Preparing to Sell Your Home

My sister has been trying to sell her condo for some time, but has not been able to. It is definitely priced right because the listing price is the lowest in her development. So we knew that was not the issue. There are a few things that people are complaining about.
You will always get people who will say that the price is too high. If they think it is too high they can always put in a lower offer. There have been no offers for the last few months that the condo has been on the market though. Pricing is very important but of course you do not want to just give your house away and take a big loss just to sell. If you are buying another place, you will need as much money as you can get so that your next mortgage will not be outrageously high. You may want to set your listing price just slightly lower and see what happens. Since this is currently a buyer’s market, it will be a turn off if your place is over priced.
One big complaint is that people smell the dog odor. My sister does have a dog and even though he is out of the house when there is a showing, his odor still remains. My sister has lit candles or uses a clean smelling spray, but for some reason it does not help. Some people are allergic to dogs and just do not like the idea of a pet living there. They know that even after you move out, pet odors can remain for some time. If you have a dog or pet, do the best that you possibly can to not let potential buyers know you have one. Hide all of the pet’s belongings like food, water and food dish, etc. You do not want to leave things like that in closets, because people look in those to see what kind of space there is. The best thing is to probably put those things in the car with you when you go out. Be sure to take your pet with you. I have walked through houses where there were pets that were either loose or in a crate. That is the worse thing for a buyer to see. Bathing and grooming your pet often may also help to eliminate some odor.
I was recently at my sister’s condo and as I was looking around, I realized why there haven’t been any offers besides the dog problem. The living room rug is worn and people have said that. It is the first room that you walk into and that is very noticeable. There is a big crease right in the center of the rug which is quite visible. The carpet has taken a beating over the past few years between the dog and three boys who are constantly spilling things on it. They finally decided to put laminate hardwood flooring in the living room, kitchen and hallway which will give the whole downstairs an entire new look. This may make the difference in someone putting in an offer.
There are a few other things that I’ve noticed that I probably wouldn’t like if I was looking to buy this particular condo. There are marks on the walls and the woodwork in almost every room needs to be painted again. Painting does not cost much and it does a lot to improve the look. Also, some appliances were broken already and needed to be fixed. The good thing is that there are some services that offer appliance repair. One of these is https://www.longappliancerepair.com/. This website is one of the reliable platform where you can find great appliance repair service.
The kitchen looks a little cluttered. It is not a big area to begin with so you want to remove all appliances from countertops so people can see the amount of space that there is in there. The backsplash behind the stove is outdated and you do not need to spend a lot of money to replace that. The countertops are also outdated. You don’t need to put granite, but even a new laminate top would look better than what is there now.
The bathrooms are somewhat outdated, but the tub is plastic and it easily accumulates dirt that can be hard to remove. The same thing goes for the toilet. There is a brown spot inside that does not come out easily. When people see things like this, it is a big turn off. A new toilet bowl or simply cleaning it would make a huge difference.
I have heard a few people say that HGTV has made it hard for some sellers. They set up a certain image for the public and then that’s what people expect to see when looking for a home. I have to agree somewhat with this, but not 100%. You don’t have to have granite countertops and stainless steel appliances to sell your house. I see many homes on HGTV that do not have these features and they still sell. For some people though, they may be influenced by what they see on those programs. For the most part, people want to see things clean, neat and fairly new. You do not have to have the top of the line appliances, furniture, flooring, etc.
If you know that eventually you plan on selling, I would start and do certain things a little at a time. Trying to do everything at once costs a lot of money, plus it takes time. That is what my mom and I are doing slowly. We want to sell our house within two to three years, so we are starting to do some projects now. We will do about three projects this summer, get that paid off, then do some more next year and so on until we are done.