5 Things That Make Buyers Walk Right Out

By John Salkowski

The JRS Realty Group, founded by high-producing Real Estate Broker & Author John Salkowski was built on the notion that the secret to achieving incredible goals and getting true results is to dominate real estate with a team approach.

I get a lot of great questions through my Ask John videos, and this one came from a potential seller: What are the big turnoffs for buyers when they walk into a home?

I came up with five things.

Every one of them can end a sale before it starts, and luckily, all five are fixable if you address them ahead of time.

1. Bad odors. A buyer will forget what they see, but they will not forget what they smell. Pet odors, cigarette smoke, lingering cooking smells, all of it has to be addressed. It can kill a deal before it even starts.

2. Clutter everywhere. Your home feels much smaller when there’s too much furniture and too much stuff inside. This is why preparation matters more than almost anything. I shot a video recently on lead time. You should start working on prep three to six months before your home goes live on the market.

3. Deferred maintenance. This is a big one, because buyers always wonder what’s hiding behind the small stuff. Drippy faucets, cracked caulk, peeling paint, in my experience, buyers see those and immediately ask what bigger problems haven’t been taken care of. Little things make them question the whole house.

4. Dark rooms. Buyers love bright, light, open, and airy. Here’s a real example. A home in my market sat for four months at $730,000 before coming off the market. The seller had rooms in every color, one green, one pink, one yellow, one blue, with matching colored carpets. It took us two months to prepare. We neutralized everything, walls and carpet, into clean neutral tones. We relisted for $20,000 more, and it sold in one week for $750,000. That’s what light and neutral can do.

5. Overpersonalization. When you go to the open market, you have to depersonalize. What you like isn’t necessarily what everyone else likes. Tons of family photos on the walls, heavy moldings, all of that needs to be addressed. No one else lives in that home but you, and buyers need to picture themselves there.

And remember the lead time. You want to start preparing your home three to six months out if you want to sell it fast and for top dollar.

One last thing worth remembering: the most important decision you’ll make when buying or selling real estate isn’t about location. It’s about the agent you hire. If you’re thinking about selling and want a plan to get your home market-ready, let’s talk.

Call or text me at 610-709-5147, email me at john@jrsrealtygroup.com, or visit thejrsrealtygroup.com. I’m here to help.