. Make a mental shift and detach yourself from the shell of a house that you are leaving. Your “home” will go with you -- the furnishings and photos can be set up in a new environment and your memories will remain.
Staging a house involves de-personalizing it, so that Buyers can imagine themselves in the environment. A staged home creates an inviting mood that makes Buyers want to stay and enjoy the lifestyle. A staged house appears larger, cleaner, brighter and more colorful – concepts that most people want in their lives. Studies have shown that a staged house sells 33% faster, which in most markets will save you a minimum of one month’s mortgage payment.
The basics of staging require that you simplify your house to present a clean, fresh look. Sellers are encouraged to “pre-pack” many of their belongings into storage, to give the house a more spacious appearance. Furniture may be rearranged into inviting arrangements called vignettes, which create a mood by connecting elements together in an attractive way. To attract a horse centered Buyer, create a vignette with a couple of horse related items, such as colorful horse books, a decorative bridle or a painting. Do not use too many elements, as even a horseman may consider the scene overpowering.
Professional home stager, Karla Umlauf (www.kkstaging.com), balances the removal of the Seller’s imprint on the home with the enhancement of the property’s unique features. “Don’t be shy of colors,” says Karla, “as they will create a memory for the Buyers that will distinguish it from other properties.”
Karla suggests these basic steps that can transform a property without too much expense.
· Take down personal photos. These photos will make it hard for Buyers to envision themselves in the home.
· Add plants and flowers. These can be either living or artificial and will immediately brighten up the home. Humans are naturally drawn to the color green, which represents life and abundance.
· Light up your rooms. Lighting will show off color and make spaces look larger. Add lamps to dark corners and leave them on during showings.
· Create a “Buyer Friendly” environment. For horse people, this might mean organizing an area where muddy boots and barn coats can be removed and stored, before entering the main house. This will also suggest to Buyers that you have treated the house with care.
Hiring a professional stager can be well worth the cost, as staged properties sell faster and can attract higher offers. Home owners frequently become accustomed to their surroundings and tend to filter out areas that might need attention or appear dated. A stager can view your house from a neutral perspective and come up with creative ways to show it off within a budget.
Preparing the Barn
Horse people are not the kind of Buyers that most real estate agents work with. As a horse property specialist, I often have Buyers that jump out of the car and run to the barn first, before even glancing at the house. These Buyers have a clear mission – their horses come first! These Buyers will investigate the entire barn, admire the horses, inspect the tack room and walk the corrals with a critical eye, so preparation of these areas is a necessity.
All horse facilities should appear clean and neat, subtley inviting Buyers to bring their own horses to stay. Rely on your senses to make certain the barn gives a great first impression. It should smell fresh, look organized and feel like a place you would be proud to invite friends. Here are some suggestions that can help you make a sale.
· Paint the Barn. New paint, preferably to match the house, will really make the barn stand out and look well cared for. Use a second trim color to add accents around doors, windows and other elements, to draw attention to the architectural style.
Paint the inside of the stalls a light color, which will make them seem larger and brighter. If paint is not an affordable option, at least power wash the entire barn –inside and out, to make it look and smell clean.
· Muck your manure. Clean stalls and corrals at least once daily while your house is on the market. This may seem obvious, but I regularly preview properties where horses are standing knee-high in their own manure! Even if you do not currently have horses on the property, fill your stalls with fresh bedding that encourages the Buyer to dream of bringing his own horses.
· Repair the fence. Horse owners focus on safety and will point out every infraction. Extensive fencing issues can result in a lower offer, so walk every inch of fence and make sure it is tight and in good repair. If the fence is painted, give it a fresh coat or at least tidy up the obvious imperfections.
· Go to the dump. Any junk lying around your property will trigger a “safety” alert and will detract from the overall appearance of your property. It is not enough to tell Buyers that you will get rid of trash and debris – get rid of it before you put the house on the market (this goes for your house, too).
· Stage the barn. For horse property Buyers, this may be more important than staging the house. Start by giving the tack room a thorough cleaning and organization. If possible, make the tack room feel “homey” -- finish the walls with siding or sheetrock, add flooring (even cheap vinyl will give a clean, neat appearance) and provide lots of light and ventilation.
If your tack room is large enough, make a vignette by arranging a couple pieces of furniture (such as a chair, small table and a rug) to invite the Buyer to stay awhile. A horse person will appreciate an area to sit and change their boots, have a cup of coffee and polish tack. This area need not be elaborate, but will create a lasting impression.
