It is imperative, says Daphney Klopper, the Rawson Property Group’s franchisee for Table View, that home sellers understand the importance of preparing their homes thoroughly for visits by potential buyers.
“Many sellers who are adamant about getting the best possible value for their home,” she says, “can often forget how important presenting it in its best light is.”
Anyone who has agreed to allow potential buyers to view their home, says Klopper, should delay actually opening their doors to visitors until they have:
1.) cleared away all clutter and extraneous items such as children’s toys, work papers, loose lying books, tools, kitchenware or cutlery.
2.) checked that all lights are working and experiment with different lighting options to find the best way to show off their home (if the buyers’ visit is at night).
3.) eliminated any unfortunate smells and odours, for example, those frequently left by pets.
4.) watered and ‘refreshed’ any pot plants or window boxes.
5.) cleaned up all wall, carpet and countertop stains and painting the whole room to achieve an “as-new” effect, if necessary.
“If a carpet needs replacing, it is best to bite the bullet and get it done prior to any viewings taking place because a tatty carpet is very off-putting to buyers,” said Klopper.
6.) tidied the garden and given it colour by planting new flowers. The expense here will be amply rewarded. If the garden has an automatic irrigation system, it is essential that it should be in working order prior to buyers’ visits.
7.) cleaned out the garage and storerooms so that they look neat and well run.
8.) ensured that the swimming pool, if there is one, is sparkling and in perfect condition. A green pool is a huge deterrent to buyers. It is also important that any fishponds or water features should not have a murky look.
9.) checked that the garden wall, gates and/or fences, as well as, any curb side vegetation are in pristine condition. These are the first things that a potential buyer will see and they will give a strong signal as to what he or she can expect thereafter.
“One quite often hears sellers say that the prospective buyer will see the potential of a unit no matter how tidy or untidy it is and they will bid accordingly, often planning an upgrade later. However, my experience is that buyers respond very positively to the feeling that a home has been much loved, well cared for and has made its occupants happy - and respond negatively to any indication that the home has been neglected and allowed to go to rack and ruin. In such homes, it should be added, there is always suspicion that there will be other defects in addition to those already visible,” says Klopper.
“I have seen very ordinary homes sell fast and at good prices because they were neat and very well presented and I have also seen well designed and good homes stick because the sellers adopted a ‘take it or leave it’ attitude which can almost be an insult to the prospective buyer.”
