What are the biggest turn offs for your potential buyers?
When research like this comes out, to be honest we never look too closely at it. The ‘top 10 things buyers want’ lists do not apply to everyone; what works for one buyer does not necessarily work for another. However, recent research from both GoCompare Home Insurance and ScS carpets seem to have come up with some very similar answers about what doesn’t work for buyers. So here is our distilled combination of their top tips for what can deter potential buyers from your property:
- Bad smells
One of the first things you notice when you enter a property is how it smells. Damp smells, pet odours, and general stinky aromas from food, cigarettes are the fastest way to put off buyers so keep it fresh and fragrant.
- Dirty inside and out
GoCompare’s survey showed a massive 46% of buyers would be put off from committing to a purchase if the home was dirty. Closely related to the bad smells, spending a bit of time making sure your home is clean can help encourage buyers to take a longer look at your property. Clutter inside and an overgrown garden outside also rated highly as deterrents in this survey, with clutter rating top in SCS’s poll as over 41% of those who took part thought it signalled a lack of storage.
- Poor state of repair
59% in the GoCompare survey said that a property in a very poor state of repair (rotting window frames, peeling paint etc.) was their biggest deterrent. Bad or botched DIY jobs would also be a significant factor, with 38% of those surveyed citing this as a major turn-off. Old, dirty and damaged fixtures like carpets and kitchens also rate highly in these ‘what puts buyers off’ polls.
- Staying in the dark
Dark rooms seem to be a red flag for a huge 43% of potential buyers according to GoCompare, so open all the blinds and curtains to let in as much natural light as possible when you are showing people around.
As we said though, the perfect property does not exist, and people will always find things little flaws in even the most amazing homes, so what do you do? We suggest treating the things that are in your control – bad smells, dodgy DIY can all be sorted easily. So don’t worry so much about the best bedspread to put on in the spare room, or redoing your kitchen – instead focus on clean, tidy and decluttered rooms. Life is stressful enough as it is without wasting time trying to guess what potential buyers ‘want’!
