Seven ways to prevent your home from turning off potential buyers

It might only takes a few seconds for potential buyers to fall in, or out, of love with your property, and initial impressions set the overall mood for the inspection.

Deal-breakers can immediately put buyers off, leading to your home lingering on the market longer than necessary.

We spoke to agents who shared some unusual and often unpleasant ways they had to make a house more presentable.

1. Keep your private life private

Buyers want to imagine themselves living in the house, but leaving around questionable materials may be enough to turn them off.

Buyers’ agent Miriam Sandkuhler from Property Mavens had to ask one vendor to remove a pole dancing pole from the bedroom so that buyers wouldn’t be distracted from the space in the room.

“It was an amusing conversation at the time as the vendor didn’t understand why it may not be everyone’s ‘cup of tea’ as a form of entertainment,” she said.

2. Exterminate the pests

Buyers are easily put off by obvious signs of insects and animals invading the home and the damage they can cause.

This is often costly to repair, and can be an instant turn-off for the buyer, so it’s best to call in the professionals to spray for spiders, ants, wasps and rid the house of any rodents before putting it up for sale.

Tom Quaid from Quaid Real Estate in Cairns said an unoccupied acreage property he sold presented a unique problem.

“One of the challenges we found, though, was that the garage had been taken over by a colony of microbats, which wasn’t a particularly welcome feature between the noise, the smell and the need to duck!

“Luckily it was a relatively easy fix by leaving the garage open for a few days and they found a new home elsewhere.”

3. Clean your act up

You shouldn’t leave it to your agent to make a house presentable. While they may offer advice, it is up to the seller to have the house ready for an open house.

Gabrielle Douglas, director of Zelle in Albury, said she had to go beyond the call of duty when preparing for an open home.

“Luckily I arrived early before the inspection as the house was a pigsty,” she said.

“I quickly ran around and turned on lights, opened curtains, and [made the] beds. All the breakfast stuff was on the bench, and I had to put it all away and wipe the benches down.”

4. Kill the clutter

Vendors are doing themselves no service by leaving clutter and rubbish in the home before an open house. These are obvious signs of neglect and can also give an impression of inadequate storage.

Good presentation is also imperative when preparing the marketing materials, according to Quaid. “We had to reschedule the photographer once due to delays, so the second time ’round I made sure I was there on site a good hour beforehand.

“Lo and behold, furniture, boxes and rubbish were everywhere so I spent the next hour stashing everything in a downstairs cupboard before getting out the broom and mop to clean it myself.”

5. Don’t layer smells

The scent of a house can reach the buyer even before the visual presentation, and can be a major determining influence.

Douglas remembers one of the most offensive smells she encountered. “The worst thing at one house was the smell from the kitty litter which made me dry retch. I had to carry it outside, open the windows and air out the house.”

Remove any obvious smells and air out the house, but don’t be tempted to overwhelm the house with cliched brewing coffee and bread-making aromas, or offending the senses with too many scented candles from the $2 shop.

6. Be neutral

Painting is the most effective, inexpensive DIY job you can do to make your property appeal to the most buyers. Many cannot see past dated colour schemes, feature walls or homemade artwork.

Sandkuhler says she once had to ask a vendor to repaint graffitied rooms after an acrimonious marriage split.

“It was a tricky situation which needed to be handled delicately,” she said.

7. Make yourself scarce

Being present at your own open houses is not encouraged as it puts buyers off as they feel they cannot view the property objectively.

Additionally, tenants should be asked to temporarily vacate for the open houses.

Buyer Lisa Maguire recalls a particularly odd viewing. “The tenants were a couple, and during the open house, they were in bed together! It felt incredibly awkward, and I couldn’t see that particular bedroom, and felt like I was invading someone’s personal space.”

Thinking of selling? Read Domain’s Ultimate Guide To Selling Your Home to find out everything you need to know.