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What You See, Hear and Smell is SO Important

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Riede Real Estate, Lic. 01310792

Front Door of HomeThe Sacramento home buyer looks for curb appeal when driving by the Sellers house. The outside of the home reflects to the home buyer what the inside might look like.

Has the Seller kept their home maintained? This weighs heavily on the mind of the home buyer.

To Dress the Outside of Your House for Success be sure to read some great Home Seller real estate tips.

Once the home buyer makes the decision to take the next step and view the inside of the home for sale, it is ever so important that the first impression be a good one, as the home buyer walks through the front door.

What is the first impression that this home buyer has when they walk through your front door?

  • Sparkling front door handle or sun stained tarnished front door handle?
  • Clean crisp entry that is spacious or cluttered mess with shoes?
  • Smell of cleanliness or scented elements that they may be allergic to?
  • Nice low jazz music or barking dog?

First impressions are so very important for the home buyer. The home buyer will either want to go further into the home or turn to their Realtor and ask to leave. Every Realtor has experienced the home buyer saying, "never mind, I don't want to see this one." 

Having your house in proper condition, de-cluttered and staged for sale is the way to sell your house. It is more important for the home buyer to visualize their own furniture and paintings than it is for them to see your family photos and collectibles.

Take a look at a few home seller tips for Dressing Your House for Success in selling and preparing the inside of your home for sale. These home seller tips will get you started in the right direction.

Today's home buyer is not interested in fixing and repairing items in a house. It is important for the home seller to make sure that the house is in good repair before showing to potential home buyers.

If you are planning to hire a contractor or handyman to fix a few items in your home prior to placing the house for sale there are a few important details that you should know.

Anytime a home owner hires work to be done on their house, simple rules and guidelines should be followed. Click the Steps to Hiring A Contractor or Handy-person to make sure that you always follow the golden rule for hiring work to be done on your home.  This will save you loads of time and money when done properly.

If you like what you read here on Sacramento Real Estate Voice simply click and subscribe FeedButton to get the latest articles sent to your email.

And in the meantime, while I am busy showing homes for sale to home buyers, I hope to show your house that is Dressed for Success in Selling and write up an offer.

Comments (13)

Matthew Heavener
ERA Heavener Realty Co. - Jacksonville, FL
Wow! great post, thanks for contributing
Apr 08, 2008 03:46 AM
Pam Joffe
Solaris Realty - Tampa, FL
Good morning Gena - Great information and tips in your blog. Thanks for sharing the information. Have a great day!
Apr 08, 2008 03:48 AM
Judy Tuscano
Prudential Verani Realty - Nottingham, NH
NH Real Estate Professional
Excellent advice Gena and I think with shows on HGTV that reemphasize this information more sellers are getting the point.
Apr 08, 2008 03:51 AM
Steve Hoffacker
Steve Hoffacker LLC - West Palm Beach, FL
Certified Aging In Place Specialist-Instructor
Gena, while this is important for your Sacramento readers, it applies in other markets also. Good post.
Apr 08, 2008 03:52 AM
Gabriele Campbell
D F Campbell Ventures Group Inc. - Saint Albert, AB
ASP, CID
Luxury homes are definitely a market unto itself. The approach is very different. From a staging perspective, I once worked on a house that was listed at $800,000 and was fully furnished in IKEA.Nothing against IKEA, it's just that the interior did not match the exterior, the neighbourhood or the price tag. This level of buyer notices the details!
Apr 08, 2008 03:53 AM
Gena Riede
Riede Real Estate, Lic. 01310792 - Sacramento, CA
Real Estate Broker - Sacramento CA Real Estate (916) 417-2699

Matthew, my pleasure to help those sellers know how important it is to have their homes properly prepared to sell.

Pam, the tips on hiring a contractor or handyman are so very crucial...you never want to rely on Murphy's Law. When done correctly, life's a breeze. Thanks for popping in and good morning to you, as well.

Judy, I must say I have never seen HGTV. Certainly have heard about it but I am not a big TV watcher nor do I pay for the extra channels. I'll take your word for the fact that they are supplying correct information to the public.

Steve, ah yes I'm sure it does. Hopefully, those living outside of the Sacramento area will find it useful. Thanks for commenting.

Gabriele, sounds ghastly...one should stage their homes appropriately according to architecture, and price point. Good information to add here.

 

Apr 08, 2008 04:14 AM
Georgie Hunter R(S) 58089
Hawai'i Life Real Estate Brokers - Haiku, HI
Maui Real Estate sales and lifestyle info
Gena you are on a roll - lots of spring cleaning up tips for sellers.  Tis the season!
Apr 08, 2008 03:52 PM
Mike Jones
SUNSTREET MORTGAGE, LLC (BK-0907366, NMLS 145171) - Tucson, AZ
Mike Jones NMLS 223495

Gena,

You're right on the money here.  The single thing that turns most people away from a given listing is how it smells when you walk in.

Mike in Tucson

Apr 09, 2008 12:54 AM
Jeff Dowler, CRS
eXp Realty of California, Inc. - Carlsbad, CA
The Southern California Relocation Dude

Gena - these are such important points. I have shown over 100 properties in the last several weeks to about 6 buyers, and the comments they make about homes and first impressions. There is so much inventory that buyers will overlook homes for very minor reasons...like noisy dogs and minor repair issues. Sellers need to keep thes seemingly minor things in mind.

Jeff 

Apr 09, 2008 02:57 AM
Shannon Whitley
RE/MAX OAK CREST REALTY - Plymouth, IN
RE/MAX OAK CREST REALTY
Great tips !
Apr 09, 2008 03:01 AM
Gena Riede
Riede Real Estate, Lic. 01310792 - Sacramento, CA
Real Estate Broker - Sacramento CA Real Estate (916) 417-2699

Georgina, love Springtime and the buyers do to. It's so great to show a house that is prepared to sell. With so many homes on the market, the seller's home really needs to "shine."

Mike, couldn't agree more...even the closets where shoes are kept really need to be aired out. Sometimes we get use to our own smells and don't realize what others are smelling.

Jeff,couldn't agree more. Sometimes I don't think the Seller looks at their home as a buyer would plus many times the smells within their homes are something that they get use to but are so obvious when we open up the doors. Hopefully, this will serve as a wake-up call and those minor repairs can also be addressed.

Shannon, thanks.

Apr 09, 2008 03:23 AM
Amie Varney
Prudential Verani Realty - Epping, NH
More great tips for sellers.  Thanks
Apr 09, 2008 04:17 AM
Gena Riede
Riede Real Estate, Lic. 01310792 - Sacramento, CA
Real Estate Broker - Sacramento CA Real Estate (916) 417-2699
Amie, let's hope that the Sellers that need the info will be helped with this article.
Apr 09, 2008 10:05 AM