10 Things to Avoid Doing When Selling Your Naperville Home

10 Things to Avoid Doing When Selling Your Naperville Home

Successfully Sell Your Home, Avoid These 10 Pitfalls

If you are selling your Naperville home, you’ve picked the right time. With the demand for housing at an all-time high, a shortage of inventory, and low mortgage rates, buyers are eager to buy a home in the suburbs.  To increase the chances of selling your home quickly and for a top price, here’s how to make it stand out from all the rest and avoid these pitfalls:

1. Overpricing.  Are you selling your home at an unreasonable rate?  It can put you at a huge disadvantage to buyers who really can afford the price you are thinking, but are looking for a deal for their money.  If your home is priced too high, it won’t take long for buyers looking to move to the area to find other Naperville homes similar to yours that are much cheaper.  To get a feel for what range to shoot for, do some research and attend other showings for homes like yours.

2. Having a dirty home.  Dusty shelves and sticky floors make for an awkward and less-than-stellar showing of your home.  In fact, it’s the quickest way to repel prospective buyers who are interested in moving fast.  They’d rather move on to the next house than worry about the hassle of cleaning up after you before moving in.  Make the home sparkle and you’re sure to garner interest.

3. Unimpressive outdoors.  An unkempt yard, hedges, shrubs, and driveway or curb can drastically lower your home’s value in an instant.  Lack of attention to detail makes the property look tired, run-down, and also uninviting.  Rather than make your home look like the set of a horror movie, show the exterior some TLC and spruce it up.  Power-wash and paint the exterior, throw out any trash and broken or rusted patio furniture, prune plants and mow the lawn, and make the walkway surrounding the property accessible for visitors to use.

4. Leaving offensive smells.  Who wants to go into a home that smells of anything less than pleasant?  It’s the quickest way to have people turning on their heels.  Be it dampness from the basement, musty air from the HVAC vents, the trash can, or your pets, any hint of an offensive smell is enough to leave people with a bad impression. To combat this, avoid cooking any strong foods prior to showings, deodorize the home, as part of your cleaning regimen, and eliminate as many sources of bad smell as possible – even if it means arranging to have your family, along with any pets and their supplies relocate temporarily from your Naperville home during before and during showings so the rooms are aired out.

5. Cluttering up your living space.  If you want people to safely and easily navigate through your home, it’s wise not to leave everything you own out in the open.  Certainly, if you are currently living in the house, you will have furnishings and other necessities present, but homeowners should make every attempt to keep what is in the view from looking cluttered.  While you’re at it, remove clutter even from what you don’t intend for others to see, and it will make your life a whole lot easier for cleaning, organizing, and any last-minute storage purposes.

6. Skipping a home inspection.  You might not think it’s necessary, but hiring a professional can save you some money and point you in the right direction before you waste other people’s time on touring a home riddled with problems or concerns that could easily be fixed so you have a more likely chance of selling your home.  Promptly have suggested repairs completed, and you will have serious buyers ready to make you an offer.

7. Living in the dark.  Bad lighting makes anything look unflattering – even your Naperville home.  If you expect people to be able to get a good look at your home, lots of light and airiness are the key.  Banish heavy draperies and blinds (or keep them open), clean and/or replace light fixtures with more modern ones, shine the windows, and ensure all lights are working properly so that there is enough light to accommodate a showing at any time of day or night.

8. Old floors.  Bad carpeting is the biggest culprit, but damaged hardwood or vinyl flooring is also tacky.  Dirt but also wear and tear can have a negative effect on a room – and will look worse without most of or any furniture present.  By cleaning, replacing, or repairing the floor’s surface in any room, you will continue to hold people’s interest as they explore the home to see if it will fit their needs.

9. Keeping popcorn ceilings.  Not only are they outdated and hard to keep clean, but they can pose health hazards by containing asbestos!  The best plan of action is to have popcorn ceilings inspected and tested for asbestos, and then have them removed or covered up, following strict guidelines for doing so.

10. Having brass fixtures.  Another sign of an outdated home is the use of brass for things like doorknobs, hinges, handles, and light fixtures.  While not a health hazard, they are what many buyers today consider to be less than stylish.  Instead, brushed nickel is the preferred choice these days, and you can easily take care of swapping out any brass for brushed nickel yourself to improve your home’s desirability to the most prevalent group of buyers on the market right now – the millennials.

Ready to sell your home? Call Teresa Ryan at 630-276-7575 today for a no-obligation consultation about selling your Naperville or Chicago suburban home.

Get your home value instantly! Visit: https://bit.ly/HomeValueByTeresa

Post a Comment