I’ve written blog posts in the past about things that home buyers like/want/need, which you can read here, here, and here.
But what turns a buyer off?
Ooooohh, let’s see… Bad smells probably takes the cake on that. And by bad smells I mean, pet odor (yes, cat owners with dirty litter boxes, I’m looking right at ya!), garbage odor, un-flushed toilets (gross, but oh, so true!) You know, bad smells. No one likes them.
Dirty dishes in the sink. ESPECIALLY if you have a dishwasher. I’ve actually had buyers say that the dishwasher must be broken because there were dirty dishes in the sink, and then immediately after that statement say, I wonder what else is broken. This has happened more than once, people!
Un-shoveled sidewalks/driveways/front steps, or icy front steps. Once, a buyer slipped and fell, after his wife and I effortlessly navigated our way to the front door. He was fine – we all laughed after he started to laugh, but it could have been SO MUCH WORSE.
Dirty homes. This one is tough, and I completely understand about a home not being neat and tidy 24/7 – but try making a home buyer understand this. If you have cobwebs hanging in your home, take them down. If you have full trash bags laying around in your kitchen, take them out. If you have copious amounts of dust over everything, dust the place. Crumbs on countertops, wipe them off – NOT on the floor! You get the idea.
These are all easy (kinda) and FREE things to get buyers in the mood, so to speak. These little differences could make the difference between an offer or not.