7 Tips To Wow Potential Buyers

Posted by on Monday, July 3rd, 2017 at 4:44pm.

There are reasons some homes sell faster than others. We’ve seen more than our fair share of homes, having worked with a lot of clients both buying and selling over the years. So we have the secrets you need to make your home ready for resale and marketable to potential buyers! Check out our top 7 tips straight from the real estate agent:

1. De-clutter and organize

Be sure to go through your home before photos are taken and potential buyers start coming through to tour the home. Keep only the essentials, and put everything else in storage or give it away. And don’t forget to purge closets as well! Buyers want to know there is a lot of storage space in a home, and if yours looks like it’s bursting at the seams, it’s not going to be appealing.

2. Fill the home with light

Wash the windows inside and out, clean the blinds, dust any light fixtures and replace any burnt-out bulbs. Something as simple as increasing the wattage on your lamps and fixtures can make a home look warmer to potential buyers. A good rule of thumb is to make sure you have three types of lighting: ambient (general or overhead), task (pendant, under-cabinet or reading) and accent (table and wall).

3. Avoid knick-knacks and personal items

Although you might have the most photogenic family ever, a home filled with someone else’s photos doesn't make it easy for a buyer to picture themselves there. Replace family photos (and photos of your pet—no one wants to imagine dog fur hiding in carpets) with classic art pieces that will frame your space well, but not in such a personal way. Also put away any goofy knickknacks like your refrigerator magnet collection or that wall-mounted singing bass fish. You might think they’re cute, but too much clutter can distract a potential buyer from the important things about the home.

4. Remember the old baking cookies trick? Forget it.

One of the home selling tricks you might have heard is to bake cookies before a showing or open house so the home smells like fresh-baked yumminess. That’s probably worked for people before, but sometimes it does not! Strong smells, even good strong smells, aren’t what a buyer wants to find in a new home. A safer bet for attracting a buyer is to avoid chemical air fresheners, perfumes, etc. and instead go with a scent that everyone loves—the smell of clean. Wipe down countertops with a cleaner that has a subtle fresh scent like citrus.

5. Deep clean evvvvverything.

Speaking of the smell of clean, take it a step further than just the smell of clean and make sure your home is actually clean from top to bottom. Steam clean all carpets, use a wood-cleaning product on hardwood floors, and consider professional cleaning for tile or marble. Scrub grout in bathrooms and remove any hard water stains. Also, the kitchen is the heart of the home, so make sure yours is ready to impress buyers. Take out the contents of the pantry, refrigerator and freezer and toss any items that are out of date. Wipe out the fridge shelves with soapy water and wipe down cabinets/cabinet fronts. Clean inside of stove and wipe down microwave. Polish all appliance fronts, light fixtures and stovetop. Clean countertops and reorganize drawers, tossing any junk. The kitchen is a major selling point for buyers, and if yours is spotless, it will make it stand out.

6. Put on a fresh coat of paint

One thing that really makes a house feel lived in is dingy interior and exterior paint. A new coat of paint can make a home feel like new. Also, if you’ve chosen colors other than neutral to paint your home, this is a good time to change that. You might like bubblegum pink walls in your home, but many buyers will not be excited about it. Although it’s an easy fix, there are some buyers that just can’t get past loud paint colors.

7. Make a good first and last impression

Sometimes buyers will drive right on past a home that doesn’t look appealing from the outside. The front of your home is the first thing a prospective buyer will see and will set the tone for their feelings about your home. Be sure that your home is appealing by tidying up landscaping, repainting a chipping front door or planting some colorful flowers. When the buyer glances back at your home after a great (we hope!) showing, you’ll want to leave them with good feelings and a lasting impression that will take them all the way to their realtor to make an offer.