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Tighten Up Loose Ends to Make Your Home More Attractive to Buyers
By Ryan Ward | January 9, 2008
One of the largest mistakes that I see from homeowners trying to sell their home is to not fully complete the process of preparing a home for sale. There are numerous reasons this happens and none are sufficient in a highly competitive market if you are earnestly trying to sell your home. Today’s competitive market demands that sellers present their home in exceptional condition to have a real chance to sell.
In years past, when the market was hot and buyers were scooping up houses at a faster rate than today, some items could be overlooked without too much worry that it would impede a sale of a home. Times have changed. Unfinished projects, unkempt rooms, dirty kitchens, bathrooms, siding and a whole litany of additional items cannot be overlooked for you to have a real chance of selling your home.
Buyers have the upper hand in today’s market, but, that does not mean that you cannot sell a home. It does mean, however, that your home must look spotless. Here is a short list of items that can help you wow buyers. Some items are inexpensive or free while others will cost you money. Remember, you need to ask yourself if you really want to sell:
- Clean your windows
- Pressure wash your home, including sidewalks and driveways
- Use the highest watt light bulbs allowed in your fixtures
- Make your kitchen and your bathrooms sparkle
- Replace all gold fixtures
- Replace any worn or old carpet
- Repaint everything
- Clean your gutters, make them look brand new
- Unstick all of your doors
- Box up everything you will not need in the next 30 days
- Replace all of your blinds if any of them are broken or discolored otherwise they won’t match
- Empty your closets of everything you will not need in the next 30 days
This list could get so long you would not want to read it. Suffice it to say that buyers do not want any of your used stuff - and they especially don’t think it is worth what you paid for it and you know what? They are right. Just because you installed new hardwood floors five years ago does not mean they are worth what you paid for them. They are five years old and that’s five years of wear and tear.
Forget the idea of trying to look at your home the way a buyer would. You can try, but, the truth is you can ‘t. Instead remember of few simple things:
- If it’s not new, it’s not worth what you paid for it
- Buyers hold their money as dearly as you hold your home. Don’t fault them for that.
- Emotionally separate yourself from your house as best as you can.
Sorry for the rant here, but, I have seen quite a few homes over the last week and it is unbelievable to me that people will have their homes listed for top dollar in the condition that some of these homes are in. If you are a seller and you have one of these homes, you should really here what the buyers say - it would open your eyes. when buyers walk in to your home and they see that it is not clean or any number of problems, a couple of things happen; they generally pass a judgemnt about you and they start deducting value from any offer they might make if they are still considering making one.
I really didn’t intend for my first real post of 2008 to start off with such a rant, but, the truth is what it is and if you want to or are currently selling your home, you need to hear it.
Any questions?
You can contact me hear through my blog or you can call me directly at 404.630.3187.
Ryan Ward, Atlanta Real Estate
Topics: Atlanta Real Estate |
January 9th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Ryan,
I can’t agree more. It’s amazing how many people expect to sell their home, in today’s market, when it’s incomplete and not cared for. When people are looking for a home they don’t want to imagine what it will look like after they do 15 things to it. There are too many options out there and sellers need to make there home an option by tightening up the loose ends.