When you're selling your home, you need every advantage you
can get. And there are few homes that are magically market ready without a
little help. If your home needs a touch more than a little help, it's time to
get focused. After all,
If you want to make sure you get home sold quickly and for
the right price, you'll want to avoid listing it with the following:
1. Excessive damage
Maybe the home you're selling was used as a rental and
trashed by frat boy tenants, or maybe you just haven't kept it up as you
should. Either way, those holes in the wall that look like the living room was
used as a boxing gym, the scratched-up wood floors on which dinosaurs have
clearly been racing, and the yard that's barren except for those two-foot-tall
patches of weeds are not what buyers are looking for. Unless you're planning to
offer your house for a price that will make buyers emphasize the good and
ignore the bad and the ugly, it's going to need some attention.
2. Carpet in the bathroom
It's just gross. And everyone who walks into that bathroom
is thinking one of two things: 1) There's gotta be mold under there; 2) There's
gotta be pee on the floor around that toilet. This is one update you'll want to
do before you list. Or, if you're already listed and your home's not selling.
3. Big, nasty stains
A buyer shouldn't know where your dog likes to mark or where
your kids spilled the entire bowl of holiday punch. If the stains on your
carpet are that bad, potential buyers will stroll in and run right back out. No
one wants to buy a pigsty. Invest a few bucks in new carpet. You'll make the
money back since you won't have to drop your sales price.
4. Pet smells
Speaking of pets…they smell. You probably don't notice since
you live with them everyday, but buyers will, and it might be enough to turn
them off. Deep clean the carpets and the upholstery, invest in some air
fresheners, and remove cat boxes from the house for showings. The last thing
you want is a potential buyer referring to your house as "the stinky
one."
5. Loud dogs who bark every time someone approaches the home
One last word on pets. Barking happens, whether it's your
dog or one that belongs to a neighbor. But you don't need that on the day of
your open house. Offering to pay for doggie day care for a neighbor's pooch can
eliminate the issue and help create the serene setting buyers want.
6. Your dead lawn
Lack of curb appeal won't necessarily kill a deal. In many
cases, you won't even get potential buyers to get out of the car. If the front
yard is a mess, buyers will naturally think the mess continues inside.
7. A bad agent
Face it. Not all of them are winners. If your agent is:
rude, uninformed, lazy, uncommunicative, belligerent, or unwilling to take your
opinions into consideration, get a new one. An agent who isn't giving their
client the right type of attention probably isn't going to get the job done.
8. Your sloppiness
Those drawers and cabinets you shoved everything into when
you cleaned off your kitchen and bathroom cabinets could be a deal breaker for
picky buyers. We all know buyers open stuff. They look in drawers, they open
cabinets, they examine closets. If these spaces are messy and overstuffed, they
may assume there's not enough storage space.
9. Unreasonable sellers
Big problems in your house can be deal killers, but they can
also be deal sealers, if you are reasonable. If your inspection uncovers
plumbing, electrical, or roofing problems (or all three!) and you're unwilling
to negotiate, you can kiss that sale goodbye.
10. Bad Taste
Your poor decorating choices and failure to keep up with
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