Selling Your Home? 4 Things Buyers Always Look At

Selling Your Home? 4 Things Buyers Always Look At

  After making the decision to put your house on the market, it’s likely that you’ll be feeling overwhelmed at just how much cleaning and renovating needs to be done to get rid of that ‘lived-in’ look. Just like any market, it’s important to consider what the potential buyers will be looking for in a new home. Think like a potential buyer, consider what your concerns would be about a used home, and then make sure those areas are top notch. If you’re having trouble, here are four areas that every buyer will look at when touring your home.   Work on Curb Appeal There is nothing more striking about a home for sale than that first impression. When they drive up to the house, where are they parking? Are they walking up to the house on a neatly paved walkway or crossing over dead grass and weeds? If your grass is not mowed, the garage door is rusty, the driveway is sinking and cracked, or the house exterior is patchy and worn, then your buyer will be much less likely to want to step through the door, let alone call the house their future home. Also, if the house looks grungy, the buyer may attempt to argue for lower prices to cover the costs of getting things repaired, costing much more to your profit off of the property than it would to get the place cleaned up yourself. The Bathrooms Whether we want to admit it or not, the bathroom is an essential center of any home. This is where the buyer will be bathing getting ready for the day, getting ready for bed, and spending hours when a stomach bug hits. Because so much time will be spent in here, a buyer will be drawn in by a quality, clean bathroom and repulsed by a cramped and dirty one. Make sure that your bathrooms have clean tiling free of grout, working utilities, and enough space that your buyer won’t feel claustrophobic just looking in from the outside. The Flooring The floor of any home takes a heavy beating over the years. Faded or cracked tiles, worn out carpeting, stains and other signs of wear and tear can make a home even look older than it really is, and be off-putting to potential buyers. Alternatively, fresh new flooring can make a home for sale look younger than it actually is. Not only that, but quality carpeting, tiles, or wooden boards add value to a home and can give you the opportunity to argue for a higher sell price. A Functional Kitchen Since most homeowners spend a lot of time in the kitchen, the overall look and feel of a kitchen should be open, functional, and inviting. A well-organized kitchen will have a partitioned sink, numerous cabinets and clean, spacious laminate benchtops. It is important that the color scheme of the kitchen works well also for buyer appeal. Paler colors can make a kitchen look bigger, but it will also show any faults that may have accumulated over the years. Darker colors are always in style, so consider getting your cabinets repainted to hide nicks and faults in the wood, as well as to give the kitchen a fresh, new exterior. After taking a closer look at your home from the outside in, you have made some significant changes that have made your dwelling sparkle and shine. While some changes may seem costly, they will significantly increase the selling price of your home and attract buyers for a quicker and easier sale. The cost on your time and money to fight for a buyer that will grudgingly pay less than what your home is really worth is far more than that of a few fix-ups here and there, and having these factors taken care of will make buyers more likely to overlook other faults that they may need to take care of later. Be sure to itemize your improvements so that you can point them out as selling points to let buyers know the work you put into the home, greater improving their impression of you as a homeowner and of the house itself.   Article submitted by: Meghan Belnap / Blogger, Researcher and Freelance Writer Meghan Belnap is a freelance writer who enjoys spending time with her family. She loves being in the outdoors and exploring new opportunities whenever they arise. Meghan finds happiness in researching new topics that help to expand her horizons. You can often find her buried in a good book or out looking for an adventure. You can connect with her on Facebook right here and Twitter right here.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *