|
House Talk |
|
The Scent of Your Home is Important to Buyers
How a home smells when a potential buyer comes to see it for the first time, can make or break the sale. Imagine for yourself the difference between the scent of fresh cut flowers and the smell of a cat’s litter box.
My experience with showing various homes over the years suggests that foul smelling odors do turn off a buyer from purchasing an otherwise perfect home. Even homes that are very attractive, with great curb appeal, can be overlooked by buyers if they fail the sniff test! |
|
It is important when preparing for a showing of your home to do everything you can to eliminate unpleasant odors. Common odors to look out for are cigarette or cigar smoke, strong smelling foods, mothballs, pet odors, and the smell of trash left in receptacles.
Take whatever action is necessary to remove all of the above mentioned odors, and replace them with pleasant scents. Some fresh cut flowers placed strategically throughout the house, or mild potpourri could be used. One more tip, consider baking cookies or something with a cinnamon fragrance before an open house or showing. Everyone loves the scent of Mom’s home cooking!
How Useful are Open Houses? |
|
Across the country, every Sunday afternoon, open houses are being held. The question is why? Statistics show that less than 3% of buyers who bought property in the last three years bought the property because they saw it at an open house.
Then why are so many open houses still being held? One reason is that sellers still |
|
think that agents should hold an open house. Most sellers see open houses as a way to find a buyer for their home. The truth is, open houses do find buyers, but most of the time not for the homeowner that is holding the open house. Buyers meet an agent, and over time, the better agents match the buyers particular needs to exactly the right home.
When a buyer comes through an open house, he may have simply dropped in to take a look without knowing anything about the homes price range or features. Most of the time the house does not fulfill the particular needs of the buyer.
It would be like going to a car dealer and deciding to buy the first car you see, without knowing it’s price, features, or financing options. What’s the chance that you would qualify or that the car would suit your needs? About the same chance that your home would perfectly suit a drop in buyer.
So what’s the other reason open houses are still being held? Open houses are great ways for newer agents to get their feet wet. By holding an open house they meet buyers who might be interested in another property on the market. So don’t be surprised if a more experienced agent refuses to hold an open house on your property. Seasoned agents know what types of advertising and marketing work best, and won’t use your home as an avenue for finding buyers for other agent’s listings. |