8 Ways To Make Your Home More Appealing To Buyers

As a seller in today’s market you want to make sure your home appeals to as many buyers as possible. Today’s buyers are looking at 10-14 homes before making a decision on what they want to buy. Since you are in a competition you want to make sure that your home is market ready. Avoid these mistakes that will drive away potential buyers.

1. Make sure your home has some curb appeal. When preparing your home for the market take a little time to cut the yard, redo the flower beds, touch up paint and trim back the bushes. If the buyers don’t like the outside they will never see the inside.

2. Make sure you have great photos of your home. We hire a professional with a wide angle lens and can photoshop some of the shadows in the pictures. When taking your pictures make sure all the tv’s are turned off, nobody is in the pictures, fans are off and the curtains are open.

3. Make sure that you repair any deferred maintance  on the home. A buyer is always going to over estimate the cost of a repair. By doing repairs before you hit the market it saves you money and allows the buyers to feel comfortable writing an offer with no reservations about the condition of the home.

4. Buyers have a hard time picturing themselves and their things in a house that is way over personalized.  Make sure if you are a collector, that you pack up your collections and personal décor before you put your home on the market. The house should look as close to a model home as possible.  

5. Make sure your home is clean. Have a cleaning company come in and scrub it from top to bottom.  When a women looks at a bathroom and it is dirty and grimy they cannot feel comfortable ever living in there.  

6. Address any odor issues you have in your home. The main odor problem we encounter when showing homes is pet odor. Make sure you have your carpets cleaned and your house does not smell like pets. These odors will kill the sale right when they walk in the door.

7. Don’t stay for showings. Buyers don’t feel like they can walk freely and take their time if the home owner is there. They need to be able to ask their agent questions and talk things through without the homeowner looking over their shoulder.

8. The last tip is to remove clutter. The buyers want to see the house not your stuff. If you house is cluttered it will feel small and dirty. Make sure you store stuff away before the showings start.

These are all easy things to do to prior to putting the house on the market.  Remember that you are competing against other homes and will need to put some effort into getting your home market ready.  If you need any advice on getting your home market ready please contact the Jen Burns Group for a no cost no obligation consultation.