It’s getting more and more important to prep a house before putting it on the market. There’s a LOT of competition out there. The buyers who are looking at your listing are looking at a bunch of other listings in the same area. Yours has to stand out. What’s worse, some of that competition is bound to come from foreclosures. And they’re going to stand out because they’re priced 5% to 10% lower than yours. (I know that doesn’t seem like a lot as a percentage, but 10% of $200,000 is $20,000. That’s a lot of competition!)
So if you want to sell your listing without letting it go at a foreclosure price, it’s got to be in better shape than a foreclosure. Buyers might overlook bent screens, dinged woodwork and broken shingles if they think they’re getting a great deal. But at market price, they don’t like to see that stuff.
I saw a great article on MSN a while back on the top ten repairs to make before selling a home. It’s here.
My favorite part of this has to do with smells. I’m a freak about this. When I’m with buyers, we usually give nicknames to each house we see. It’s easier and more fun to remember a home as “Big Plaid Wallpaper House” than as “You know, the one on Vance Court. Two story, blue trim, 2000 square feet . . .”
And when a house smells, guess what name it gets. “Smelly Cat House.” Or “Weird Cologne Trying To Cover Up Smelly Cat House.” A bad smell will drive buyers away. So will a weird smell that’s clearly an attempt to cover up a bad smell.
If you’re selling a house that contains smelly pets, a smoker, weird or aromatic foods, or anything else with an overwhelming olifactory presence, you need to do some work. Get rid of the source of the smell. (Seriously, it’s best if Kitty lives elsewhere for a while.) And then clean or get rid of everything that harbors the smell.
I know it’s hard to for sellers to notice what their own house smells like. So tell them. Tactfully.
And hope they take the answer very, very seriously.
Good post. The nose knows.
Agents give the homes that have smells pet names is so true! There is a house that we call the cat pee house. Who knows if it is cool house or not you can't get past the front door.
When we go into a home that has smelly smells we let the listing agent know and generally we hear, really I don't smell anything. When you walk into a home and you get a sore throat and your eyes burn, there is a problem.
I think "smell" is the absolute important thing to take care of. One can sometimes see beyond wallpaper, etc., as these can arguably be called "cosmetic upgrade" material. A smell, though...it's the thing that drives people away.
Having the house inspected with copies of the report summary and repairs will make your house stand out as well! And, a commend on the 10 repairs list....."reseal the toilet". When you re-install a toilet, the bolts should be tightened very carefully! A little too tight and you will crack the toilet base and then you must replace the toilet!
I do a pre-inspection on just about every listing I do. It makes a big difference, and it protects us from surprises when it's time for the buyers' inspection.
I'm also a freak about smells. If a house smells... it's toast... so to speak. That, and flooring. If you can see bad flooring from the front door, it needs to be replaced, NOT allowance'd for!
I DO think that a house that smelled like toast would probably be appealing to a buyer . . .