To Sell Your Home Quickly, Listen to the Agent’s Advice on Smoking, Pets, Clutter

Successfully selling your home is best accomplished by heeding your selling agent’s advice, even when they are not welcome. Agent Paul Blumberg likes to say that when it comes to real estate, “If you smell it, you can’t sell it.” Buyers, especially health-conscious ones, tend to flee from a smoker’s home if it hasn’t been professionally cleaned or if the smoker keeps lighting up indoors. Also, a house full of animals can be a tough sell, and agents advise clients toward a course in animal management. A house with pet aroma needs to be professionally cleaned. Jim Anderson, agent at Progressive Urban Real Estate in Cleveland, says that ideally when a house is being shown, “the dog goes to the mall.” He has seen potential buyers pay so much attention to the dog that they almost forget they’re there to buy. Finally, a house for sale should not be filled with so much stuff that it becomes a barrier to potential buyers. Agents advise sellers to store as much as possible. “We want to make a house a commodity, to market to the least common denominator,” Blumberg explains. | Read More