What’s the best low budget and high impact way to attract Buyer’s to our home?
As a first impression for Buyer’s shopping for their next home a Seller is quite often best advised above all else to clean their homes top to bottom, inside and out. This advice may seem obvious to some and excessive to others but as people enter homes for sale quite often even if the decor is not their favourite they will feel the most drawn to homes that not only look clean, but they also smell clean.
The checklist involved in the deep clean starts outdoors and now that the snow has melted it’s a great time to start planning to power wash the exterior of the home, walkways and windows. Clean the eavestroughs and address any general maintenance requirements, drainage issues and clear away debris. The first impression the Buyer has starts more than 90 per cent of the time with the online photos of the home; experiencing the home in person engages their senses to the next level towards the Buyer’s interest in committing to a home. As soon as they approach the home they may be calculating all the time that will be required to live in the home, coupled with the expense. Upon entering the home comments regarding the smell of smoke, animal, food, dust, mold and grime are usually the first things their REALTOR®️ will hear. No home is perfect but scrubbing the floors, steam cleaning carpets, using a dehumidifier in damp spaces, painting in bright neutral colours are all ways to attract Buyer’s looking to commit to their next real estate investment much sooner and to a broader group of Buyers.
If clutter is a challenge for Sellers, the discussion and action plan should occur well before their home is placed for sale. The REALTOR® they choose will likely have an extensive action plan they can provide to their sellers coupled with a network of professionals for hire available to help with the plan if necessary.
Connie Power is the Assistant Manager, Sales Representative CNE® SRS® ABR® SRES®, Mentors and Develops New Real Estate Sales Representatives for RE/MAX Hallmark York Group Realty Ltd., Brokerage serving York region and beyond in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).