Deleted
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Oct 6, 2024 10:35:33 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2014 22:58:49 GMT
We are putting our house on the market within the next 2 weeks and I want your opinions are some things that are just huge turn offs or deal breakers for you. We are obviously de-cluttering and we have new carpet in the bedrooms and brand new true hardwood in the living room, dining room and hall. CHA is less than two years old and roof (metal) less that 5.
Throw me your suggestions of what has worked for you to sell, or what kept you from buying. Thanks
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Post by KikiPea on Jul 27, 2014 23:04:46 GMT
If it smells like smoke or litter boxes.
If the house is an absolute mess or is visibly dirty.
Visible cracks in the walls.
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Post by melanell on Jul 27, 2014 23:07:35 GMT
Don't laugh, but the very first thing I look at is the driveway.
We live in a mountainous area. And up to now, all of my life I have dealt with long driveways that go either uphill or downhill. Both are demons to deal with winter after N.E. PA winter.
I am so sick of it. I want a level, or at least level at the road driveway next time!
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Post by papersilly on Jul 27, 2014 23:07:48 GMT
We got multiple offers on our house within days of listing. To get ready, we decluttered and had a very staged look to the house. All personal items were put away. We painted and changed light fixtures and all door knobs to more contemporary kinds. Outside, we greened upbthe lawns and made sure there were lots of blooming flowers.
When we were lookng for a house, I looked for signs of mld and for strange smells.
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Post by stingfan on Jul 27, 2014 23:08:47 GMT
We just bought and are selling our house. Turnoffs for us were:
Mess/Major Damage Animals - I don't want a dog following me around or meeting me at the door Bugs - We went to one place where there were lots of bugs in the yard, at the entryway, etc. Luckily we didn't see any inside any houses! Smell - One basement had a really musty smell. That alone turned us off the house.
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Rhondito
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Post by Rhondito on Jul 27, 2014 23:10:24 GMT
Cats and cigarette smoke. I would also make sure there is plenty of storage in the kitchen and closets.
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eleezybeth
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Post by eleezybeth on Jul 27, 2014 23:11:06 GMT
For me it is smells and a forgotten yard. They both can be remedied (usually?) but those are my first impression deal breakers.
Next, it's dark rooms or no natural light. Open curtains and pull up the blinds.
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Deleted
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Oct 6, 2024 10:35:33 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2014 23:13:56 GMT
Well it sounds like I may be on the right track. We have dogs but we are boarding them at the inlaws while this is going on. I cant stand smells either so I don't think you will find any smells in my house. De-cluttered..check! Yard...check! (My husband is OCD about the yard!) This may go quicker than I thought! Here's to hoping!
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Post by hop2 on Jul 27, 2014 23:14:08 GMT
I personally can see past crappy paint and piles of laundry, half a car in the garage etc. You'll take it with you, it doesn't matter. Hoarding is another story. LOL. When I look at a house I look for the potential. What can it be for me. But really the biggest deal breakers for me are price vs location. Simply how much will it cost me to make it what I want IF it's where I want it. (if it's not where I want it then it really doesn't matter at all lol ) So paint and minor remodeling, 'updating' is not an issue for me. Major structural repairs or deficiencies are a deal breaker (and yes I can tell It's what I do ) as demo is an expensive waste of money. It would really have to be a super prime location in a town with no vacant land for me to even consider demo to be remotely worth while.
I know that many people are more limited in their vision when looking at a house though.
Best of luck to you while selling.
Funny story when we moved here for about a year and a half after we would get people stop pig when we were outside or even ringing the doorbell to ask if our house was for sale. Then we remade the front garden and we found this plastic statue buried there. We gave it away and lo and behold the people stopped annoying us. Since them I am convinced that if I want to sell my house i might invest in a saint Joseph state and bury it in the garden. After what we went thru I couldn't hurt. (for the record we bought our house 3 days on the market so the people before us who buried the stare had zero issue selling it.
ETA ah yes smells. smells will be an instant turn off since they are so hard to get rid of.
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Deleted
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Oct 6, 2024 10:35:33 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2014 23:14:34 GMT
Oh, and my husband is an exterminator, so no bugs at our house!
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marianne
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Jun 25, 2014 21:08:26 GMT
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Post by marianne on Jul 27, 2014 23:16:34 GMT
I agree with others, for me it would be smells, and because I have a thing about water issues, any signs at all of leaks, water where it doesn't belong, etc. Mold anywhere, but especially in the basement of bathrooms.
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Post by epeanymous on Jul 27, 2014 23:19:31 GMT
I am assuming you do not mean things like schools and location, but things you can control as a seller. For me it is things that feel flimsy. If I open a cabinet door and it is rickety, or handles are loose, or if I have to shut things carefully, I worry that the whole house is flimsy. I would make sure all of the handles and doorknobs and so forth in your house feel solid.
Also I hate carpet, but tastes vary on that, and I will buy a house with it if it isn't the whole house, I otherwise love the house, and I can rip it out.
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Deleted
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Oct 6, 2024 10:35:33 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2014 23:24:58 GMT
The types of smells that permeate into drywall, subfloors and woodwork. Smoke, pets mainly but I went to some that had that musty old drawer smell. Any obvious airfreshner makes me wonder what they are hiding.
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Post by Merge on Jul 27, 2014 23:25:28 GMT
Smells are number one.
Poor maintenance is another big one - trim needs painting, gutters sagging, big cracks in patio, missing/broken window screens - I'm going to wonder what else was neglected or done hastily and poorly.
