Selling Investment Houses: Psychology of Mirrors

Discover new interior Design Psychology strategies to increase your real estate profits. One technique, using mirrors as props for staging houses helps you sell your investment properties for more money, and fast.

Take advantage of a tried and true sales technique: World Book Encyclopedia sales people asked the prospective buyer where they would put their bookcase filled with the Encyclopedia. Once the buyers visualized the set in their home, they were ready to sign the contract.

Mirrors bring subtle psychological value to your home for sale. The prospective home buyers see themselves in the property and visualize themselves living in the home.

Plus, not only do mirrors make rooms seem larger, they make rooms brighter by reflecting light. People feel happier in spaces with abundant natural light. You want your buyers feeling happy in your home, so they make a quick offer -- for top dollar!

Look for mirrors at warehouse, discount stores, and yard sales. We have many mirrors purchased for $2.00 to $25.00 that we use again and again in our fixers. One extra large full length mirror cost $75, but this investment returns extra dollars in higher sales.

Sometimes you can reuse mirrors that come with your investment houses. We took down a discolored bathroom mirror in one of our fixers. I "antiqued" the wood frame with a wash of white paint in five minutes and hung the mirror over the fireplace mantle. The buyers requested this mirror as part of the sale!

Where to Place Mirrors

1. Opposite or near the front door so the buyers see their reflection right up front
2. Above a stove so the cook doesn't feel isolated
3. Above kitchen sinks with no windows
4. Add mirrors to reflect mirrors in bathrooms
5. At the end of hallways
6. In main bedroom entryways
7. In dark corners
8. In laundry rooms

If your home is vacant, blend some mirror frames with the walls so that your home doesn't feel too staged. Landscape paintings balance mirrors, add deep horizons, reinforce interior design styles, and also make rooms feel bigger.

Using mirrors as props in your presentation helps you sell your investment properties for more money, and fast.

(c) Copyright 2005 Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.

Jeanette Fisher, Design Psychology Professor, is the author of Sell Your Home for Top Dollar - FAST! Interior Design Psychology Secrets for Optimum Selling in Any Market, Doghouse to Dollhouse for Dollars: Using Design Psychology to Increase Real Estate Profits, and other books. For articles, tips, newsletters and more information on the only books to reveal interior design secrets to making top dollar in real estate, visit http://sellfast.info/ Questions? See our new blog http://sellfast.blogspot.com/

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