Sellers Beware! Top 10 Ways to Turn off A Homebuyer!

We work with both sellers and buyers, and see a lot of San Antonio homes.  Some are ready to be on the market, and others not so much.  Sometimes it is hard to communicate to sellers what it takes for a home to be ready for prime time!  This list from Jay McDonald, 10 Ways to Turn off a Homebuyer, says it very well.

10 Ways to Turn off A Homebuyer....

• Dirt  Cleanliness IS Godliness!  No one want to buy your dirty home and have to clean it!
• Odors  Smoke odors or pet odors make buyers walk right back out the door!
• Old fixtures  You didn't replace them because it cost so much, why should the buyers want to do it?
• Wallpaper  A big no, at least at the present time.  Buyers don't want it -- take it down!
• Popcorn acoustic ceilings  Can be removed, but it's a messy job.  Younger buyers hate it!
• Too many personal items  You're not selling your family or possessions, just your home!
• Snoopy sellers  When the home is being shown, LEAVE the HOUSE!
• Misrepresenting your home  If buyers are expecting too much, they'll be disappointed and won't buy your home.
• Poor curb appeal  Preparing the outside of the home is just as important as preparing the inside, maybe even more crucial!
• Clutter  Piles of clutter tell the buyer that the home is TOO SMALL.  Ditch the clutter and organize the home's contents to emphasize the existing storage.

Sellers, Your Kitchen IS the Heart of Your Home!

An appealing, workable kitchen is near the top of most buyers' list of priorities when house-hunting.  It is the room that gets the most scrutiny, and can make or break a sale.  So what can you do if you don't have the open kitchen, the stainless appliances or the granite countertops?  These 10 tips should get you started.

1. Avoid clutter!  Clean the counters of small appliances and other things to maximize the appearance of limited workspace.
2. Check the area around your sink, and put away soaps, cleansers, etc.
3. Sinks, appliances and counters should be sparkling clean.  (Yes, clean the oven!)
4. Clean off the top of the refrigerator.  Put items that need to be stored there in baskets or bowls to neaten up.
5. Stage the kitchen with an open cookbook, or a colorful fruit basket.
6. Create aromas that remind the buyers of a kitchen: cookies baking, bread baking or fruit pies baking.
7. During the hot summer, display a bowl of lemons or limes for their pleasant aroma.
8. Clean and organize all the kitchen storage areas so the areas appear larger.
9. Look critically at your kitchen window treatments and clean or update.
10. Set the table with bright placemats and a nice centerpiece.

Five Home Staging Myths

Are you selling your home?  You are obviously still the owner until the house sells, but when it is listed, it becomes "inventory" and should be viewed as a house and not a home.  You've probably heard about staging your home to make it more attractive to buyers.  There are professional home stagers in San Antonio you can hire, and even if you don't hire a pro, you can get great staging hints from your Realtor.  But today we'll talk about the 5 biggest myths surrounding staging a home for sale.

• I don't need to stage my home, buyers can see past my stuff.  Actually, NO they can't.  Most buyers cannot imagine their stuff in a home that is cluttered with the seller's possessions.  We tell our sellers that every box of clutter they remove from the home puts $$ back into their pockets at closing.

• The original (and expensive) features of my home add value.  Those 30 year old drapes and 20 year old wallpapers do not add value to today's buyers.  If a home is not vintage, meaning it is less than 50 years old, and it has not been updated, then the buyers won't pay for dated fixtures, even if they were expensive "in their day".
• My home isn't expensive enough to pay for staging. On the contrary, all homes need to present themselves in the best way possible. Take a look at your competition in the price bracket, and figure out what you need to do to make your home stand out. Staging can be just as important in a smaller home as it is in a larger home.
• Empty rooms look bigger.  Not usually!  When you are trying to sell an empty home, it is very hard to help buyers see how a room is used, and what fits in that room.  A few rented or borrowed pieces of furniture can define a space for the buyer.  Conversely, in a really large open room, buyers can sometimes have a problem when a room is empty because the room looks TOO large!
• "It's really a bedroom, but we're using it as a gym."  If it's a three bedroom home, but only two rooms have beds, buyers will sometimes question whether the third room would work as a bedroom or not.  For the sake of the time you have your home on the market, put the gym out in the garage, and give the bedroom it's real purpose. 

Buyers need to be able to picture themselves living in your home, so the house needs to look like they could bring all their stuff and move right in.  Staging simply means improving your home's appearance in order to appeal to the widest segment of the potential buyers.  The way you decorate your home to SELL may be quite different from the way you decorate to DWELL!

Sellers, can a home be TOO clean?

In short, no.  If your home is on the market, it should be CLEAN!  A home that is clean and neat on the interior sells faster and for more money than a home that is not.  And that's the plain and simple truth.  So if you are selling your home, don't forget...

• Clean light switch plates and trim around the doors.

• 
  
  Clean carpets and remove all spots (or replace).
  
  
  

• 
  
  Get rid of cobwebs and dust in corners, ceilings, baseboards and around light fixtures.
  
  
  

• Wipe hand prints off walls, doors and mirrors.

• Make sure tile and vinyl floors are washed and shiny clean.

• Kitchen counters and sink should be clean and clear.

• Bathroom sinks, counters and toilet should be clean and smell fresh.

   

•  Re-caulk around bathtubs, re-grout showers as necessary to look clean.

• Clean windows and make them sparkle! (Open the drapes and let the light in.)

• Clean the stove and oven.  Buyers don't want to clean up your mess! 

If you've done all these items, and you still have a little time and energy left, look at your closets and garage.  The more you straighten them, the better a buyer can picture their own things in your house.  To get top dollar for your home, cleanliness is godliness!

10 Ways to Give Your Home's Exterior A Facelift

Saavy sellers know that a buyer's first impression can make or break a sale. So in this buyer's market, how can a seller make their home more inviting?

1. Trim the shrubs so they don't block windows or the architectural details of the home.

2. Put a pot of bright flowers on the front porch.

3. Install new doorknobs on the front entry door, and paint or stain the door if it doesn't look fresh.
4. Buy a new doormat for the front door.

5. Edge and mow the grass, even around walks and trees.
6. Upgrade the outside lighting fixtures.

7. Clean windows, inside and out. Sweep the front porch.
8. Polish or replace the house numbers.

9. Keep garden tools and hoses out of sight.
10. Place a seasonal wreath on the front door.

Your home only gets one chance to make a first impression, so make it a great one!