Home selling disasters to avoid

You want to sell a home and you want to get a good deal on it, but it’s not as simple as getting the news out there and waiting for the offers to arrive. It’s a courtship process, much like a date, and like any date, it just takes one or two slip-ups to really mess up your chances. So, what can end the date early and stop people from falling in love with your home?

Zero kerb appeal

First impressions matter. Not just with people, but with homes as well. You need to think about the first reaction that potential buyers are going to get. The wrong reaction could stop them from setting foot inside the home at all. Besides tidying up the garden and fixing any issues in the fencing or walls, you should try to make it a little more welcoming. Think about repainting the door to a more vibrant colour or even framing the door with some hanging potted plants to give the home a fresh, friendly feel.

decorating

A draft

If they set foot in that home and they immediately feel a gust of cold wind running through it, that’s going to immediately set off alarm bells. Not only is it uncomfortable, but it’s a sign that the home has gaps and could be in danger of developing damp or mould. Test the house for air leaks, have a second look at the insulation, including the windows and the roof. Until you can get rid of the drafts and, even worse, the drips, you shouldn’t be inviting people into the home.

bathroom mould

Any utility jank

The same goes for any issues that would get in the way of using the utilities on a day-to-day basis. Even something as simple as a blown light bulb can make people’s imagination rush to worse explanations. You might be used to a bathroom tap that creaks too much or poor water pressure, but if you don’t get a plumber in the home, it’s going to just look like another obstacle to home-buyers. No matter how inconsequential the problems with your utilities seem, any janky issues are going to make the home seem like more of an effort to own.

Lack of space

Space is the greatest asset a home can have when it comes to trying to sell it. If you want to increase its chances of selling, you should consider investing to expand it. This might mean finishing a basement, converting an attic or garage or even think about extensions. If you don’t want to go that far, just make sure the rooms look as spacious as possible. Allow more natural light in and rearrange the furniture so that there’s more empty space. The same goes for storage. Don’t leave all your clutter in place.

home

A house that clearly isn’t prepared

In fact, get rid of the clutter everywhere in the home as part of a very thorough spring clean. One of the biggest issues with people trying to sell a home is that they haven’t done anything to prepare it for visitors at all. Air out the home and get candles or plug-in air fresheners to give the place a good smell. Think about even leaving out a little welcome bowl with a treat for people who are viewing the home. Make it a viewing experience, not just a walk through someone’s unprepared home.

The wrong renovations

Renovating a bathroom or a kitchen and making them fit a contemporary style is a good idea for making a house a lot more attractive. Adding space has real investment potential, too, but there are renovations you can make that might do your home’s chances more harm than good.  You need to think about both the potential upsides and downsides of a renovation before you go for it.

home renovations

Style, too much or too little

If your tastes are particularly personalised, it’s nice that you’ve found your style but you have to be aware that plenty of people aren’t going to share them. Those styles can really put them off a home, especially if they’re styles that are harder to change, like bathroom details and kitchen surfaces and tiles. At the same time, eliminating all the furniture in a home isn’t the best way to frame it for those who want to imagine how they live there. You should consider home staging companies that can help you be a little safer with the style instead.

Bad online representation

It’s not all about the house itself, but also about how you sell that home. For instance, if you’re selling it online, then you need to think about what details you put up alongside it. Don’t try to fudge any details. Be honest about the space available or else you’re just setting viewers up for disappointment. Be sure to provide plenty of photos, but take them when you have the best possible use of natural light so they’re not dark and unflattering. Don’t be afraid to add a bit of flourish to the details when you write them, either. Make it sound pleasant as it can be to live in.

Neighbours

It’s unfortunate that this is a common problem because there’s not always a lot you can do about problem neighbours. Talking to them and seeing if you can put disputes aside can help, but when you have problems that are outside of your hands, you might have to get used to simply taking it on the chin and letting the home value decrease so it can sell more easily.

learning outdoors

In only a few instances can you not do anything about the disasters mentioned above. For the rest of them, you just need to be willing to roll up your sleeves and invest a little time, money, and effort.

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