What the Owner Sees as ‘Charm’ Could Turn Off a Potential Buyer

You’ve grown accustomed to that crack in the ceiling, and you don’t notice it anymore. The shrubs and bushes you put in 10 years ago may look overgrown to someone else; to you they’re familiar friends.

But now that you want to sell, it’s time to look at your home as a potential buyer would.

Real estate agents and designers offer some tips on how to go about it:

* Stand at the curb and take a hard look at the exterior. Is the driveway greasy or cracked? Does the house need painting? Sometimes just painting the fascia and trim will do the trick. Add some bright flowers to the landscaping. Real estate agent Carlos Herrera says red, white and yellow blooms are the favorites. If the landscaping is in bad condition, it may be time to replace it.

* Check the condition of the entryway flooring, then look up. Potential buyers always look up when going through a house, Herrera says. Cobwebs, ceiling cracks, water stains and aging light fixtures might be right in their line of sight.

* Is the wallpaper dated or too bold? If so, it should come down and be replaced by white, not off-white, paint or maybe a faux painting treatment to add depth. Never add new wallpaper, advises designer Walter Nutting, who says he has seen many cases where the homeowner installed new wallpaper to sell the house only to have the new buyer declare that it would be the first thing to go.

* Are the appliances and ovens clean? Real estate agent Tom Nash says many buyers routinely look in the refrigerator. They believe its condition is a sign of how clean the rest of the house is. It’s the same with shower stalls, he says.

* Is there a lingering odor? Homeowners who have indoor pets should buy pet deodorizer and use it often. Nothing turns people off more than pet odors, says designer Betty Hyde.

* Is it dark inside? Nash recommends increasing the wattage in all lamps and turning on every light in the house, even on a sunny day.

* Are window coverings heavy or outdated? Light and bright are today’s preferred look.

* Remove ashes from the fireplace. In winter, have fire burning; in summer, ferns or flowers can add fresh touch.

Not everyone agrees on what buyers are looking for when they go through a house.

Designer Joan Linder says they are trying to see themselves in the home, which is why it is so important to remove family photographs, she says. “If there’s already a family there, it doesn’t work,” she says.

Nutting says people are so used to going through new home models that they are comparing the home and the furniture with “the latest thing at Pelican Hill.” He says houses sell better empty rather than furnished.

Buyers generally breeze through the living room if it’s a decent size and head for the kitchen and bathrooms, he said. Those rooms are what really date a house, and fairly simple changes such as refacing or repainting cabinets or replacing old tile counters can have a big impact, he said.

Real estate agent Nancy Gromme says most home shoppers have some piece of furniture in mind that they are trying to place in the room. “If they come from back East, they often have huge bedroom sets, and that can sometimes be a problem,” she says.

Nash says people have so many houses to choose from that what they are doing is eliminating, finding a reason why that house won’t work for them.

Today’s buyers, Nutting says, want to move in and not have to fix anything.

“A few years back, people would buy ‘charm’ and spend time and money fixing it up. Those days are gone,” he says.