May 3, 2008: Do you want to make sure your home will sell? Little things matter
I tend to do a lot of previewing. I will go into houses alone to take photographs. My buyers and I then use those photos to draft a short-list of homes to view when they're ready to see for themselves.
Because of this, I get to spend a lot of time alone in homes, looking at absolutely everything, with no distractions.
Here's what I've learned from looking at thousands of homes for sale: Little things matter.
Is the home picked up, or are there clothes, toys and magazines scattered everywhere? Are there dirty breakfast dishes on the kitchen table? Dried up orange juice splotches? Toast crumbs? Are last night's dirty dishes piled up in the sink?
Is the house clean? Does it look and smell like the cleaning crew just left? If I look for dirt, I can find it. But can I find it easily without having to look?
Is every room of the house packed to the walls with furniture? Are there pictures of every member of the family for three generations tacked all over the walls? Do the kids like dark blue, dark purple, dark black paint?
I can probably guess your religion by the stuff you own and the other stuff you don't own, but my buyers should never, ever see symbols of your religion in the house. Why? Because it can be subtly off-putting to them without their even knowing why at a conscious level.
Likewise, if they can smell your cat -- or the fish you fried for dinner last week -- you've probably already alienated potential buyers before they have even given your house half a chance. Odors kill sales, so kill those odors now.
Fix any obvious defects. Only a specialist can say for sure if the air conditioner is working properly, but no one has to be told when it's completely broken.
It only takes a few small things to drive buyers on to the next house on their list. If you want for yours to be the one that sells, it simply must be better than others. Little things matter.
Greg Swann is the designated broker for BloodhoundRealty.com, a full-service Metropolitan Phoenix real estate brokerage. This article originally appeared in the West Valley regional sections of the Arizona Republic.
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