Seller Tips: Making Your Home Buyer Friendly

So… you’ve decided to sell your house. You’ve cleaned it, you’ve decluttered, made necessary repairs and made incredible improvements to the curb appeal. It is sparkling and ready to show. And, you just know that that first buyer coming through is going to love it, right? But, then the buyers come through and they just don’t seem to be staying very long. What’s up with that?

Well, there are several things you can do to invite the buyer to stay a little longer to REALLY look at your house and take in all the details. You can’t expect to have the buyer fall in love with the house if they run in and out so fast that they don’t really get a chance to see it all. So, here’re a few easy suggestions to make sure that potential buyers feel welcome.     

First and foremost, make sure that your house smells nice. A bad odor in the house will make a buyer turn and run, instead of coming in to look. Last night’s dinner may have been fabulous, but if it was spicy and aromatic, it may not smell so great the next morning. And while your pet is just another member of the family, buyers without pets can usually pick up on their presence as soon as they walk in the door. Remember, most buyers won’t choose NOT to buy a house because of a food or pet odor, but they may not stay as long as they need to in order to see all the great features.

Cigarette, cigar, pipe, musty smells and strong perfume smells will also turn away a buyer. So, choose your air freshener wisely. A buyer that smells a strong perfume smell when they walk in the door will be wondering what the seller is trying to cover up. There are many products on the market these days that can neutralize the smell without adding an extra scent.

And once you’ve neutralized the unpleasant odors, you can add some more pleasing scents. Faint scents of vanilla, cinnamon, or clove offer a warm inviting smell that will bring a buyer into the kitchen to see what’s cooking. So… pour some apple juice (or water) into a pot on the stove, and bring a few cinnamon sticks and a few sprigs of clove to a slow simmer in the morning while you’re making breakfast. You can turn the burner off and just leave the pot there. The smell will linger all day. And, the smell of freshly baked cookies is always inviting.  Especially, if there are a few cookies on the counter for the buyer to sample.  (Smile.)  However, if you’re feeling less industrious, vanilla or cinnamon scented candles will work just fine. Safety first! You shouldn’t leave burning candles unattended. So, make sure you have time for the scent to flow throughout the house and extinguish them BEFORE you leave.   

Second, make sure your house is nice and bright. We recommend turning on overhead and accent lights, opening the blinds and draperies, and having every room looking bright when you have advanced notice. However, when that’s not possible, opening the blinds about 1/3 of the way will allow the natural light to come in without showing everyone on the outside all the great things you have inside. A good buyer’s agent will  turn on any needed  lights when showing,  so don’t worry too much if you can’t leave them on every time. Just make sure you’re letting in as much natural light as possible.

Next, make sure your house is quiet and calm. You can do this by turning off TVs and radios that are playing loud music. If you’re close to a busy street, or other distracting noises, soft (elevator) music will be a nice distraction. Just make sure you keep the volume down. Buyers need to be able to talk freely and have an environment that will allow them to think clearly.

However, just like with scents, soft music may make a buyer wonder what you’re covering up.  So, nice and quiet is always wonderful. One exception to this rule… if you have a home theater, make sure a good, high action, kid-friendly movie is playing. Just make sure you can’t hear it all over the house.     

However,  the most important of all showing instructions is this -  LEAVE! Many sellers want to be there or have their agents present when other agents are showing the house. However, buyers just can’t relax and really look at the house if you are there. They  won’t  feel like they can talk freely to each other or their agent and they tend to rush through the house so that they can go outside and talk in private. While you may want to show off all the great features of the house, it can come off as a ‘hard sell’ and make a buyer very uncomfortable. And, as silly as it may sound, a buyer will remember how they ‘felt’ in the house more than what they liked about it. They have to feel comfortable walking around, taking their time, and speaking freely without feeling  rushed or watched. So, take the dog for a walk, step outside in the backyard, or just go for a drive. Whatever you do, make sure you give the buyer privacy while they’re trying to look at their future home! 

It’s not difficult to create an environment in your home that will make buyers feel comfortable. It’s hard enough to get them there, so you definitely want them to stay for a while and really look around. And as I said before,  the buyer has to be able to imagine your house as their home. So, keep it bright, quiet, calm, odor free (or soft scents) and give them the space they need to be able to imagine themselves living there. Happy showing!   

Editor's note: Kathy Peters is the owner of the Peters Home Team Realty in Lilburn.