When it comes to selling your home, there are many different factors in play which can impact how fast you sell your home and whether or not you make a sale. In home interiors, potential buyers are likely to value kitchen space, bathrooms, and number of bedrooms when making a purchasing decision. For exteriors, buyers may be assessing a property’s garden and whether there is a drive for parking their car.
While many homeowners focus on the interior of a home when buying, they will also be assessing what is around their potential future home. For example, poorly-managed neighbouring properties and noisy neighbours are just some things which could be influencing buyers looking at your property.
Outside the home:
- How safe is the property?
Home buyers might have the latest gadgets and home security technology planned for their new home, but how safe your neighbourhood is can have a big impact on the sale of your property. Potential buyers can be put off completely if the neighbourhood appears unsafe, has run-down properties on the street, or even abandoned cars. Families will be especially looking for safe places to live with their children.
- Neglected properties are a big turn-off
When buyers come to view your home, they will particularly be looking at the outside space before they enter the property. If your property is poorly maintained, buyers may think twice about purchasing. Making sure that your lawn is freshly cut, your windows are clean, and your rubbish bins are tidy, are just a few small things which can make the exterior of your home look more inviting and well-maintained.
However, the same also goes for your neighbours too. If your neighbours do not look after their home exteriors well, this can make the street appear unkempt and unattractive to buyers. Buyers might be thinking ahead and may not want to live next to someone who does not maintain their home exterior.
- Too much noise and disturbance isn’t a good sign
There are many other surrounding factors which impact buyer’s decisions and another one is too much noise and disturbances in the area. This could be from neighbours playing music too loud, ongoing noise from a nearby construction site, or train tracks and main roads too close to the property. Many homeowners will be seeking peace and quiet and noise such as this can impact whether they decide to buy your property or not.
If it is particularly noisy when people come to view your home, this could be a big turn off for them and impact their decision making process. If it’s noisy when they view your home, they’re likely imagining putting up with the noise if they lived there 24/7. While some external noise cannot be helped, it can still play an important factor when buyers are viewing your home.
Inside the home:
- Poor installations and DIY throughout the home
Potential buyers pay a lot of attention to how rooms are finished in a home they are looking to buy. They may look at paint work, home DIY work, and how well tiles have been installed in kitchens and bathrooms. If the work requires a lot of fixing, buyers might be put off as they don’t want to spend their time and money to correct these things. It can be quite time consuming and costly to fix bad paint jobs, poor wallpapering, or remove tiles which haven’t been installed in the correct way.
Even before you ever think about selling, choosing the right tile materials for your kitchen and bathroom can actually increase your home’s appeal to potential buyers in the future. For example, natural stone tiles are often seen as high-quality and luxurious by potential buyers, making them a great tiling choice for enhancing the value and appeal of your property.
- Obvious signs of damp doesn’t appeal to house hunters
Perhaps classed as one of the biggest turn-offs when viewing a property, buyers will not be happy seeing signs of dampness in a property. It’s just one of many property maintenance tasks that buyers will want to avoid – especially if there is a lot of damp and condensation in the home. Damp can occur in many homes, but buyers noticing significant problems with damp will likely look elsewhere to buy.
Earlier this year, many house hunters were in disbelief over a damp, poorly maintained new build house which was listed for over half a million pounds in Bristol. Many were in shock over the decrepit state of the brand new property and damp wasn’t its only problem. The public were keen to spot that the new build also had loose bricks and a cracked door too.
Examples such as this highlights the importance of managing damp in your property, especially if you’re looking to put it on the market for a high price tag. Buyers just won’t buy if the asking price is unreasonable for a damaged or poorly-maintained property. Before buyers come to view your property, it’s best to assess the tasks which need doing around the home to make it look presentable and well-mainted. If your property does have damp stains and patches, it’s important to treat them properly and redecorate, especially if you are eager to sell.
- Bad smells when people are viewing your home
When buyers come to view your home, everything should be in good condition so you make a good first impression. Just like when visitors immediately spot clutter, they will also spot any immediately notice any bad smells too. It might be the smell from pets, smoking, or spills, but this is just one factor which can put off buyers and make it more difficult to sell the property.
When you’re anticipating buyers coming to view your home, it’s worth cleaning up and eliminating any off-putting smells. Open the windows to let in some fresh air and use some air fresheners to make your home smell more pleasant and be more inviting to potential buyers coming to visit.
