How to Impress Potential Buyers with Your Home

Couple holding a “home sweet home” wooden sign

Showing a home means trying to present it in the best possible light. Starting from the curb appeal to microscopic details, there’s a lot you can do to impress potential buyers with your home in Toronto. But this calls for taking off the owner’s ‘hat’ and making the buyer appeal your top priority.

Make the buyer your priority.
 

Grab their interest from the curb

When selling a house, homeowners need to understand that curb appeal sets expectations. And the truth is - you can allocate your full time and budget to the interior of your property, but most buyers won’t bother to even take a peek inside if the outside is a mess. This doesn’t necessarily imply that your house has to have that “wow” factor, especially if you’re on a tight budget. However, an unkempt yard, chipping paint, sagging front doors, and a roof that looks like it has only a few years left will only leave them wondering what else hasn’t been maintained.

So, the next time you drive up to your property, try to think like a potential buyer. Do your home and yard look clean and tidy? What could you do to make it better? Any small touches you can make might take your property’s value up a notch and entice prospective home buyers to inquire further.

Prepare a gracious welcome

Your next stop is your front entry. The porch and the front door are the first things house hunters will notice. So, what can you do to wow prospective buyers right from the start? The answer is – create an inviting entrance.

If your front entry area needs a bit of a sprucing up, the fix can be as easy as updating the doormat and a house number. Yet, something else you can consider is swapping the old porch light fixtures for new, shiny ones and including some tidy porch furniture to set the scene. Finally, add some greenery to top it off. Make sure that any of the potted plants or flowers you decide to place on your porch or stoop look properly cared for. If you notice that the paint on the front door is looking a bit old and shabby, applying a new coat of paint should give it an updated look. If you’re looking for a more permanent fix, consider replacing the old door with a new steel door. Since this is considered one of the home improvements with the best ROI, it will be money well spent.

Now, let’s step inside. Halls are notorious for being narrow, cramped, and cluttered with shoes, bikes, and prams. This is a big turnoff and definitely not a way to impress potential buyers with your home. Make the space a bit more welcoming with a nice decluttering and cleaning. Next, a nice console table with a vase of fresh flowers will add an instant homey vibe to the space, making the shoppers feel more relaxed.

Turn the lights up

Dark homes always feel small and uninviting, and this is something that can easily sabotage your bottom line when trying to sell a property. So, open up the draperies, raise all the blinds, and clean all dirty windows to let the natural light shine through. If the showing takes place after dark, make sure you’ve replaced the old, burnt-out light bulbs with new, high-efficiency ones. Another fix for dark areas is strategic lamp placement. Pick up a few stylish lamps and place them around your home. You hit two birds with one stone with this one: your home will not only be brighter, but the lamps will also add to the home décor.

Smells sell homes

House odors that are anything other than homemade cookies are probably at the top of the home-selling uh-oh list. No one likes to enter a property and find that it smells like cigarette smoke, pets, or mildew.

The first thing you need to do is make the home spick and span before putting it on the market. This will give you a solid base to build on. It is only then that you can start thinking about adding smells to your Toronto home. Stay away from the artificial ones, though, because many people are allergic, or at least sensitive to those. Use fresh air instead, if the weather permits. Other than that, some great undertones of scent you can use include citrus, pine, jasmine, cinnamon, and vanilla.

Give the house a lick of paint

Never underestimate the power of a fresh lick of paint. If you want an all-over clean and slick look for your interior (as well as to make the space appear bigger), a simple, fresh coat of paint will do the trick. Always go for sophisticated neutrals instead of pure white or idiosyncratic colors if you want your home to appeal to as many potential buyers as possible.

Neutral color palette will appeal to the biggest buyer pool
 

Pay special care to each room

Each area of your home should get the attention it deserves:

• Main living areas. Family and living rooms should make the buyers want to stay awhile and enjoy the home. No buyer should be able to resist the cozy combo of comfy couches, fluffed-up accent pillows, and area rugs.
• Bedrooms. Any bedroom ought to feel like a retreat. A few tweaks, such as a well-made bed, quality linens, and soft textures should do nicely.
• Bathrooms. These rooms are the selling points of the house. Prospective buyers will want to enter a like-new bathroom. You’ll want the sink counters free of personal belongings and clutter. If you want to truly dazzle prospective buyers with your home, you can even do a little bit of staging. Bring in some plush-looking towels, an area rug, and decorative baskets filled with spa items such as bubble baths and body scrubs.
• Kitchen. This is yet another selling point, and one with a great ROI. Therefore, you’ll want to do the best you can with this room to win the buyers over. The most sought-after details in the kitchen include stainless steel appliances, quality cabinetry, upgraded countertops, hardwood floors, and ample storage space. Pick one, or more of the listed desired features to upgrade your kitchen, depending on the extent of your budget.
• Backyard. The back of the house is almost as important as the front. The grounds should be landscaped and manicured, and walks neatly swept. If there are any special amenities, such as a lush garden, a lounge, or a pool, make sure to play them up.

Tackle each room individually. Buyers will appreciate good staging.
 

Remove personal items

It’s also important to remove all personal belongings from your Toronto house or condo. This way, the buyers will be able to envision themselves living in the space much better. You’re about to move anyway, so now would be the perfect time to start gathering the boxes, floor mats, wrapping papers, and moving blankets. If you’re handling the move yourself, try to be extra careful when dismantling the furniture to not damage your freshly painted walls. This is particularly tricky to do on your own if you live in a high-rise condo, as you might need to carry some particularly bulky and heavy items down to your rented moving truck. For this reason, you might want to leave the heavy lifting to the experts familiar with the rules of moving out of a condo.

Create a mood

Staging your home for showing truly goes a long way when trying to sell. Impress potential buyers with your home by playing up its best features. You can achieve this by investing just a bit of your time and money into setting the mood. Little things like lighting a fire, turning on some gentle music, powering up the water elements, and then placing two champagne glasses and a bottle on a table nearby will make it a whole lot easier for your buyers to envision their ideal life in your Toronto home.