RealtorTraceyW
BLOG 2012
Air It Out!
BLOG 2012 - Air It Out!
Air It Out! - Buyers use all five senses during their home search. Many buyers begin their home search using the internet. This provides visual stimulation. It gives buyers a chance to see what features the homes for sale have to offer. They compare prices, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, square footage, schools, proximity to work, and other lifestyle activities.
While surfing the internet buyers are drawn in by the images that are pleasing to them (taste). They spend many hours narrowing down the homes they see into categories. Click after click, browsing, accepting, rejecting, and “adding to favorites”. During this visual process, they get excited about their favorites. After making their list, they move on in the process and contact their agent. If your home makes the cut, you will get a request for a showing.
This is where the other senses come into play. Up to this point, quality photos and virtual tours with music have stimulated their senses of seeing and hearing. When they land on your welcome mat, they are about to engage the most critical sense of them all. The sense of smell! It can make or break your showing.
When buyers enter your home, what they see, should make them say “wow”. But, what enters their nostrils could make them frown, hold their breath, turn around, and walk out. Smelly odors can take all the excitement that has been built up about your home, away in an instant. The smell of wet dog, litter boxes, smoke, yesterday’s trash, and a month’s worth of laundry (p.u.) are huge turnoffs for buyers.
As a seller, I recommend that you pay special attention to the odors emanating from various locations in your home. As a rule of thumb, you should remove all trash daily, wash the dog weekly, empty the litter box, keep laundry to a minimum, and open the windows each morning and “Air It Out!”
Candles, Air Fresheners, and the smell of cleaning supplies can put a smile on the face of buyers. Try not to overdo it. Also, do not attempt to mask odors. Nothing takes the place of cleaning and ventilating.
This should provide your buyers with a pleasant aromatic experience as they tour your home. As a bonus, leave your buyers a plate of cookies to appeal to their senses of smell, touch, and taste (literally). Good luck with your showings and remember to “Air It Out!”
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