Make Your Sacramento Home Appealing to Home Buyers

Most first-time home buyers in Sacramento want a home that is ready for immediate occupancy. They don’t want to buy new carpet or paint much beyond maybe one wall. First-time home buyers generally don’t have a lot of extra money to spend on such things as new appliances, either. Often, I hear sellers say they don’t want to fix anything because the buyer might not like it, so they’d prefer to leave it up to the buyer to do. What they’re really saying is they just don’t want to do it. The thing is they might have given that buyer a good excuse to buy somebody else’s house instead of theirs.

Now, it’s true that in this seller’s market we’re experiencing in Sacramento, buyers will overlook a lot of things. However, if you want top dollar, then you need to present your home in top condition. It doesn’t necessarily mean staging it, but if you want to get more than anybody else in your neighborhood, for example, then you need to give buyers what they want.

What do buyers want? Depends where the home is located. In the suburbs, like Natomas or Elk Grove or Lincoln, for example, buyers want immaculate, sparkling kitchens with newer appliances, modern cabinetry and slab granite. Indoor laundry. Separate family rooms and fireplaces. Soaring ceilings. An open floor plan. At least 3 bedrooms, and some kind of office space. A garage. Nice fenced yard with grassy lawn.

They don’t want to buy a single-story home that is surrounded by looming two- and three-story homes, which can block sunlight and offer little privacy. Little known fact: many buyers, if given a choice, would prefer one level over multiple levels.

If you are confused about what to do to sell your home, ask a Sacramento real estate agent to help you. An experienced agent can tell you what you need to do to sell your home and what you don’t need to do. Just don’t do it halfway. Don’t paint all the rooms in your house but leave one room a bright purple because you ran out of steam. Buyers might wonder what else you didn’t have the energy to do. Or, they will call it the purple house and probably not buy it.