17 Ugly Home Features Sellers Need to Ditch Right Now
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Selling a home can be a daunting task, especially in a competitive market where first impressions are critical. Buyers often form opinions within seconds of stepping through the door, making it essential for sellers to present their properties in the best possible light. Certain unattractive home features can significantly deter potential buyers, leading to longer selling times and potentially lower offers.
Outdated color schemes and awkward room layouts can overshadow the home’s true potential. Recognizing and addressing these issues can help sellers create a more inviting atmosphere and increase their chances of a successful sale. Here are 17 ugly home features sellers need to ditch right now
Bold Paint Colors
Expression of the self in color is sometimes attractive, but a loud or dominant color often alienates prospective buyers. Bright greens, deep purples, or vivid reds are not to everyone’s taste and often make buyers hyperventilate with their exuberance. Neutrals say ‘calm’.
Using neutral colors provides a backdrop for people to feel less threatened and more welcome. They offer a blank canvas for a buyer to project their ideas. Painting an uninviting space in soft, inviting, earthy tones can provide an uplifting experience as the room or house suddenly feels warm and less intimidating.
Excessive Personalization
Photographs of friends and family, achievements, volunteer work, and travel make it hard for a potential buyer to reimagine your home as their own. Too many personal touches make your house look like a museum devoted to your life. A memorial album packed with framed pictures makes it hard to envision you living there.
One or two tasteful decorative items are fine, but sellers should try to depersonalize their homes. Just dialing back the familiar will encourage a potential buyer to imagine herself living there. Walk into a home where the dwellers have excised their touches. Your home presents a palette on which your buyer will write the next chapter of her life.
Unkempt Landscaping
A curbside appeal can be ruined by a jungle of weeds or an overgrown garden that immediately gives buyers a negative perspective on your home before they see the inside, as the front of your home often sets the tone for the rest of your property.
No doubt a quick trimming of the hedges, lawn mowing and colorful flowers add appeal to the exterior of your property and bring buyers in for a showing. A few hours of weeding the lawn can create that comfortable feeling that will bring buyers inside.
Cluttered Spaces
Clutter is the biggest put-off to buyers – it draws the eye away from a home’s features and can make the space feel smaller and messier than it is. As long as the eye is drawn to the mess, the buyer can’t see past it to what a space could offer them. After surplus furniture or personal items are removed, spaces will feel more open and inviting, allowing their features to shine.
Aside from removing clutter, we like buyers to understand how spaces in the home could work for them so that they can see themselves living there. We showed a family viewing a couple of years ago, and they had three very young children, so we knew two bedrooms wouldn’t be enough for them; there would have to be growth space.
Outdated Wallpaper
Although it might have been a popular choice in wallpaper years ago, thick floral wallpaper has become something exotic and old-fashioned, and whereas once it might have been admired, it is more likely now to evoke a response such as ‘Of course, they will have to get rid of all this!’ It is difficult for a buyer to visualize fresh, modern decor against a background of tired old flowers.
A fresh coat of paint in neutral tones can breathe life back into dreary interiors to create a base on which potential buyers can begin to ‘see’ their furniture and treasures. A clean, uncluttered slate can work wonders in the way that a buyer perceives a house.
Dark Rooms
Dark and gloomy rooms seem unwelcoming and small. It’s hard for potential buyers to appreciate the charm of a home when the rooms feel gloomy and closed in. Homes that might be uniquely decorated with heavy drapes and dark furnishings can seem small and less welcoming.
Potential buyers are looking for brighter, cheerier environments. You can make these spaces bright and airy and give the illusion that they are bigger by removing heavy drapes and considering lighter furnishings. That will make the space feel brighter and more uplifting.
Poorly Maintained Appliances
This causes buyers to wonder: ‘If the appliance is old, then are other things old and in need of replacement?’ Or: ‘Is this the beginning of a list of things that need replacing?’ If the old kitchen is full of old appliances, a buyer might give up and decide she no longer wants to own the house.
A few new appliances with updated energy-saving features might do the trick to give the kitchen an attractive makeover, not to mention assure a buyer that the house will not fall once she has bought it. A shiny rehabbed kitchen might go on the tour sheet.
Unpleasant Odors
Unpleasant odors from pets, smoke, or mold, will keep buyers away, leaving a bad impression that will linger long after they have left. Airing a home and use of subtle, pleasant smells will make any home more welcoming. How unpleasant odors can obscure even the most exquisitely staged homes is incredible.
