Use Good “Sense” to Sell Your Home!
Your Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Parkland County or Edmonton area home is now up for sale, and you’ve made it look as good as you possibly can. You’ve moved out a ton of stuff so that the rooms look more spacious. You’ve tidied up every storage space from the black hole of your teenage son’s closet to that great little cubbyhole under the stairs that has held all kinds of things you couldn’t bear to part with till now. You’ve touched up all the paint chips, washed all the windows till they sparkle, and arranged the furniture just so. Your house looks great.
Your home’s appearance is very important in the home selling process. But have you considered the other senses that prospective buyers will use when they visit your home?
- Smell. It’s said that someone considering buying your home will make a decision, especially a negative one, in the first few seconds through the door. And that negative choice could be because of a powerful reaction to the odors in your home. You may love cooking with exotic flavors but last night’s garlic or fish or curry could massively turn off a prospective buyer. Seek out and destroy other odors as well: ashtrays (and other evidence of smoking in the home), laundry hampers, garbage cans and recycling bins, toilets, diaper pails, pet paraphernalia such as cat litter box, bird cage, dog bed, and so on. Do NOT attempt to cover up the odors with artificial air freshener products! Instead, clean your home thoroughly and allow fresh air in. Fresh fragrant flowers help too.
- Hearing. Squeaky hinges, creaky floor boards, rattles and squeals in appliances, tree branches that rub against the building in the wind, all suggest minor maintenance issues and possibly a lack of care that should have been attended to before the home went on the market. Even wind chimes can turn off some buyers. Noise is a no-no!
- Touch. If a potential buyer runs her finger across a window sill or the top of a door and it comes away black, well… that’s not going to leave a very good impression. Likewise with sticky counter tops and door handles, or crunchy floors. Clean, especially spotless, immaculate, mother-in-law clean, not only sells houses faster but can even make up for some other minor deficiencies.
Today’s buyers are looking for a home they can move into without having to do anything to erase traces of the previous owners. Appealing to all the senses is a good strategy to ensure your home shows to its very best advantage, sells quickly and for the best price.
For more tips and hints to make your home market-ready, check out some of my other blog articles:
Thinking of Selling Your Home in Spruce Grove, Stony Plain or Parkland County?
Home Staging Starts With De-cluttering
10 Things I Hate About Your House!
Comments or questions about this article or real estate in general? Call or text me at 780-910-9669, email me at barry@barryt.ca, or contact me here.
