Buying a home is a stressful time, it is probably the biggest financial decision that most people will ever make, so they want to be sure make the RIGHT decision! Don’t make these mistakes when selling your home…. and SCARE the buyers away!
OVERPRICING A HOME
You may want to “test” the market or may think that your home is worth more than the buyers are willing to pay. There are several ways that overpricing your home will scare buyers away. When buyers look at your home online and compare it to other homes in the higher price bracket you home will not look as desirable. The other homes may be larger, have more rooms or bigger rooms, higher end appliances, or other features that your home doesn’t have.
Also potential buyers can access tons of resources online to see what homes are selling for in a given area and if they feel that your home is overpriced they won’t even put your home on their “must see list”
And in the end you will just have to take one or more price reductions to sell your home.
DARK OR POORLY TAKEN PHOTOS
The very first thing a buyer does today is look online at the houses for sale in the area they want to buy ….so dark or poorly taken photos can scare away a potential buyer before they walk through your front door. Does this bedroom inspire you to spend the time touring this house??
Today the photos online are the best marketing tool available so presenting your home well is key to getting buyers to come to see your lovely home
A CLUTTERED OR DIRTY HOUSE
The number one thing a real estate professional will suggest to a seller before listing their home is to remove ALL the clutter and make sure the house is clean!!! The two main reasons for removing clutter are: so the house will look bigger… after all the buyer wants the most square footage for his money, and also so that the buyer can imagine himself living in the home.
Anything that you don’t need for the next 6 months should be packed away. And ask yourself: when was the last time you used that gadget, electronics or paperwork? If the answer was months and months ago, think about getting rid of it …or at least pack it up to enjoy in your new home.
After you remove all the clutter, then it is time to CLEAN!! Clean like you have never cleaned before! Because you know that buyers are going to look in all your cupboards, the refrigerator, and oven (and that is just in the kitchen) I always say your house doesn’t just need to be clean….it needs to be cleaner than clean! All the woodwork, light fixtures and corners of your house have to be cleaned. Not only can a house that isn’t clean provide a poor perception, it also can make a potential buyer wonder what else has been neglected in the home during the time the seller has owned it.
MOLD
Mold is undoubtedly one of the top things that can scare away a potential buyer. And while mold in the bathroom is unsightly, the mold that can be hiding in the attics and crawl spaces is far worse. A common source of mold is a ventilation fan is installed incorrectly in a bathroom. If the moisture is being vented into a crawl space or attic, it will eventually lead to mold. Mold that you may not be aware of until the home inspection, then the seller AND the buyer will both be frightened!!
POOR MAINTENANCE
Buyers want to buy a home …not your unfinished projects or to-do-list. And when there are many small jobs that are not done it scares the buyers into thinking that there may be more serious issues that are waiting to be discovered after move-in. The worst nightmare for a new home owner is to have one of the major home components (roof or heating/ AC) start to fail in the first year of two after they move in to the house.
If you have lived in your home for more than five years or you own an older home getting a home inspection is a good idea. That way you have time to repair any problems that might scare the buyer away!
Call or email PITTSBURGH STAGED HOMES to find out how staging can add to the value of your home.