3 things you should never have in your house when selling: McGrath Real Estate tips
By Amanda Scali

6/06/2016 10:08am

3 things you should never have in your house when selling: McGrath Real Estate tips

Effectively presenting your home for sale requires adopting the viewpoint of a prospective buyer, who may be from another generation, of a different cultural heritage, or have family values that are unlike yours.

Without you or them realising, elements of your lifestyle may make others feel uncomfortable.

In the course of our extensive experience, we have found three things that can limit a property’s appeal.

3 things you should never have in your house when selling: The smell of pets

The number one deterrent for prospective buyers is the smell of dogs or other pets in a home.

If you are accustomed to your furry or feathered friends living inside as part of your family, it is likely that the scents associated with them will no longer be obvious to you.

Most dogs and cats:

  • shed hair and dander
  • carry in odours from the outdoors
  • leave their saliva on carpets, toys, bedding and upholstery, resulting in unpleasant smells

To minimise possible offence to those not used to indoor pets, before inspections remove pets’ playthings and litter trays, and ensure that their bedding and any of your furnishings they favour is clean and aired.

If it is not possible to have your pets out of the house, ensure they are clean and keep them restrained or confined.

If it has been a while since your carpets were cleaned, consider hiring a professional to make them look and smell good.

3 things you should never have in your house when selling: Politics

A second big turnoff for potential buyers is partisan political material being on display.

To avoid any conflict over politics, remove posters or photographs of national or international political figures who could be controversial.

This is particularly important during election campaigns, when such material is most readily available.

3 things you should never have in your house when selling: Clutter

The third off-putting factor for buyers is clutter.

This can mean clutter on shelves, vanities and other surfaces, or clutter taking up floor space.

Most of us accumulate more knick-knacks than we need, but we don’t get around to culling them; after a time, we stop even seeing theme.

If your home is crowded with photos in mismatched frames, souvenirs and ornaments of forgotten origin, you can be sure it will attract the attention of buyers, but not in the way you would hope for.

Your aim should be to not to confuse buyers with anything that may conflict with their tastes, values and worldview and, therefore, distract them from the best features of your property.

You can rely on your McGrath Real Estate agent to highlight those selling points by helping you to minimise olfactory or visual distractions.