Odors that linger attract a lot more attention than they would otherwise and remind buyers of the need to clean, which will detract from the overall impression they form of the home. Fresh cleaning and simple air fresheners will eradicate these odors and create an ambiance that makes for a welcoming home. Taking the time to eliminate lingering odors will enhance the buyer’s home experience.
Unique Floor Plans
Some truly unique and distinctive architectural features can be appealing, but other floor plans that are just too crazy for words can be a real challenge for buyers to get their heads around. How will my sofa fit there? And where do I put the dining table?
A home that feels awkward that’s not laid out in a way that makes sense, or that fails to flow nicely can feel clunky to today’s buyers and accordingly puts ‘offer anxiety’ in play. During staging, look for ways to create lines throughout the layout that work with the house and minimize awkwardness.
Overly Thematic Decor
Implicit in the exasperation about excessively themed decor – nautical, rustic, clock, Santa – is a belief that a home should not be scarred by its decorations to such an extent that the viewer’s attention is moved away from the major elements of the home to its more minor accouterments.
Good decoration balances the urge to add personality to a space with the need for a space that can be imagined in new ways by those who buy it. Good decoration, in other words, is less stuffy. It simplifies a space so prospective buyers can imagine the text of the home in new and different ways.
Lack of Storage Space
It might seem minor in the grand scheme of things, but there are few things more frustrating to a would-be buyer than finding out the house she fell in love with has no storage. Call it a storage-hungry culture, but a lack of closets or shelves can negatively impact many buyers.
What might seem like a cosmetic issue to you – a lack of shelving, inadequate closets, or even messy cupboards filled with old junk – can be a deal-breaker for a potential buyer. A little organizing or even a more extensive renovation to add storage can make all the difference when showcasing a house for sale. The function is in.
Old Flooring
Dirty or old carpets or flooring can make a home look messy and disorganized and might put off potential buyers. They might, importantly, make the rooms appear smaller than they are. As an agent, you would be amazed by how much flooring can contribute to the feel of a room.
Floor covering is one key element to adding to a room’s appeal. If a buyer turns up and the flooring looks old and outdated, they are likely to feel negative vibes about the room and be less enthusiastic about moving forward. In many cases, if the buyer is interested in the house, investing in some smart new flooring will be a no-brainer, which will, in turn, encourage them to make an offer.
Overgrown Trees and Shrubs
Although overgrown trees and shrubs might provide shade and privacy for a home’s occupants, they might also make a house hard to see, especially when the plants obscure windows. Buyers like to see the face of the house from the curb.
Clutter at the entry might imply disorder all through the house. Clearing up a cluttered entry improve the curb appeal, let light in, and make a buyer’s first impression more positive, giving the buyer a sense that the plot is as well-kept as the structure’s exterior.
Personalized Themes in Kids’ Rooms
Rooms for younger children tricked out with ridiculously themed decorations inhibit buyers’ ability to see the space as the site for their child’s sanctuary. Bright colors and detailed character-themed decor require a big-picture reimagining of the space.
Neutralizing these spaces through soothing tones and flexible design choices puts buyers at ease and encourages their ability to imagine the potential of a room. Small changes can go a long way towards increasing the appeal of a space, offering newcomers greater flexibility in designing their domains.
Poor Lighting
Poor lighting renders even the most elegant houses uninviting and gloomy. Dark corners and shadowy areas give the impression that the home is neglected, making buyers uncomfortable.
Replacing old light fittings, emphasizing natural light sources, and maximizing the opportunities for brightness can create a more welcoming space and a clean and airy appearance. Improving the light sources will build upon the design and further assist the buyer in feeling comfortable.
Unappealing Bathrooms
Ugly bathrooms or bathrooms that haven’t been updated usually turn buyers off. Old fixtures or general neglect can make a bathroom feel dark and dirty.
Updating bathrooms with trendy paint, new fixtures, and modern upgrades can make a home more 2023-productive. Today’s buyers are looking for clean and modern, and bathrooms are no exception.
Dated Kitchen Designs
It is no secret that kitchens are the centerpiece of a home, and any buyer looking to purchase a newer home that has a modern feel and function will be put off by outdated cabinetry, appliances, and layouts.
If your current home has rooms that flow together and are light and bright, then spending some money on updating the kitchen to reflect an open layout, updated finishes, and modern design could make all the difference in selling your home.
Disclaimer – This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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