{"id":8042,"date":"2018-04-16T13:29:42","date_gmt":"2018-04-16T19:29:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.virtuance.com\/?p=8042"},"modified":"2018-04-16T13:29:42","modified_gmt":"2018-04-16T19:29:42","slug":"the-one-room-thatll-make-buyers-bail-even-if-they-love-the-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/blog\/the-one-room-thatll-make-buyers-bail-even-if-they-love-the-house\/","title":{"rendered":"The One Room That’ll Make Buyers Bail, Even If They Love the House"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Margaret Heidenry | Source: Realtor.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Interior<\/a>
Photo by Virtuance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In my yearlong\u00a0house hunt, I’ve\u00a0toured countless homes, and that first visit is a lot like a first date. It can be going\u00a0great, right up until you spot your\u00a0personal deal killer\u2014like a pack of\u00a0cigarettes in her purse, or white socks\u00a0with sandals. Check, please!<\/p>\n

Same thing happens when shopping for a house: The tour\u00a0could be going\u00a0swimmingly until you turn a corner and bam, you see\u00a0that room<\/em>\u00a0that brings the possibility of living there to a grinding halt.<\/p>\n

So what is this ominous, deal-killing room? It turns out there are more than one.\u00a0Peruse the list below for the common offenders\u2014not just my own, but ones that real estate agents have noted make buyers cringe\u00a0en masse<\/em>. Hey, it’s better to know than not so you can make some changes, right?<\/p>\n

The empty room<\/h2>\n

“Empty rooms can kill a home sale, especially if the other rooms are furnished,” says real estate analyst\u00a0Allison Bethell<\/strong>\u00a0of New York\u2013based FitSmallBusiness.com.<\/p>\n

A room devoid of furniture leaves the buyer wondering what the\u00a0space can be used for. And any of the room’s imperfections will also stand out. If you have an empty room,\u00a0stage it<\/a>\u00a0as an office, extra sitting area, or guest bedroom.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0dark room<\/h2>\n

One of the biggest turnoffs for a buyer? “A dark room,” says\u00a0Desare Kohn-Laski<\/strong>, broker and owner of Skye Louis Realty in Coconut Creek, FL.<\/p>\n

The reason is simple: No one wants to walk into a home and feel like they\u2019re trapped in a dungeon. Even if the rest of the house is flooded with light, one dark room can make a whole house seem dark.<\/p>\n

For starters,\u00a0open all the curtains and blinds before showing a home.\u00a0If the room doesn’t have much light, paint the walls a light color and add a mirror to make it appear larger. Updating the lighting also goes a long way in adding to the brightness of a room.<\/p>\n

“Finally, put a plant in the room, because plants need light and buyers often realize this, even subconsciously,” says Bethell.<\/p>\n

The icky\u00a0bathroom<\/h2>\n
\n

A big offender in this category: carpeted bathrooms.<\/p>\n

“Just gross,” says\u00a0Janine Acquafredda<\/strong>, associate broker at House-N-Key Realty in New York.<\/p>\n

Not only will\u00a0many home buyers\u00a0refuse to enter a carpeted bathroom, but “after seeing one, they lose focus on the rest of the house,” says Acquafredda. Note to sellers\u2014replace bathroom carpeting with tile!<\/p>\n

Another major turnoff? A\u00a0tub that’s seen one too many baths.<\/p>\n

“No matter if the home is large or small, expensive or affordable,\u00a0every\u00a0woman walks straight into the bathroom and looks at the bathtub,” says\u00a0Kristina McCann<\/strong>\u00a0of San Fransisco’s Alain Pinel Realtors. She advises clients across all price points to\u00a0refinish a tub<\/a>\u00a0if necessary. “Or else someone\u00a0could\u00a0think they need to do a complete bathroom remodel.”<\/p>\n

The cluttered playroom<\/h2>\n

Think the kids’ playroom gets a pass? Hardly.<\/p>\n

“If a playroom looks like a cluttered mess, buyers get the impression that the current residents aren\u2019t clean,” says Kohn-Laski. Home sellers should make it look immaculate. That includes erasing crayon and marker drawings as well as fingerprints on doors, windows, and walls.<\/p>\n

\n

The\u00a0run-down\u00a0kitchen<\/h2>\n

The state of your kitchen\u2014the epicenter of most homes\u2014can be a big-time deal breaker.<\/p>\n

“Buyers will think twice if\u00a0it’s too small,\u00a0has outdated features and appliances, or looks run-down,” says\u00a0Sarah Pickens<\/strong>\u00a0with Re\/Max Advantage Plus in Blaine, MN.<\/p>\n

The problem starts when buyers start calculating how much a remodel is going to cost, she says.\u00a0A quick fix with a lot of visual bang\u2014that won’t break the bank\u2014is to swap\u00a0outdated appliances with newer ones found on priced-to-move sites\u00a0such as Craigslist.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read the full article…<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Margaret Heidenry | Source: Realtor.com In my yearlong\u00a0house hunt, I’ve\u00a0toured countless homes, and that first visit is a lot like a first date. It can be going\u00a0great, right up until you spot your\u00a0personal deal killer\u2014like a pack of\u00a0cigarettes in her purse, or white socks\u00a0with sandals. Check, please! Same thing happens when shopping for a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14503,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,47],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8042"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14503"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8042"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8042\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8044,"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8042\/revisions\/8044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}