Home Selling Tips: What Do Buyers Look for in a Home?
What Do Buyers Look for in a Home?
Before getting into the nitty-gritty of specifics of the best home selling tips 2022 and how to fix up your house, you should be aware of what potential buyers are looking for in your home or income property for sale. Though each buyer will have a different set of needs and wants when looking into investing in real estate, these are the common things that everyone will be considering when looking at your property:
1. Property Price
Before buying a home or an investment property, most people will have a budget on what they can afford to spend on prospective properties. This may be out of pocket or based on a pre-approved loan, but regardless of their payment methods, if your house is listed too high, they may not even consider viewing it, much less buying it.
Additionally, you have to match your price to the value of your home while still making a return on investment. Potential buyers want to feel like they got a good deal when buying your property. This means that while you would like to sell your house for double the price to get good real estate appreciation, you will have to consider the median property price in your local housing market, the structure of your home, the location, and other factors that can play into pricing to justify your asking price. Having a high asking price with little to show for it will scare potential buyers off and prolong the selling period on your home.
2. House Age
A common question for potential buyers is how old the home is or when it was built. While some real estate investors are looking for fixer-uppers, newer houses provide a sense of security to buyers that the property will have the technologies and features that have become necessary in modern-day life as is. Additionally, older houses will need more repairs that the buyer will have to shoulder out of pocket, while newer houses will require fewer renovations though will usually yield a higher sticker price upfront.
3. Home Appliances
Similar to the actual age of the property structure, potential buyers will look into the appliances included in the home. While you may not need to include the newest trendy appliances in your home, the staples like a stove, dishwasher, laundry machine, heaters, and others would definitely benefit the selling process of your home. Aside from simply having these things in your home, buyers will assess its condition as appliances are expensive to replace and will most likely try to negotiate a lower price if any major appliances are older or barely functional.
If you choose to forgo including appliances when selling your home, buyers will most likely look that you at least have the provisions like an outlet or existing water line to install other appliances down the road.
4. Lot Size and Shape
While you may be looking at the property structure only, potential buyers will be taking note of the lot it’s built on as well. The lot shape, size, and distance from other houses will all come into play when potential buyers are considering placing an offer on your home. If your home is built on a bigger lot, this may be seen as a key selling point as it offers more privacy and even the option to expand the home later on with a mother in law house, for example.
5. Number of Bedrooms and Bathrooms
Each potential buyer will have a different number for the number of bedrooms and bathrooms that their family would need in an ideal home. While this may be a bit hard to adjust to, most buyers will look for at least 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms on average. Depending on the family’s size, this number may increase or decrease. It would also be beneficial if there were spare rooms that could later be transformed into a bedroom as this provides the buyer with the possibility of expansion in the home.
