Handle the small repairs in your home before you place it on the market. Show buyers that you have paid attention to the smaller details, which may make them believe that you have taken great care of the home in general.
House Selling Tips – Tampa Bay House Buyers: Repairs are common on most homes, though we tend not to notice what needs to be done while we are living there day after day. If you don’t really see things like a leaky faucet or a loose railing on the back porch, have a good friend or family member come over and walk around with you. Ask them to play the role of potential buyer and tell you what they notice. Make a list of the things a buyer might surely see as a potential deal breaker. You’d be very surprised to learn of the seemingly small and inconsequential things that real estate deals are lost over.
The buyer wants to come and see a house that has been very well loved and cared for. When they see a loose railing or the faucet that leaks when you turn on the water to wash your hands, they may make an assumption, whether valid or not, that you haven’t taken very good care of your home. The opposite may be true, as you most likely always take immediate care of larger problems, like the leaks in the roof or the air conditioning unit that needs replacing. The smaller things just don’t seem important to you and you may have been too busy to fix them.
Home Buyers Think Like Car Buyers.
That may be absolutely true, but the fact is you must convince the buyer that you have cared for the house. You would be hesitant to buy an expensive new car from a sales lot that is unkempt, though the cars are top notch and in perfect condition. Think of the implications as you make judgment on the car dealership according to their attention to detail. Home buyers are usually thinking along the same lines. Buying a house is a huge purchase and obligates the buyer to a mortgage for as long as 30 years, so give them the impression that they are buying quality from a quality seller.
There’s no need to go overboard with your repairs, though. Take a look around and fix the obvious problems. Cosmetic repairs and cleanup are usually inexpensive to fix and take a little time and effort to correct. The buyers will be impressed with your general attentive care and another assumption will usually be made. They will assume that when all the little things are in good shape, you have taken great care of the entire house.