Clean your saddles and leave only the most attractive ones in view. Under each saddle place a clean, bright saddle pad that attracts the eye. Hang a few good bridles to decorate the walls. You may not look forward to the work of cleaning the dust off your tack, but the sight of shiny bits and the clean, earthy smell of leather will be appreciated.
Simplify your barn by packing things away that you do not use. Store horse health and grooming supplies in drawers or boxes, to remove them from view. Stack feed bags neatly against walls or in containers. Keep the entrance of your tack room free from objects, to present an open view of the room and make it seem larger.
Use flowers to lead the Buyer’s eye from the house to the barn. Choose colorful flowers that are easy to care for and will bloom all summer. If you are at the disadvantage of having your property on the market in the cooler months, use artificial flowers to add color and life.
· Use feature cards. Savvy real estate brokers use brightly colored signs, called feature cards, around a home to point out unique elements. This empowers Buyers to tour the home while learning “insider” information. Most Buyer’s agents will not be familiar with horses, so feature cards can point out details and give information that a horse person will want to know.
Feature cards might be used to point out barn details, such as stall size, specialized footing, stall mats, or the number of hay bales that can be stored. Other important data can also appear, such as the number horses the property is zoned for, water rights, and how to access equestrian trails.
Instead of feature cards, you can also make a “tour sheet”, which takes Buyers from one area of the property to the next, while providing essential data.
Price it Right
In a Buyer’s market, the price of a home will immediately dictate how many showings it will get. A property should get the most number of showings in the first month of listing. Pricing a home should be based on similar properties that have sold in the area, with only a general reference taken from those currently on the market. Your neighbor may list his property at an exciting high price, but may sit on that listing for a year or more – do not make the same mistake!
Choose a real estate agent that knows horse properties and appreciates open land. Your agent can help you research the “sold” and “active” listings that are similar to your own property and help you come up with a reasonable starting price. Preview active listings in your area with your agent, so that you can compare the condition and amenities to your own property.
Be prepared to step down the price of your listing at regular intervals, especially if your home does not get many showings. It is better to lower the price of your home and get renewed market interest, than to sit on a dead listing. Take every offer seriously, as this market may not bring you the number of offers that it did in better times.
Market to the Right People
Some agents will merely place a sign in your yard and put the listing on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), hoping that the house sells. This approach will not be enough to target horse property Buyers. The best sales team will include both the real estate broker and home owner, working together to target every horse person in the community.
· Make the MLS count. The MLS only allows a limited number of words to describe your listing – your agent should make them all count. Key words that are often searched in the MLS are: horses, acreage, agricultural zoning, zoned for horses, barn, arena, water allowed for horses, fenced… If possible, describe the exact location of the property. In the “comments” section, mention well known riding trails, the exact size of the property and details about the barn.
· Target the horse community. Your agent may not have the horse-related contacts that you do, so take it upon yourself to post fliers in feed stores and equestrian clubs. Network with horse friends to target horse shows and events. Advertise in local and regional horse publications, which can offer target marketing at an affordable cost.
· Focus on the Web. The internet can be a Seller’s #1 resource for Buyer leads. Most horse clubs and equestrian information websites offer free or affordable advertising. Do an online search: “(your city)” + “horse” + “real estate” to find local sites.
www.craigslist.org is a remarkable resource for real estate, with hundreds of listings appearing daily in most cities. List your property frequently on this site, not only in your local city, but in areas from which Buyers are moving. Team with your Broker to create and post listings, so that you can follow local real estate listing guidelines.
A strong web presence should include lots of photos and a virtual tour. Visual images will capture a Buyer more effectively than words! Include lots of barn and horse facility images, as well as specific details that would appeal to a horse person.
· Be Open to Non-equestrians. You may dream of selling your home to a horse-loving Buyer that will appreciate the facilities you have worked so hard to create. However, the major value of your property comes from the land, which can be used for other purposes. For example, Buyers with an RV may want the barn to store their expensive vehicle and those with dirt bikes may want to use the arena as a track…
To equestrians, these ideas can seem sacrilegious. Be honest with yourself about what is most important – selling the house, or weeding out potential Buyers that do not share your views? In most markets, it would be foolish to lose qualified Buyers over personal feelings.
Let me help you with your listing!
(Crista Vesel is a classical horse trainer, saddlery expert and Colorado REALTOR®. Please view her websites: www.PetProperties.net and www.AdventureSaddlery.com )
