The first rule of selling your home is to aesthetically, and neutrally, orient it to entice potential buyers.
When you invite serious buyers to tour your property, don’t show them your home.
You must show them their future home.
So, be careful of the home upgrades you enact.
Buyers want to buy a property that looks ready to move-in. They want to see themselves in your home before you buy it.
Otherwise, you could lose out big time on big money.
Home sales in the United States dropped by almost 18% in April.
That’s the largest drop in a decade.
This doesn’t mean that you won’t sell your home. With forced mass layoffs and a pandemic, it just means it won’t be easy.
You must do more than getting a new paint job and enact repairs before selling.
Beware these home upgrades. They won’t add the resale value.
In fact, you may end up cutting your price and losing money on your original investment.
Home Pool Installation
Did you have a pool custom-installed into your backyard?
Unless you live in an area where backyard pools are common, you’ve dwindled your potential buyer pool (no pun intended) considerably.
Why is this an issue? Well, you’re assuming potential buyers want to pay for maintaining a pool.
It costs a lot of money to have a pool removed. It’s cheaper for a disinterested buyer to keep looking.
Pools are also notorious for being mischief magnets.
Unless you plan to sell exclusively to buyers looking for a backyard pool, erase this item from your list of home upgrades.
Rooms Converted for Other Purposes
It’s your home. Maybe over the years you’ve knocked down a wall here or converted various rooms for other purposes.
The issue here is that potential buyers will have to pay or work on their own personal time to convert such spaces back into their original form.
Maybe you’ve converted your garage into an office, or extra living space, and so on. This creates a situation where there is no room to park a car.
Or, maybe you’ve converted a basement or attic into a man cave or exercise room.
These situations make potential buyers see your life instead of imagining their life potential after buying your property.
Overdone Holiday Displays
Are you one of these people who decorate every inch of their house exterior with holiday displays year-round?
It’s commendable you don’t care what your neighbors or the local HOA think of you.
You should consider some forethought about what buyers might think.
Buyers are thinking about future resale value.
They want to mentally project themselves, and by extension their spouse and/or family, in your house.
Full exterior decorations, figurines, intricate and elaborate lawn displays that completely cover the lawn, and so on, may alienate buyers.
Buyers will feel like visitors or voyeurs instead of a potential buyer.
Tone extravagant displays down, or pack them up entirely, and keep existing ones simple, like a door wreath.
Customized Window Draperies and Treatments
I’m an average person. I had no idea draperies, curtains, and blinds were such a big market.
You can spend hundreds or thousands decorating your window with draperies.
However, they limit the aesthetic volume and the illusion of expansiveness in a house.
Long story short, you want to make your home look as visually expansive as possible, not confining.
Buyers want a property to look large and non-confining.
Don’t let the need to show off your exquisite taste in designer draperies cost you a sale.
Don’t forget to dust draperies and curtains every morning before viewings.
Wall-to-Wall Carpeting in Every Room
One of the points of pride in owning a home is owning hardwood floors, showing them off, and having them waxed.
One of the first things people take note of when entering a home is the floor.
If your house has wall-to-wall carpeting, then you’ve perhaps covered up the biggest selling point of your home.
For another thing, you’re assuming the buyer likes carpeting.
Carpets can emit odors you may not notice but could be obscenely noticeable to guests.
Carpets can become home to insects and bugs.
They cause severe dust accumulation issues.
Carpeting can also encourage the growth of mildew, fungus, and mold.
Most of all, wall-to-wall carpeting obligates the new homeowner to pay for regular maintenance and cleaning costs.
If you have wall-to-wall carpeting, be upfront with potential buyers about it as you negotiate.
Let them know you’re willing to have the carpeting removed, if desired, to seal the deal.
Consult a Real Estate Agent
A good real estate agent will prep you on what must be done to get your home viewer-ready for potential buyers.
Good advice from a real estate professional will keep you from losing resale value when selling your home.
Pack away everything that makes your home look like your home. Make the furnishings look as aesthetically-neutral as possible.
Think about which home upgrades you’ve enacted which might work against you selling.
Remember: don’t show off your home during tour viewings.
Show off the buyer’s potential home.
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Allen Francis was an academic advisor, librarian, and college adjunct for many years with no money, no financial literacy, and no responsibility when he had money. To him, the phrase “personal finance,” contains the power that anyone has to grow their own wealth. Allen is an advocate of best personal financial practices including focusing on your needs instead of your wants, asking for help when you need it, saving and investing in your own small business.