How to Entice Buyers to Look at a Vacant Home

How to Entice Buyers to Look at a Vacant Home

You had to move to your new home before your old one sold. No matter what the circumstances that forced your early move, the truth is that you now have a unique selling situation. You have a vacant home to show and sell. While that may seem like an ideal situation, it does present a number of challenges.

An Empty Home is a Boring Home

One of the first problems you’ll encounter is that the home is completely empty. Believe it or not, this actually makes it more difficult for a buyer to visualize himself living in the home. There is no frame of reference for how the rooms might look with furniture or décor. The upside is that this can be remedied in a few different ways.

The first is virtual staging, where an artist uses technology to add furniture and décor to the images of the home that will appear online. The images can be used as a supplement to the home showing. More ideal would be to rent furniture or buy someone on consignment to leave behind. The home will look a little more lived in, without the clutter of an actual family running in and out.

Regular Home Maintenance

A vacant home is an unmaintained home. Make sure you have someone doing outside yardwork on a routine basis to keep the outside looking well maintained and cared for. Depending on how long you’re out of the house, and how far away you are, you may want to hire a cleaning service to make sure the inside isn’t too dusty, that the windows are washed, and that there are no odors in the home.

Utilities Need to Be On

You need to make sure that there are utilities on within the home. While you may fear the cost, you’ll be spending significantly less than if someone was living in the house. Your real estate agent needs to be able to turn on lights, adjust the heat or air conditioning, show that the gas range works (if applicable) and show that the plumbing systems work. If the home sells, an inspector will need to be able to do the same. No one will want to tour a home they can’t see, or that feels awful compared to the outside temperature.

Don’t panic if you need to leave your home before it has sold. Your real estate agent is here to help and will guide you through the process, ensuring everything runs smoothly in your absence.