Ever walked into a house and your instinct screamed at you to immediately reverse? Perhaps it was something you spotted in the distance, caught a whiff of an unusual source or just a sudden chill that ran down your spine upon entering that house?
Whatever may have caused your instinct to act up, there are quite a number of things you, as a home seller, can do to chase away your home buyer!
I’m trying to keep track of all the real estate mishaps going on around me. Some of them are quite funny; others just shocking.
In order to keep most of the readers happy (read: not revolted by its sometimes grossness factor), I have decided to provide the median top 10 list:
Tip 1: Become an overnight artist
Days after the real estate agent stopped by to take pictures of your lovely home, you finally succumb to that internal urge to become more artsy and how better to show off your newly acquired talents than on the many ‘boring one-colored walls’.
Tip 2: Get that new pet
Time to sell the house and start a new chapter in life. How better to celebrate this than timing this event with the acquisition of a new family friend: the pet. Right. Of course, having an animal not house-trained yet, making a mess (and smell) all over, must have been a detail overlooked.
Tip 3: Get a new phone number
Tired of your previous telecom operator and just got an ‘offer you can’t refuse’ from their competition? The timing might not have been worse to change phone numbers while your real estate agent tries to get a hold of you on your old –discontinued- number.
Tip 4: Pick up a new (exotic) cooking class
Nothing smells better in a home than the aromas of a freshly-cooked meal. Unless, of course, it is of an exotic nature, of which you had no idea how these spices, once mixed up, might cause to the nasal sensors of visiting interested buyers.
Tip 5: Yard work, hard work
You’ve been slaving away for years now to keep that (grass) yard of yours nice and perky. As you’re going to be selling the place now, why put in any more effort? The new owners can do it. That’s assuming they will be able to see past the jungle grown over the months of yard work inactivity.
Tip 6: Start working on that new kitchen
Obviously a new kitchen would be a great selling point when your house is on the market. Unless you decide to commence with the structural changes a few days before the Sunday show house.
Tip 7: Kill the bugs
Your wife has been telling you for months now that there’s been a rat infestation in the attic. The day before your real estate agent stops by for a viewing with a couple of clients, you decide to launch an attack on these rodents but forget to clean up all the products used afterwards, which turned out to be quite embarrassing for the agent the next day, trying to explain what’s going on to these potential buyers.
Tip 8: Put up those personal pictures
Knowing that your newly-listed home will be subjected to quite a number of visitors, how else to convey to these people what you are really made of than adding some ‘family pictures’ of yourself at the gym, last carnaval, your brother’s bachelor’s party, pictures of your wife delivering your first-born son, to name but a few.
Tip 9: Hang around during viewings
Despite clear arrangements with the real estate agent to try to stay away from the home during viewings, you are making sure to be around as the local guide. Who else would give such a nice explanation of your home? Forget about making potential buyers awkward during the process.
Tip 10: Forgot to tell about the foreclosure
In order to avoid having the house foreclosed, you think you’ll outsmart the banks by quickly selling your property in the market. Unfortunately, selling homes might be a slower procedure and sometimes foreclosures are faster than expected, leading to uncomfortable situations when both real estate agent and foreclosure officials are face-to-face during a client viewing.
Closing thoughts
Looking back over these 10 points, I realized I could have easily added a couple more but I think you get the drift.
Even though I did present it with a sarcastic edge, please people, if you’re serious about selling your home, don’t take some of these things too lightly as they’ll have more of an effect on interested buyers than you’ll ever know!
Other Home Seller Advice & Related Resources:
- Ways Home Sellers Get Their Price Wrong via Bill Gassett
- 7 Cost Nothing Tips To Sell Your Home Faster via Ryan Fitzgerald
- Top 10 Ways To Scare Away A Potential Home Buyer via Kyle Hiscock
Together with the reference material provided above, please use the helpful information talked about in this article to avoid getting yourself into (costly) trouble as a home seller, especially in this market!
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About the author: The above article “10 Ways To Chase Away Your Home Buyer” was written by Xavier De Buck, your top-producing Johannesburg real estate agent. Xavier has been nationally recognized and awarded for providing service excellence, exceptional property sales, whilst exhibiting the highest level of professionalism. With over 15 years combined experience as a real estate agent and real estate investor, if you’re thinking of buying or selling a home in Johannesburg, Xavier would love to share his property knowledge and expertise.
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