However, according to John Owsnett, principal of Chambers Fleming Professionals Padstow, while attention to detail may make your house sell faster and add dollars to its price, spending a lot of money getting your home ready to sell may be a waste.
Buyers don’t always want to pay for improvements that are not to their taste and potential sales may be lost.
“On the other hand, there are still a lot of simple things you can do to make your house welcoming and attractive,” John said.
“Bear in mind that appeal is not just visual, other senses like hearing and smell all contribute to a purchaser’s evaluation of a property.
“Unpleasant or alien odours probably have a more negative effect than any other single attribute. Conversely, inviting smells like freshly brewing coffee or hot baked cakes have a positive impact.
“Loud or extraneous noises are a distraction at best and could even turn a buyer against the property.”
John says that most purchasers have a checklist of criteria they use to evaluate properties on a rational and critical level but they often end up making a decision based on emotion and not according to how the features match up to those on their list.
“Most agents will tell you that they have seen purchasers fall in love with properties that don’t meet all of their stated needs,” John said.
