The Five Senses of a Well-listed Home

Getting your home ready for listing can seem like a daunting task.  However, the job can be made easier if you just keep in mind the five senses.

Sight

Lighting is one of the most important aspects of preparing your home either for pictures or to be viewed by potential buyers.  Make sure to replace burnt out light bulbs. Dim lighting in familiar spaces, such as our own homes, can set an intimate or romantic mood.  Dim lighting in unfamiliar spaces often makes people feel ill at ease, and can give your rooms a dreary appearance.  Proper lighting is also essential to insure that online photos of your home look their best.  Compact fluorescent light bulbs may be great for the environment, but they can cast a harsh light, especially when used in ceiling fan light fixtures with open globes.  Traditional soft-white incandescent bulbs will cast your home in a warmer light.

Cast your home in its best light.

Smell

Our sense of smell, or olfactory sense, is the strongest memory inducer of all of the five senses.  Your home should smell clean and fresh, but not overpowered by candles or air fresheners.  I recently spoke with an agent who had one of her listings shown.  The feedback from the buyer’s agent stated that they had counted 27 Yankee candles burning in the house during the showing.  That’s olfactory overload!  A better strategy is to make sure your home has been thoroughly cleaned using products that have a pleasant yet mild aroma.  Avoid general cleaners that contain bleach or pine odors.  There’s a ton of cleaning products on the market now that use the smell of a laundry detergent such as Gain.  Opt for these instead – the smell of fresh laundry is appealing to many people.

Sound

One of the greatest draws for a property is a quiet neighborhood.  Inside your home, make sure the TV and stereo are turned off during showings.  If you have a dog who insists on alerting you if a stranger comes within 100 yards of your home (like I do), consider taking him for a ride while potential buyers are viewing your home.  A barking dog can not only be a negative for a showing, it can actually cause distress for some people who may have a fear of dogs.  Noise intrusion from outside your home is harder to control, but do what you can.  If you know that your neighbor tinkers on his hot rod and revs the engine every Saturday morning between breakfast and lunch (true story from one of my former homes), then have your agent avoid scheduling showings during those times.

My alarm system.  Bless his heart.

Feel

We’ll take this one in two ways.  First, surfaces in your home that a potential buyer might actually touch should be clean, such has kitchen counter tops and bathroom vanities. Also, hard surface flooring like hardwood, tile, and laminate should be clean and not sticky. The home should also be dust-free.  I’m not saying potential buyers will bring the proverbial white glove, but you never know.  In a broader sense, your home should make people feel “at home”.  Following the advice in this article will go along way toward accomplishing that goal.

Taste

No, potential buyers will not lick your walls unless you have wallpaper like Willy Wonka.

So, we’ll take this meaning as “tasteful”, rather than “taste”.  It’s important for your home to present with a neutral color palette.  Bold color choices may be appealing to you, but a neutral color scheme better enables the buyer to see themselves living in the space.  Be cautious of white walls, however.  They can give your home an institutional feel.  Warm-tone taupe or beige is a better choice.  Use a couple of different shades to give variety to the rooms in your house.

I hope these “sensible” ideas will be helpful to you when preparing your home for the real estate market.  The market can be unpredictable, however there are always some advantages that are completely within our control.

-Keith Smith, Realtor®