Top 10 Ways to Make Home Buyers Hate Your House

Selling a Home? Avoid these Home Buyer Turnoffs

Are you selling a home? Did you know that even though home buyers are all looking for something different, the majority of them will turn around and walk back out of  your door if they notice one or more of these Top 10 problems.

1. ODORS
   House odors are number 1 on the home selling uh-oh list. And narrowing it down, odors from cigarette smoke and pets take top billing, while mildew not far behind.
   If you smoke indoors – the house smells like cigarettes. If you have pets, the house might bad – even if you don’t notice it. Ask someone who doesn’t live there to take a sniff, and don’t get angry when they tell the truth.
    Eradicate the odors so that you can present potential buyers with a clean, fresh atmosphere – not a house that’s full of perfumes to cover up the odors.
2. Dogs Meet you at the Door or in the Driveway
   Dogs frighten some people and irritate others. You” have a much better response from showings if you control your pets – dogs, cats, whatever.
   You say you plan to put them in the bedroom or garage and then ask people not to open the door to the area. Bad Idea. Would you buy a house you can’t inspect?
   Of course not.
   Remove pets during showing when possible. If you can’t, contain them in crates for their own safety and to show respect for the feelings of potential buyers.
3.  Dirty Bathrooms
   Grimy bathrooms are an instant turnoff. Scrub them, paint them, buy a new shower curtain, rugs and towels – do what it takes to make them shine. If you’re serious about selling the home, the extra work is a must.
4. Dimly Lit Rooms
   Dark rooms in a home are a turnoff to most buyers, so try to brighten them up:

   Replace dim light fixtures
   Install additional light fixtures
   Install (quality) sun tunnels or skylights
   Remove heavy drapes to let the light stream through the windows
   Repaint some rooms with colors that reflect light
   Trim tree limbs that shadow the house

5. A House Full of Busy Wallpaper
   Busy wallpaper in every room turns off most buyers, and even people who love wallpaper rarely like what you have chosen. It’s a personal decorative touch that they want to select for themselves.
   It’s the masses you most appeal to when you’re selling a home , so take a hard look at your wallpaper and decide if it should be removed and replaced with paint. Don’t Paint Over It! because it will be obvious that you did – and buyers know that makes removing it even more difficult. ( hire a professional painter to tell you whether he can and if it is possible).
6. Damp Basements
   Dampness or damp smells in the basement throw up a red flag to buyers that the foundation leaks!
   Most problems we see are not caused by faulty foundations. They occur because rainwater is being diverted to the foundation instead of away from it.
   Clogged underground drains
   No rain gutters along the roofline
   Downspouts aimed the wrong way
   Go outside the next time it rains and determine where the runoff is going.
7. Bugs  
   Roaches, spiders, any insects that shouldn’t be in the house Get rid of them.
8. Poor Curb Appeal
   You must grab a buyer’s interest from the curb! If you want to sell the home for top dollar. Home buyers often refuse to go into a house with an unkempt yard,bushes that hide the walkway, sagging doors or peeling paint. You say you can’t afford to paint? Come on a gallon of paint ($30..00) for a freshly painted front door? Okay, then get that yard in tip top shape and grab a screw driver to fix those doors and make sure the door bell rings!
9. Gutters with Plants Growing in Them
   I’m serious. Some people never clean their gutter and it always makes buyers wonder what else is wrong and has not been maintained.
   Remember drainage issue in #6? Cleaning packed gutters might help.
10. Sellers Who Hang Around for Showings
    Yes, YOU…. leave the house during showings. Home buyers feel awkward about opening closet doors and lingering for a really good look at the house if the seller is home.
    If you are selling by owner give them space, don’t hover.

Parting Words
Most of the Top 10 problems are home selling issues you can correct without spending a lot of money. Do it NOW, before you put the house on the market, because if you house develops a reputation among agents as the house that smells, the house with the huge barking dog or the house where the owner won’t leave people alone, it will be TOO LATE!
Your house will be the last on their list to show to potential buyers.