What Are Buyers Looking For?
Hey, this is a good article if you are selling or thinking of selling your house. It helps you step outside or your eyes as a buyer and look at your house through the eyes of a buyer.
What do buyers look for in terms of the house itself? Many agree that location is a decisive factor, but here are someother factors that have an impact. Start with the outside of the house and ask yourself the following questions – because these are the questions that your potential buyer will be asking!:
- Do these garbage cans, discarded wood scraps and building materials strewn about carelessly an indication of the seller’s negligence?
- Are the gutters and roof in place? When was the last time the seller changed the roof?
- Apart from the human occupants of the house, are there termites and other insects that live here also?
- These overgrown bushes and trees are distracting. What is it that the sellers don’t want us to see?
- Is the lawn is looking unhealthy? Is the rest of the house like that?
- Have the patios and decks been converted into storage areas? Why can’t we see what they actually look like?
- The paint is peeling off; is that why the house looks so drab and uninviting?
- Why are there no lights outside the house? Is this the owner’s way of saving on utility bills? Is this a safe neighbourhood?
The above questions are just a few of the many questions buyers are likely to ask with respect to the outside of the house. A house’s exterior constitutes the buyer’s first impression. And we all know what they say about first impressions – they are powerful and outweigh other considerations!
Now let’s look at the inside the house: what are buyers looking at?
Barb Schwarz advises sellers to be guided by the 3 C’s in real estate:1
- cleanliness
- clutter
- color
These three are self-explanatory, yet many sellers overlook the fact that buyers have fixed ideas about what makes a house clean, bright and uncluttered. Don’t take clutter for granted. Clutter is a big turnoff. Too many objects lying around the house collect dust, and when you have an open house and the sun is streaking in through those large windows, the dust becomes very conspicuous.
Schwarz explains: “Clutter makes it difficult for a purchaser to mentally move into a home”. This means that purchasers have a hard time imagining where their sofas and entertainment centers will be placed because the clutter is hampering visualization.
This is what Schwarz tells her clients: “the way you live in a home and the way you sell a home are two different things”. This is just her way of saying that some clutter does give a home a lived-in feeling, but too much is too much and makes buyers very, very nervous.
Respect Your Buyers’ Intelligence!
Never underestimate the intelligence of buyers even if they strike you as inexperienced, first time buyers. Since governments have stepped into the domain of real estate, they are now warning home buyers about potential environmental dangers lurking inside houses. So what aspects of home buying are governed by regulations? Most professional house inspectors are not qualified to do special tests for toxic substances, although more and more individuals are specializing in these types of home testing.
Radon – the US government reported in 1989 that radon was the cause of 22,000 deaths per year and that it is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the US after cigarette smoking. Radon is an odourless, natural gas that comes from the earth and seeps through cracks in the house or its foundation.
Asbestos – If your home was built after 1980, there is no need to worry about asbestos. This is a microscopic fiber that escapes to the air and is ingested by humans through their noses and mouths. Buyers who have lingering fears about asbestos may demand a written report stating that the house is asbestos-free.
Lead – Paints and water can contain high levels of lead that are harmful, particularly to children. Their physical and mental development is affected when they are exposed to this substance. Lead paint and lead in water are usually found in older homes (pre 70’s). Pipes in older homes for example that were soldered together with lead can transmit lead particles into the water system.
1Barb Schwarz. How to List Residential Estate Successfully. Prentice Hall, New Jersey. 1991.
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