June 29, 2018
So maybe you’ve seen our blogs on Staging, Curb Appeal, or Home Organizing but now let’s look at what not to do. Whether you’re getting ready to sell or have an active listing that’s been sitting, here are some tips to get buyers to find your house more appealing.
Let’s start outside: While Curb Appeal and having a manicured lawn are important, surveys show that buyers can get turned off by too many flowers or gardens that appear to be “high maintenance” so when you’re sprucing up your yard for buyers, keep it simple. Also, obviously, yards that are not manicured or maintantained well can send a message to buyers that the yard is hard to keep up with if it hasn’t been done well or recently. It also can make buyers say “If they don’t keep up with their yard, what else has been neglected?” Do you have a leaning fence? Could your house or screens use pressure washing? These are other things that buyers say will turn them off from a potentially great home.
Another thing about the outside of the house that sellers have a little less control over is the neighboring properties. Some sellers are surprised at how much a buyer can completely shut down a potentially perfect house because of a neighbor. If you have a neighbor whose yard is sloppy or full of junk or barking dogs and you’re on friendly terms with them, it might be worth having a neighborly chat or even offering to help them tidy things up. We’ve even seen sellers pay their neighbors to keep things orderly while they have their home on the market.
On the inside: FACT: The first thing buyers notice when they open the door is the smell of the house. This is a big one and requires sellers to be conscious of this when you’re cooking, if you have pets, and surprisingly when you use air fresheners. According to surveys, Buyers say that when they open the door and walk into the house, they actually expect to smell nothing at all. It might be worth investing in a home air purifier and make sure you keep those HVAC air filters changed out!
Speaking of pets; another turn off for some buyers is any signs of them. While we here at Savvy are big lovers of the 4 legged fur babies, we can understand why some buyers may shy away from a home with pets, especially if a buyer were allergic. This means hiding litter boxes, dog leashes, and pets food and water bowls for showings and making arrangements for a dog walker or to take the fur babies for a ride - Especially for open houses. You can always ask your Realtor if they can ask the buyers or buyers agents if they’re okay with pets, too. While we’re on the animal note, taxidermy is also something that turns some people off, if you have your deer heads proudly displayed, kindly take them down and get a head start on packing.
Other things that can deter buyers according to our recent survey are cobwebs or spiderwebs, dirty walls, dirty doors and door jambs, dirty light switch plates, and dirty baseboards. Buyers say that these are more things that make the house read as poorly maintained. “Big cracks in ceilings or walls” was another common deterrent.
All in all, the ONE thing that just about every buyer answered as something that would turn them off is “Smells”. If the weather is nice, open up the doors and windows and let the house breathe as much as possible and be sure to stay on top of cleaning or hire a cleaning crew for a weekly or biweekly spruce up - at least while the house is listed!
Copyright: feverpitched / 123RF Stock Photo
