Don’t make costly mistakes when selling you home? I hear consistent gripes from home buyers, some of which sellers can fix and some they can’t. In this video, I am going to walk you through the top gripes I hear over and over again and give you home seller tips for what you can do about it.

I am Jodi Bakst with Real Estate Experts working in Chapel Hill and Durham North Carolina. Make sure to stick around to the end of this video for my bonus content!

Let’s get right into it.

Gripe #1: I don’t like the location of the home. It’s close too close to the road and I don’t want to hear road noise.

Well Sellers, there isn’t anything you can do about the location of your home. It is what it is. But, if you can hear road noise or see cars driving by, you might want to plant some trees. I have had sellers do this and you get insta-privacy. It can make a real difference. You could also add a tasteful fountain. You wouldn’t be trying to cover anything up. Rather, you would be working to show your home in its best light.

Most buyers crave privacy and quiet so do the best you can. And, make sure everything else about your home is perfect to overcome the location objection. Look at your home through the eyes of the buyer. Try to remediate any issues the best you can.

Buyers, if location is an important criterion, make sure your agent knows this. Depending on what you are looking for and your price range, you might have to focus on getting that quite private lot and give on upgrades. You can take care of those yourself later.

Gripe #2: I don’t like the floor plan, it’s too choppy and broken up.

Sellers, there is not much you can do about your floor plan either. Buyers do crave open spaces with a lot of light. Do the best you can with your staging. What I am about to say is a big deal but if there is a wall that can be opened up to create a better flow and bring in more light, you might want to consider doing this. Talk to your Realtor.

Gripe #3 There are too many types of flooring. I have talked about this before. It is so much better to have one continuous type of flooring. It makes a home look so much more together. When buyers see two or three types of wood floors or wood and luxury vinyl or multiple colors of carpet all within view, this is really not good.

Sellers, I highly suggest that you have no more than 2 or 3 flooring materials in your home. For example, hardwood on the first floor, carpet on the second floor and tile in the bathrooms and laundry room. I know this is an issue if you can’t afford to make the changes but buyers hate this. They will either walk away from the house or make a low ball offer on your home. When a buyer puts a price tag on something it will cost you more.

The best you can do is have estimates to fix the flooring so you know what it will cost and how much you may need to negotiate on price.

Gripe #4: I don’t like the paint colors. I am going to need to repaint the house. What will this cost?

I have said this a million times, when you put your house on the market paint it a neutral color. My go to favorite neutral that is timeless is Benjamin Moore Dove White. Just paint your house a warm white and you will be safe and your house will look brighter too. Just do it! I know it’s a pain but just do it!

Sellers, is you want to offer a paint credit, these don’t work. So many buyers are not visual and they can’t get past what they see. It is absolutely in your best interest to paint the house a light neutral before you put your house on the market. Most buyers don’t want to do the painting, they want it done.

Gripe #5: There is too much deferred maintenance on this house and it’s overpriced. Buyers are not wrong about this. People are putting their houses on the market with roofs and systems that need updating, with foggy windows and wood rot and more.

Listen to my videos on the benefits of doing a pre-sale inspection and making the repairs. Buyers would rather pay more money for a house that is updated and everything has been done. Most buyers want move in ready. They don’t want to have to do anything.

As the market slows and we shift from a sellers to a buyers market, making your home perfect becomes even more important.

Gripe #6 Jodi, the appliances are dated and old.

Sellers, if you are trying to get top dollar for your house and your appliances are old and worn and possibly they don’t’ match, upgrade them. Get new ones. Buyers love this and it will help you sell your home more quickly. It makes a difference. Buyers always overestimate what things cost. Do it yourself. It’s way more cost effective.

Gripe #7: Jodi, the house is priced too high for the age and quality of the updates. I don’t want to pay a premium for outdated updates.

Sellers, buyers aren’t wrong about this either. If you updated your home 10 or 15 years ago with the trend at the time, like dark cherry cabinets and black granite or a theme like a Tuscan style, this not trending today. It is not good to price your home against other houses with more modern finishes. Make sure to adjust your price to take this into account.

Better yet, when you do your updates it’s always best for them to be neutral and timeless. You can bring color and texture in with accessories. Look at the houses that are selling. They tend to be neutral with that Pottery Barn look.

Gripe # 8 The yard it too small. It looked much bigger in the pictures.

Sometimes this is true. Photographers with good wide-angle lenses can make the yard and spaces in the house look bigger than they are. Make your best effort to have your yard look as big as possible or if there is a good side yard, make sure you showcase this in a positive light. Most buyers want a decent yard.

Gripe #9: The house smells of cat or dog. I am allergic. I can’t buy this house.

There are many people who have very real pet allergies. It is so important when you put your house on the market to remove your pets and anything visible about them and make sure your house is clean, clean, clean and free of odors and don’t use perfumes or plug ins. You never know if the scent will be a turn off and many buyers think you are trying to cover something up. I have said this many times before, the best odor is no odor.

Gripe #10 Why did the seller check no representation on every item in the property disclosure form? This makes me think something is wrong with the house.

Sellers, this is an issue and I see this all the time, especially with houses that visibly have deferred maintenance. This combined with disclosing nothing about the house doesn’t get you anywhere. Buyers want to know as much as possible about the house, even if there are things that need to be fixed. Even if they are structural in nature. It’s all about the price and a buyer knowing what they need to take on if anything,

This is why I am a broken record about doing pre-sale inspections. The more you disclose, the happier the buyers will be and the smoother the transaction.

And now for my bonus content: Gripe 11: There is too much style in this house, it is going to cost me too much to make it my own.

Sellers, this could be in the wall color, wallpaper if you have it and other customizations. Remember, white walls, no more than 3 flooring materials, declutter, clean, have no odors and neutralize your house so you don’t get nickel and dimed to death.

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I am Jodi Bakst with Real Estate Experts working in Durham and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Sellers, if I can help you prepare your house for the market and list and sell your home, send me a message and let’s set up a time to talk.

Until next time.