Dear Sellers: the top 7 things buyers hate about your home

Many sellers are struggling to sell their Salem Oregon home, and can’t figure out why.  Most of my clients listen to my advice when I tell them what they HAVE to do in order to sell their home. Just because you don’t like what I have to say doesn’t mean that it isn’t true.

So what do buyers hate about your home?

I participate on a forum called city-data and there is a real estate group on there. A consumer started a thread about what are your biggest pet peeves when viewing homes.

You ready to take notes…there is wisdom here…

1. Smells.  The number 1 thing buyers hated when house hunting was smelly houses.  Pet smell was the worst offender, but smoke and cooking smells were up there too.  I was in a house this weekend where a bedroom reeked of urine. As there was a toddler bed in the room, I knew that a small child was working on making it through the night, but…it smelled BAD.  Homes should have no smell.
2. The owners being home.  Most people agreed that they were highly uncomfortable with the sellers being in the home.  They wanted to be able to open closets and cabinets, but were uncomfortable with the seller there.
3. Clutter.  Toys, books, collections, the family wall o’photos…nada.  They don’t want to see your stuff.  Way too distracting and they can’t see the house.
4. Dirty homes.  I’m guessing with some of the smelly homes they really didn’t stick around long enough to see the dirt, but dirty homes were a turnoff.  Remember keep your dirt to yourself.
5. Wallpaper.  People cringe when they think about having to take down wallpaper.  The occasional border and maybe one wall doesn’t seem to bother buyers, but lots of wallpaper sent many buyers scurrying.
6. Bad DIY projects.  Know enough to know what you can and can’t do well.  I had seen so many of these that I just shake my head after a while.
7. “Puffing” on listings.  Agents that state a home is “move-in ready” only to get there and see falling off cabinets, teal carpet, and pet damage all over the house.  I have had discussions with my sellers about what I will and won’t say about their homes.  It just makes me look bad when I “over fluff” a listing.

So sellers…this is what they are saying about your home.  You can listen to your real estate agent, OR you can listen to the consumers.  Hopefully, we are both telling you the same thing.  Whether or not you choose to listen…is up to you.

If you want some help to determine what things need to be done to get your home ready for sale, shoot me an email or give me a call, and I’ll be happy to come out and give you my opinion.  Just remember, my job is to tell you what I think…not what you want to hear.