Selling your home - 5 Things that turn buyers off

When trying to sell your home, it is imperative that you keep the buyer in mind.

This does sometimes mean that you may have to live uncomfortably or invest your own money into a property that you hope to sell. When preparing to sell your home, keep the following deal breakers in mind to sell your house and move into your dream home.

Piled Up Junk

If a prospective buyer visits your home and finds the garage is currently inaccessible due to your hoarded junk, this will immediately turn them away.  Piled up old furniture, appliances and other assorted unnecessary items make any area of your home seem smaller and less inviting. To appeal to buyers, you want the storage areas and rooms in your home to feel as open as possible.

Old Appliances

All other things being equal, a house with newer appliances has much more eye appeal.  This is obviously not ground breaking news, but the difficult thing to do is identify when an appliance is “too old.” Most homeowners would prefer not to invest money into the house before they sell it, but this could pay off large dividends in the long run. As a good rule of thumb, if your appliances aren’t energy efficient, then they should be updated. New appliances can make the entire kitchen feel newer and drive up the value of your home. If you decide to revamp the appliances in your home, have the old ones removed professionally by a company who is willing to divert these items from the landfills.

Bad Neighbourhood

We all know the location of your home is extremely important. As a homeowner, this is unfortunately out of your control but still something to be aware of. The price you ask for your home must reflect its location. When evaluating your location, some factors you should look at include:

• Crime rate
• School ratings
• Income level
• Neighbours

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The last factor listed above, “neighbours” refers to how they treat their property as well as their noise level. Some people do not make an effort to keep their property looking nice. The unfortunate truth is that their decision can hurt your chances of selling your home.

Lack of Accessibility

This turnoff for buyers could be included in the above “neighbourhood” section but it’s importance would be explained better with it’s own section. For many buyers, accessibility is going to be a major factor. This could be distance from the nearest freeway, public transportation, or even grocery stores. Different buyers will be looking for very different things in this area. Some homeowners prefer seclusion and a small disconnect from the big city, where others prefer to live downtown so they can take transit to work. Accessibility also relates to how easy it is to view your home – if showings are restricted because of tenants or pets or cleanliness, it will certainly take longer to sell.

Foundation and Roof Condition

The final aspect of a home that can be an immediate “red flag” is the condition of the roofing and the foundation.  If a buyer looks into the gutter and sees a large amount of shingle granules (decomposing roof tile) this is a sign the roof may need replacing. Moisture, mold and rot are all flags that will send the buyer looking at another property. On the other end of the spectrum, all buyers should be aware of the basic signs that the foundation is bad. Cracks in the floors or walls and hard to open doors and windows are signs that the foundation must be investigated further.

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