Apply Online Dating Rules to Home Selling

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Selling a home surprisingly has a lot in common with online dating. After all, as realtor.com® makes the comparison, “there may be plenty of potential prospects out there, but it’s not always easy to find the perfect match.”

Read more: Your Home’s 10 Dating Deal Breakers

The realtor.com® team pulls tips from dating services like OkCupid, Match.com, and Tinder and applies them to the homeselling process.

Rule number 1: Hide the crazy.

“Get rid of all the weird quirks or bizarre fascinations that you might have that the average person may not understand,” says Briddick Webb, a real estate pro with RE/MAX Whatcom County in Bellingham, Wash. He says he once had to tell clients to stow away their bobblehead or doll collections and giant shrines prior to showings.

Rule number 2: Have a catchy online profile.

“Whether you’re trying to rustle up a date for Friday night or find a potential buyer, it’s important to sell yourself—and, when it comes to home sales, that means your property,” realtor.com® notes. “Highlight the best features of your home, like the awe-inspiring floor-to-ceiling windows, high ceilings, or new, energy-efficient appliances to make buyers swoon.”

Rule number 3: Put some emphasis on your looks.

“Before you put your house on the market, you want to look the best that you can,” says Webb, who is also a former dating coach. “A lot of our decision-making is based on emotions rather than logic. … A house that’s cleaned up and smells good is going to create a positive emotional response in a buyer. It’s going to sell faster for more money.”

Rule number 4: Make sure your photos reflect reality.

Online daters have seen it before: They see a smoking hot picture online, but then they meet in-person and the photo and person don’t match. Don’t set a buyer up for disappointment either. Use a professional photographer to capture the home in its best light and angles, but in reality. Consider those pictures “glamour shots,” says real estate pro Deb Counts-Tabor in Portland, Ore. “It draws people in. You get more showings.”