Wanaka Real Estate Sales Blog

Most people do not take into consideration how their house will smell to a perspective buyer. The majority of people will either ignore this issue entirely or simply spray an artificial fragrance around the house and hope potential buyers find it pleasant.

The reality is, air fresheners and similar products are a rather tacky way of making your house smell nice and most clients will see it for what it is. Furthermore, if the doors and windows are closed the aroma from these air fresheners can remain quite strong for a long time and can actually be quite of-putting to clients when they first enter the house. You do not want the first thing a potential buyer notices to be the strong smell of air freshener.

The two best ways to give your house a nice, natural smelling aroma are to either place a small drop of vanilla into a warm oven or to bake a loaf of fresh bread earlier in the day and leave it in the bread maker on the “keep warm” setting.

Houses also tend to develop their own distinctive smell over time from their occupants. Often, aerating the house by opening all doors and windows for a couple of days prior to making it available for inspection can reduce these smells. This is best done when someone can be home all day such as the weekend.

Paying for professional carpet cleaning can also help reduce house smell because carpets tend to pick up smells from sources such as pets and cooking quite easily. This is often unnecessary however and following the above steps is generally enough to give your house a pleasant aroma.

Article by Wanaka Real Estate Sales Blog

When preparing your house for inspection by potential buyers, one of the most important aspects to consider is lighting.

As a rule of thumb you should turn on all lights in your house, even during the day. The purpose of this is to give your home a warm and comforting ambiance. Potential clients will be far more likely to linger in a room like this than one with harsh shadows and gloomy areas. In addition to this, brighter rooms are often perceived to be larger in size than darker rooms.

If your light switches have dimmers on them, dimming the lights slightly can be a good idea. It can both add to the atmosphere of a room and showcase a feature the potential buyer may not have noticed otherwise.

If you expect your house to be visited at night-time, lighting is even more important. There is nothing worse than a real estate agent having to fumble for light switches in each room as they take perspective clients through your house as it can be distracting for both the client and the agent. Often a real estate agent will arrive at your house earlier than the client and turn on the lights themselves however you should not take this for granted.

If you have any light sources outside the house, these should be turned on when you are expected potential buyers in the evening or at night.

Article by Wanaka Real Estate Sales Blog