Selling your home can take a lot of time and energy. You want to sell it quickly, for the best price, while also trying to live in it. It can be quite a juggling act.
If you’re getting plenty of viewings, but no offers, it can be really frustrating. Many people are tempted to drop the price or investigate options such as a reverse mortgage to release equity. Both of these can work really well depending on your age and circumstances.
But what can you do to improve the chances of selling your home? Here are some common things that put buyers off.
No external appeal
The inside of your home might be fantastic, but if the outside is run down or overgrown, it’s going to give a bad first impression. Take the time to clean up the outside of your property. Fix any cosmetic issues and make sure everything is clean and uncluttered. You don’t necessarily have to spend a fortune but you should put some time and effort into the exterior.
Old fashioned fittings
In any property, the kitchen and bathroom are usually the most expensive to change if you don’t like them. It’s much more difficult than just changing the decor. Old fashioned kitchen units and colored bathroom suites are two of the biggest turn-offs for buyers.
Outdated heating system
An old boiler and heating system can be another costly repair. Even if you offer to drop the price of your property to offset this, all a prospective buyer will think about is the disruption that this will cause as pipes and radiators will need to be fitted too.
Strange smells
It should go without saying that you don’t want any bad smells lingering in your home when people are viewing it. Pets, rubbish, and damp smells can spoil an otherwise beautiful home. Things like cooking smells are no-nos too. Even though they might smell great to you, they might not to someone else. It’s easy to become nose-blind to the smells in your home too, so you might not even realize it. Take care of any potential smells by ensuring bins are emptied regularly, soft furnishings are washed or treated with a fabric spray, and air the property well before people come to see it.
It’s often recommended that you should use a light air freshener or have your home filled with the scent of baking bread or coffee.
Too much clutter
When viewing a home, people want to imagine themselves living there. If your home is filled with clutter, then it makes it difficult to see the real space in the property and the space will seem chaotic.
Declutter as many of your belongings as possible before you put your house on the market. Invest in a lot of storage boxes and furniture so that you can easily clear items away before people come to view the property. Less clutter will make it much easier to keep the place clean too.
Takeaways
Buying a home is a big investment, which is why it doesn’t take much to put prospective buyers off. Unless people are looking for a project, it’s more common that they will want somewhere they can move straight into with little or no work required. That’s why sellers need to create the most inviting home possible.
