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7 things sellers can do to avoid turning buyers off when selling a home on the Gold Coast

ALWAYS CURRENT

7 things sellers can do to avoid turning buyers off

BY TONY COUGHRAN  —  2 MIN READ

Imagine, you’ve finally taken that leap and decided to sell your home, you’ve spent weeks prepping it and you’re ready to take it to market. High five!! We’re sure it’s been a roller coaster of highs and lows already.

We’ve been in and out of our fare share of homes on the Gold Coast. We’ve seen it all. Seriously, it all. From the squeaky clean, immaculate presented display style home with the imperious agent at the door staring down his nose at every would be buyer – to the candid and very charismatic agent with the attitude that an ‘iPhone snap will do and buyers will see past the mess’.

We’ve compared notes, reminisced a little and straight out wished there were a few we hadn’t remembered to come up with our top 7 – things that turn Buyers off.

Happy reading!

01. Clutter

What you consider clutter and what a potential buyer considers to be clutter are probably two totally different things. While your home might be immaculate, and all of your treasured nic-nacs are beautifully positioned in every corner of the home it’s so important to remember that these are YOUR treasures.

Buyers want to imagine their own treasures at home here – benches should be completely cleared with only one or two basic items on them, like a kettle or chopping block. Book shelves and large pieces of furniture that normally house all of the clutter should be taken away completely. Bathroom benches should be completely clear, kids toys should be kept to only a handful neatly on display, everything else, the bouncer, the walker, the box of lego, the slot car track – you see where I’m going here – all packed away ready for the big move.

Less is seriously more!!

02. No Price

This is a tough one, especially when you’ve chosen an auction campaign but it’s the number one gripe that buyers have when they are in deep searching for a property.

Unless of course, they have a very experienced Gold Coast Buyers Agent that knows their values (that’s us!) on their side.

03. No Address

Don’t ever let your selling agent talk you into NOT putting an address on your online listing. Buyers are already feeling overwhelmed on their quest to find the ultimate home. Why? Why? Make it harder for them by not including an address.

This is really just a ploy by the selling agents to grow their buyer database. Think about it, if a buyer is looking for a bridge free waterfront the first thing they are going to want to check is where it’s located, if they are buying because they want to be close to the kids schools they’ll want to know where it’s located NOW while they are looking at the listing, not tomorrow afternoon when the selling agent calls them back.

Imagine seeing something online at 10pm at night when you’ve finally hit the couch after a big day at work, you’re in the area the next morning at 6am on the way back to work you might want to drive past and see if the location is good for you before enquiring any further. We’ve seen so many good properties hit the too hard basket because no address is listed.

Everything is available on line these days, include your address.

04. Say Cheese

Trying to market your home with no photography is just as bad as poor photography – you know when the selling agent takes a few snaps with their iPhone or when the photographers photos come back and they all have that fish lens look?! Good photography is all about setting the right expectations – premium home + premium photography that captures the essence of it = a premium result.

05. Your Agent

We hear these comments from frustrated buyers all the time –

“the selling agent was so rude to us
“she didn’t even take us seriously
“the agent barely looked at us when we went to inspect the home which we thought would be our dream home
“The selling agent didn’t even call us back to arrange an inspection
“you should have seen how arrogant this agent was
“The agent couldn’t answer any of our questions about the home

Sad really, but the Selling Agent is often the final straw for frustrated buyers who have been in the market for months, they get as far as finding the one (your HOME!?) only to have to deal with selling agents like these.

Your agent should know your property inside out – where all the light switches are, how big the shed is, whether there is an approval for the extension etc.

They should know all the right questions to ask to qualify your potential buyer and they should make them feel welcome in your (their potential) home.

A grounded selling agent will get a better result than an arrogant one any day.

If you’re not sure where to start – check out our Sales Mentor service – it’s the simplest way to sell your home and your stress level and bank balance will thank you for it later!

06. The Smell

We’re excited and repelled by scents in equal measure. That’s why it’s important to make sure that your place is coming up roses when it comes time to inspect.

Do:

  • Empty all the bins within the house and put the wheelie bins in an unobtrusive place
  • Air your place well before inspections
  • Lean towards fresh, floral scents in living areas and bedrooms
  • Give the bathroom or laundry area an appealing aroma with suitable cleaning products
  • Add sweetness and bakery scents to the kitchen and family areas
  • Promote citrus, roses and jasmine for tropical style outdoor entertaining areas
  • Experiment with limes, gingers and other fragrances in the home and garden

Don’t:

  • Allow the smells of last night’s takeout or garlic or seafood to dominate the home
  • Expect a buyer to ignore musty, mouldy scents. It may make them considered about rising damp or leaking water pipes
  • Be too enthusiastic with bleach or disinfectant in areas outside the bathroom or laundry
  • Leave sweaty clothing, bed linen or exercise gear in the bathroom, laundry or teenage bedrooms
  • Permit build up of material in the sinks and drains from kitchen to bathroom
  • Use bleach on mustiness or mould. This only exacerbates the problem. Use vinegar instead
  • Forget to clean your pets, their toileting areas and their bedding on a regular basis

07. Cleanliness

Ok, so after nearly 20 years in and out of homes it’s clear to us that everyone’s idea of clean is very different.

There’s tidy and then there’s clean.

It’s the simple things that people miss when prepping their home for sale – fans, light switches, door handles and grubby finger marks on the back of doors, dusty exhaust fans and air conditioners.

While all of these things can easily be taken care of, a sparkling clean home says to a Buyer: this home is loved, this home has really been taken care of, this home is low maintenance, this home is ready to move into.

Grab a wet cloth, turn up your favourite tunes and get back to basics.

GOLD COAST Buyers Agents  |  Valuers  |  Sales Strategists  |  Local Property Nerds

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