Everyone knows that you have one chance to make an impression. This holds true in selling your home. Many of the features your home has to offer are already listed on the local Multiple Listing Sheets. Your potential buyers have already chosen to view your home – you have made the first cut!  Now is the time to impress that buyer.

Three Things

There are three things that you can control that can keep your home on the market if you don’t watch out. They are lack of cleanliness, clutter, and offensive smells.

Q-Tip Clean

QTip Clean

The first thing that they see when they enter the home is how clean and neat everything is. Cleanliness means you have maintained the home.

They are “just not that into you”

The buyer cares about their wants and needs, not yours.  They care about what their life will be like in your house, and how their stuff will fit into it.  Don’t take it personally – your stuff is great, it just isn’t their stuff.  Try to make room for them to ‘move in’.

You want to show the buyer how spacious your home is. Let’s face, it most people are upgrading their home because they want/need more space, let’s show them how much bigger yours is.  Clutter will cause the buyer to feel uncomfortable and closed in.

Protect those items that you love so much, start packing. It is okay to have boxes piled up in the garage. Many buyers expect that. If you leave the clutter inside your home, people will look at your clutter and not see the home. They can’t put their furniture and trinkets in while yours are staring them in the face.

Pack them away NOW… If you have to ask, “is that okay?”, pack it.

Stinky dog anyone?

I can’t emphasize this enough. Bad smells will stop your home from selling. If you have any smell that is not pretty get rid of it.

Food is a big contributor to this. If you think that a roast in the oven is inviting, remember that you may have a vegetarian buyer visiting your home. Or, if you just cooked that exotic dinner last night and it is still floating in the upper ceilings, get rid of it.

Any neutralizing spray will work as long as you don’t introduce the cause of the smell back into the home. Be careful not to use those very high odor producing perfumes, or candles. They can be worse than the original odor. Don’t try to cover up the odor. It is best to get rid of it.

If you are a smoker, remember that only a SMALL number of buyers are smokers, and few of them smoke in their homes these days. You may not realize it, but if you smoke inside EVERYTHING in the house will smell to a non-smoker.  Get a sealing paint like Kilz. Put a coat of that on the walls and ceiling, and then repaint. It must be sealed or the smell will penetrate it and come back with a vengeance. Also – use that neutralizing spray again on all the fabric, on the carpets, drapes, etc.  And steam clean the carpets.

They are lovable, but can cause a mess!

Pets are another huge contributor. Many people feel their pet is part of the family, and get used to the odor in time. But, that new buyer may be offended and run to the fresh air outside if there is just about any odor inside.

You know what you need to do to get rid of that smell. If you have animals, keep them in a kennel for the showings, or at a neighbor’s home. Don’t leave them roaming around the home or yard. IF the buyer is afraid or allergic, he will run again to the fresh air. The only thing they will see is where the animal has gone, what condition it is in, and how much dander or hair is left behind.

The Goal

The goal is to make the buyer feel like your home is their home.  It’s a tough transition for many people but if you think like a buyer you can make it so much easier to sell your home!

Hope this helps you and good luck with those buyers…