8 Things That Buyers Will Notice About Your House

Tags: knowledge broker, knowledge broker real estate, toronto real estate, newmarket real estate, new homes, new condos, home office, more space, newmarket homes for sale, spring market, spring real estate market

Selling a house is an art. The real estate agent and the seller want the house to present well in person and in photographs. To do that, there are many steps along the way including cleaning, staging, and of course cleaning again. But no matter how beautiful you think the house looks, there is always something that gets overlooked. Buyers and their agents are quick to note the things they do not like so get ahead of ‘buyer hate’ by keeping in mind the 8 things they will notice when visiting your house.

#1 Clutter

A stager will often suggest you remove a lot of furniture. This is a suggestion not to take lightly. Rooms that are cluttered with furniture will appear smaller and undesirable to buyers. It’s something they will clock right away on a home tour. Surprisingly, the more bare you can make your house, the better.

#2 Indoor Houseplants

You might be very proud of your green thumb but homebuyers are not. Too many plants on display will take up needed visual space for buyers to look around. The goal is to sell your house, not your garden. If you do have any plants that are dying or are artificial, please also remove these immediately. At the end of the day, plants can help add a touch of green and calm, but too much can have the opposite effect.

#3 Window Treatments

Yes, that’s right, buyers may hate your custom drapes, sheers and valances. Window treatments cover windows and limit the view and natural light. They collect dust and can be difficult to clean especially if they hang over windows in high, not easily accessible places. Speak to an interior designer about how you can alter your windows to please buyers.

#4 An Assortment of Area Rugs

In moderation, rugs can be a great accessory to a room. However, rugs can easily chop up a room if they are not correctly sized for the space. They can also be very distracting when buyers walk around your house. Do not take it personally if your stager asks you to roll up your rugs - they are just thinking about the buyers.

#5 Odours

Do you ever walk into someone’s house and get hit with a scent? It might be good and it might be bad, but no matter what, it is there. The same can be said about your house whether you realize it or not. While you are selling your house be very mindful of what you do in your home. Forego cooking fish, empty the trash more frequently and forbid anyone from eating food outside the kitchen. It’s not enough to rely on scented candles or diffusers, this needs to be a lifestyle change.

#6 How Dark It Is

The first thing every real estate agent does before showing a house is to turn on all the lights and uncover every window or door. Why? Because the level of brightness is everything when showing a house. Buyers will hate if parts of your house are dark. If you don’t get strong natural light in some areas, invest in over-head lighting or some floor lamps.

#7 Wall To Wall Carpets

In today’s world, hardwood floors are the preferred flooring. In some cases, buyers will not mind if there is carpet in the bedrooms but others will downright hate it where ever it is. If it’s not in your budget to replace the flooring before you sell, make sure it looks and smells its best!

#8 Your Ceilings

If you have either popcorn, acoustic tile or dropped ceilings we highly encourage you to get them replaced. Popcorn ceilings have become a complete faux pas in the real estate world, with people now understanding how much dust and dirt they can accumulate. Dropped ceilings and acoustic tiles will make every space feel smaller and worry buyers about what they are potentially concealing.

As a seller, you need to be careful about how you portray your house. It’s important you listen to your real estate agent and your stager’s suggestions and not take them personally. Your ideal buyer’s taste might not be yours. By keeping in mind these 8 things, buyers will instantly notice you set yourself up for a quicker, more successful sale.

At Knowledge Broker, our goal is to create an open-source of information for all our clients. We want to ensure that, at the end of the day, they get exactly what they want and what they need. If you know someone who could use our help or services please put them in touch with us or send us their details using the contact information below.

JOSHUA CAMPBELL (@knowledgebrkr)
Real Estate Broker
Coldwell Banker The Real Estate Centre, Brokerage
j oshua@knowledgebroker.ca
249 Avenue Road • Newmarket, ON L3Y 1N8
289.210.6007