Selling a home: how to attract potential buyers?

Sometimes it only takes a few seconds for potential customers to fall in love with your property, and first impressions determine the overall mood of the inspection. If the deal is broken, buyers can be immediately dissuaded, causing your home to stay on the market longer than necessary. We've talked to real estate agencies who have shared their unusual and often unpleasant methods of making a house or apartment more presentable.

1. Keep your privacy.

Buyers want to imagine themselves living in the apartment, but sometimes leaving questionable materials lying around is enough to turn them off. The buyers' agency had to ask a seller to remove a pole dance bar from the bedroom so buyers wouldn't be distracted from the room's space.

2. Exterminate pests.

Buyers are easily put off by the obvious signs of insect and animal invasion and the damage they can cause. Therefore, it is best to hire professionals to spray for spiders, ants, wasps and rid the house of any rodents before putting it up for sale.

3. Clean up your deeds.

You shouldn't leave it up to your real estate agent to make a house presentable. While they can give advice, it is the seller's responsibility to prepare the home for an open house.

4. Kill the clutter.

Sellers do themselves no favors by leaving clutter and trash in the house before an open house. These are obvious signs of neglect and can also give the impression of inadequate storage. Good presentation is also imperative when preparing marketing materials.

5. Don't overlay smells.

The smell of a home can reach the buyer even before the visual presentation, and can have a major determining influence. Remove smells and air from the home, but don't be tempted to overwhelm the home with clichés of coffee and bakery aromas, or offend the senses with too many scented candles from the $2 store.

6. Be neutral.

Painting is the most effective and least expensive DIY job you can do to make your property appealing to the most buyers. Many people can't see past colors, walls or homemade artwork. According to the professional, neutral wall colors can help a property sell faster.

7. Make yourself scarce.

Your presence at open houses is not recommended because it discourages buyers who feel they cannot see the property objectively. In addition, tenants should be asked to leave the unit temporarily for the open house. One client recalls a particularly strange viewing. "The tenants were a couple, and during the open house, they were in bed together! It was incredibly awkward, and I couldn't see that particular room, and I felt like I was invading someone's personal space."

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