Posted by Tim Burrell- After 28 years of selling real estate, I am still surprised at what Buyers react to.  I have a new listing where the sellers have installed new carpet and competely painted the interior, including staining and refinishing the cabinets.  But, there were a few items that had not been picked up around the house, some blinds that were not in good condition, the tile in the bath needed to be cleaned, the top of the refrigerator had not been cleaned and there was a little paint on a few door knobs.  The reaction: "The house needs too much work".

Here are some great tools for presenting a house.  Mr. Clean has a Magic Eraser that will take the dirt off nearly anything, or you can use a microfiber cloth.  Goof Off will take the paint off the door knobs, and it works more quickly than Goo Gone (which is better for more delicate surfaces, or taking the goo left by stickers or tape).  Tilex is a wonderful product to clean tile, and not as harsh smelling as some of the other products.  I have an Ozone Generator that will take the smell out of nearly anything, particularly smoke or pet odors.  Then, follow up with Glade's fan product that goes into several plugs, and  the Clean Fabric smell just makes the house smell clean instead of giving a smell of cover up.  Cleaning up the yard is important too, as putting fresh mulch in the planters leading to the front door changes the first impression.  

The reaction: "We got an offer and we are negotiating it now".  The owner had spent thousands on major repairs, carpet and paint, fixing all kinds of things that would be important to an inspector and should be important to a buyer.  Cleaning the house is the least expensive thing that a buyer might have to do, so in a rational world you would think it would be the least important thing to do.   But, clean and fresh is what gets the reaction out of the buyers, and most inexperienced real estate agent, as buying is an emotional process, not an analytical one.  We allowed a couple of agents to show the home over Thanksgiving before it was ready, as they begged to show clients who were in town only for the holiday.  Since I had not put every detail that I would spot on my list for the sellers.  The home needed the eye of a listing agent and several hours of rolling up my sleves and working with the sellers to change everything.  If you are not getting a great reaction to your house, make it look and smell clean as it will change the entire impression.