2. The prospect of selling your home effectively
makes you a marketer. And effective marketing
requires you understand the mind and priorities,
likes and dislikes of your target buyer. In real
estate, we all know buyers like to see homes
that are pristine, huge and well-located.
Sometimes, though, it’s much harder to
recognize when our own homes might actually
be triggering buyers’ distaste - or disgust.
3. 1. Your stuff. Yes - your taste is immaculate. But
it’s your taste. What buyers are really looking for
when they come to view a home is a palate on
which they can envision easily applying their tastes.
Accordingly, a primary goal of smart home
preparation is depersonalization or neutralization,
simply removing most or all of the personalized
touches that make your home reflect you unless
they are also neutral enough that any buyer, from
any age group or cultural background can step in
and put their mind’s eye to work at filling in what
the place would look like if they lived there.
4. 2. Carpet. Obviously, old, dirty, pet-impacted and
bizarrely colored carpets are not a draw for buyers.
But this generation of home buyers takes the carpet
conundrum even further, exhibiting a distaste for
carpet - period. Concerns about the relative
difficulty and expense of
cleaning carpets, to the
cost of replacing them
when you want a decor
change, to the tendency
of carpets to hold pet hair,
mites and other allergens
that may impact family members
with respiratory issues are, collectively
causing carpet to fall out of favor with today’s home
buyers.
5. 3. Gold bathroom fixtures. Gold bathroom
fixtures are part of a larger category of buyer
turn-offs perhaps best described as things that
are old, but not old enough to be vintage, retro,
classic or historic. As a general rule, this includes
household appliances,
finishes and decor that
dates from the ‘70s and
‘80s, give or take a decade,
depending on where you’re
at.
6. 4. Elaborate gardens and/or vast landscaping. A
huge backyard seems like it’d be a big draw. So do
the flower and botanical gardens that the seller
obviously spent hour upon hour designing and
tending to. But they also seem like a lot of work to
today’s time-strapped and cash-conscious buyers.
some buyers simply know they don’t or won’t put
the time, money and water into their care, so
would rather not take them on.
7. Buyers: What turn-offs have you encountered
while house-hunting?
Let us know the biggest turn off below…
8. Randy Bett
Investment Realtor/Author/Investor
Real Estate Professionals Inc.
Better Group Real Estate
202-5403 Crowchild Trail NW
Calgary, AB T3B 4Z1
Phone:403-774-7464 Ext:1
Fax:403-208-0082
Toll Free fax:888-711-6801
