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

~ (Author), Sarah Parsons Zackheim (Author) "When selling a house, we all have the same goal-to sell it quickly and at the highest price possible..." (more)
Key Phrases: dress your house, position your house, curb appeal, Open House, Step Three (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

or the three million people who move each year, Dress Your House for Success will almost guarantee a sale for thousands of dollars over the price of a comparable house. Now, for the first time, everyone will have access to marketing consultant Martha Webb's effective five-step plan. 20 line drawings.

From the Inside Flap

or the three million people who move each year, Dress Your House for Success will almost guarantee a sale for thousands of dollars over the price of a comparable house. Now, for the first time, everyone will have access to marketing consultant Martha Webb's effective five-step plan. 20 line drawings.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press; 1 edition (March 25, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517888440
• ISBN-13: 978-0517888445
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #180,156 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a super marketing tool!, June 29, 1999

By A Customer

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.

187 of 214 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointment..., January 27, 2003

By A Customer

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...

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If your house is for sale, buy this book, April 12, 2003

By A Customer

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.