Three Strange Things That Turned Our Buyers Off

It’s not the highly upgraded homes that sell fastest and for the most money, it’s the meticulously maintained ones that do. One of our goals with every house that we list for sale is to get it in front of the largest audience possible.  This means that we’re connecting with all different types of people, people whose hot buttons, wish lists, turn off and turn on will differ.  Because of this, when selling real estate, it’s imperative that every single detail is addressed with each house.  Below are three things that our buyer-clients got fixated on that killed the deal and could have easily been corrected. The Dirty Baseboards Obsessor While out shopping with clients, upon entering a home, the wife of the couple would immediately comment on how clean or dirty the baseboards were.  She obviously had a higher-than-normal expectation of cleanliness than an average person but, to her, this was very important and she used this to establish a first impression about the home. The Felinophobic One couple I was shopping with hated cats, whether it was a fear thing, a cultural thing or a superstitious thing — it was a thing that prevented them from going into a property.  They literally wouldn’t step through the door so we locked up and went to the next.  You may love your fur baby but not everyone does so find somewhere for them to go while your house is open for buyers. The Royal Throne At every single house, the moment we walked through the door, this client would run to the closest washroom, lift the toilet seat lid and peer inside to see how clean it was.  This experience would immediately set the stage for the rest of the house.  The presumption is that was that if the owner wasn’t diligent enough to maintain their toilets, there were likely other underlying issues caused by a lack of care and maintenance. Each of these clients was unique in their own way, as are the rest of the buyers coming through your house. You never know which feature, component or aspect of your home will win or lose a buyer so to be successful you MUST address every item to ensure every showing is a success.

Can You Renovate a Heritage Home

Many people are hesitant, or completely against buying real estate if the property has a Heritage or similar type of designation.  The fear often becomes that they could never renovate the heritage home or do much in the way of renovating the property as well as the questionable longterm resale value –the opposite couldn’t be any truer. If you’re contemplating buying an older home, unless you have intentions of demolishing it, chances are, you’re doing it because you love the charm of the established neighbourhood and the character of the historic home.  These homes are unique in their own way, from an architectural perspective to a historical perspective –how many people can say that the original town blacksmith lived in their house 150 years ago? Fortunately, most municipalities recognize that older, historic homes will eventually need updating and additions in order to keep up with the changing demographics of the area, building efficiency and more.  Because of this, more often than not, they are open to additions and renovations, inside and out.  There may be requirements such as maintaining a style that complements that of the original building, but that’s one of the reasons you’re buying it anyway, right? One of the nicest things with homes that have heritage designations is that it’s possible many of the surrounding homes have the same designation.  This means that it’s less likely anyone will be tearing them down and plopping an eye-sore of an obscenely large property across the street. Watch the podcast below with Kingsgate Construction or listen to the KT Confidential podcast on SoundCloud

Five Smells in Your House That Will Kill Your Sale and How to Fix Them

I recently showed a house that had plug-in air fresheners in almost every room… it was unbearable.  My clients were so turned off that I felt obliged to write about how those air fresheners may have killed the home owner’s sale. When selling a house, you really need to appeal to all of the senses and smell is a big one.  Many people have sensitivities and allergies, some smells make people gag, give them a headache or simply become the topic of conversation, which prevents a prospective seller from falling in love with the house. Here are the most common smells we come across: SMELL: AIR FRESHENERS CAUSE:  This is how it starts … you get one and you love it.  Then you become used to it and don’t notice it as much so you purchase a second one, then you become used to it and don’t notice it as much so you purchase another one. Soon, your house smells like it has been dosed in a potently high concentration of pine and pumpkin. SOLUTION: Get rid of them! SMELL: MOULDY/MUSTY CAUSE:  Basements are notorious for this smell and, oftentimes, the root cause is a lack of air circulation SOLUTION: Keep ALL doors in the basement open, including closets, storage areas, bedrooms and the door to the basement. Keep your vents and air returns open and keep your furnace fan in the “ON” position to keep air circulating.  You may want to consider cleaning your ducts and/or replacing your furnace filter also. Finished and unfinished basements, for many buyers, are an important area.  Whether for future use, storage, a workshop and more; don’t neglect this area. SMELL: FRIDGE CAUSE: Stinky cheese, rotten vegetables and years of never cleaning it out. SOLUTION: Remove everything from the fridge by relocating it to a secondary fridge, cooler or even outside if the weather is accommodating.  Give the fridge a good scrub with water and vinegar or a very mild soap solution, dry it out and put back everything except mouldy and expired items.  Keep an open box of baking soda in the fridge to help absorb smells and prevent any smells from building up SMELL: FOOD CAUSE: Cooking with strong spices, smelly meats and smokey conditions SOLUTION: When approaching time to sell your house, avoid cooking with smelly food. Keep it basic, eat-out, order-in or BBQ outdoors.  When you are cooking, keep the range hood running for an extended period after you finish and at a higher speed while cooking.  If you’re searing food and causing a lot of smoke (or simply forgetful and let things burn) keep windows open to help with drawing in fresh air or use your home’s HRV, if equipped. SMELL: PETS CAUSE: Self-explanatory SOLUTION: Give your poor dog a bath and for god’s sake, empty the litter box!  With pets comes great responsibility.  Ensure that your pet has a healthy and happy life and living conditions by taking care of it as you’d hope to be cared for. Every house has a smell and you’re likely desensitised to yours.  Consider asking a friend who’s capable of giving you the honest truth or ask your Realtor.  Some people may be hesitant to bring up the conversation so feel free to start the conversation by asking them for their honest opinion on what they smell and how you can correct it.