Also cheap "upgrades" - obvious DIY jobs that aren't going to hold up over time, like the house we looked at where they had quickly spray painted their laminate cabinets. The paint scraped off with a fingernail. Nope. Just makes me distrust that the "new roof and A/C" were done correctly.
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 27, 2014 23:30:25 GMT
Not really buying a house, but I notice when people don't take care of their yard. If they have grass/weeds growing up in the driveways and sidewalk cracks. I think it looks terrible! I like the driveways, walks, and flower beds to have a nice sharp edge.
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Post by Really Red on Jul 27, 2014 23:30:30 GMT
Clutter - it means that I think the house is smaller than it is. Smells. Dogs don't bother me, but cats do. Cracks in any walls are a concern, but not a dealbreaker.
Lots and lots of flowered wallpaper. I went to one house like that. Realtor thought I was crazy to walk out, but seriously? It made me dizzy and I would have had to strip too much paper with 3 kids under 5. No way. Another house had a picture on every space of every wall. I just thought about patching all that and wasn't interested. For me, I want close to move-in ready. An unstained deck, dirt/trash/clothes, tell me the owner doesn't care.
Sounds like you've got everything under control! I'm sure you'll be fine!
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Post by gmcwife1 on Jul 27, 2014 23:45:25 GMT
Smells and paneling. Repainting is no big deal, but pulling out 70s paneling would turn me off.
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Post by PenandInk on Jul 27, 2014 23:48:14 GMT
Mold in the shower or bathtub. Deal breaker for me. If they don't clean their shower when they know someone will be looking, what else have they skimped on.
Dirty oven. If you're trying to sell your house, you can self-clean the oven.
I'm not sure why, but those are my two pet peeves.
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back to *pea*ality
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Post by back to *pea*ality on Jul 27, 2014 23:56:55 GMT
Cigarette smells. Dog/cat odors are a turn off too but you can always rip out rugs and put in hardwood floors but the only way to get rid of cigarette stink is to gut the place. - rip out all drywall & ceilings. Also, mold odors would make me turn around and walk out.
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Post by lilacgal on Jul 27, 2014 23:58:22 GMT
The smell (good or bad) is the first thing I notice about any house.
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Post by keknj on Jul 28, 2014 0:04:36 GMT
Smells, mold, major damage. I'm not a handy person so I would have no idea how to repair and that would just add on to the costs of the home.
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Peamac
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Post by Peamac on Jul 28, 2014 0:05:25 GMT
My biggest turn-offs would be cigarette smoke and pet odor. I wouldn't bother looking at a house with those odors b/c it's not worth the time and money it would take to try to get the smells out, and there's no guarantee that the smells would be totally gone. One damp/humid day and the house reeks!
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Post by theboydbunch on Jul 28, 2014 0:05:56 GMT
smells do it for me! Also, having to do a lot of work in the house would be a deal breaker for us.
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GiantsFan
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Jun 27, 2014 14:44:56 GMT
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Post by GiantsFan on Jul 28, 2014 0:14:11 GMT
I agree with all of things already mentioned.
But I wanted to add: We just looked at a house last weekend. It started at 1pm and we got there just after 1:30. The owners were in the kitchen making/having lunch! That was too weird. I felt like I was intruding on their family time. And it wasn't a FSBO.
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NoWomanNoCry
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Jun 25, 2014 21:53:42 GMT
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Post by NoWomanNoCry on Jul 28, 2014 0:15:55 GMT
I can't help ya here but I will say the biggest turn off when selling a home was this for us.... DH aunt was selling one of the homes she owns...no one lived in it but it was fully furnished and had a pool so DH and I would go there and swim and BBQ. The home didnt even have a key box thingy on the knob at the time it went on market so anyone that came to look had to call DH aunts realtor to get key until the box was put in door. Anyways we went out there one night to swim and cook...we knew no one would be looking at the home because we asked his aunt. So we're in sunroom eating and these people walking through kitchen we got up and asked who they were..they said they seen a "for sale" sign up and door was unlocked. They walked in.... So we were like ok you can look around...so DH is kinda showing them around I'm standing around in sunroom and I see the husband come back into the kitchen (he couldn't see me in sunroom were I stood) he gets the serving spoon for my baked beans and scoops some beans out and eats them!!!!!! From the spoon! I kid you not! Then he takes one of my damn chicken legs and starts chomping down on that!!!!! Then he goes back into the other room I'm assuming to catch up with DH and his wife.
So yeah...this thread kind of reminded me of that.
ETA: good luck on selling your home!!!!
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Post by ihaveonly1l on Jul 28, 2014 0:18:50 GMT
I'm not sure why it is such a bother to me, but when I'm looking at online listings, I can't stand to see toilet seats up in pictures. Really, you couldn't close that? It bugs the heck out of me and always makes me wonder what the deal is.
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craftchickapowpow
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Jun 26, 2014 16:12:18 GMT
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Post by craftchickapowpow on Jul 28, 2014 0:19:54 GMT
agree on the smells. They can be positive or negative. A lot of realtors tell sellers to bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies or cinnamon rolls before a showing to make the house smell inviting.
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Post by myshelly on Jul 28, 2014 0:20:19 GMT
Biggest turn offs - pets.
If I can see or smell that you had pets I am out of there.
If I can smell smoke or see cigarettes or ash trays it's not happening.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2014 0:24:36 GMT
Obvious animal smell as in the animals had used the house as its litter box.
Water in basement.
Damage
Stains and strange paint colors. That bright purple is harder to paint over than you think.
Most of all, smoke. Kilz only goes so far
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Post by donna on Jul 28, 2014 0:33:13 GMT
Smells are the biggie for me. I do not want to smell cigarettes or any pet smell. I also do not like air fresheners.
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