Good News!

Home Sales Are Finally Heating Up!

And buyers are super picky!

Demanding ‘Clean & Fresh Smelling’ carpeting.

Never has the real estate market been more demanding than today and if you’re trying to sell a house that stinks – FORGET IT!

Jay MacDonald of Bankrate.com has this to say: “What a difference a couple of years makes!”

“Back in 2007, home buyers would beg to purchase your house. They would even bid more than the asking price to do so!

Today … well, not so much. Once the real estate bubble burst and foreclosures poisoned the housing pool, buyers suddenly regained the upper hand. But instead of buying, they’re waiting, either convinced that housing prices will continue to drop or they’re looking for that perfect home and time is on their side.”

In his article, as Mr. MacDonald mentioned what he clearly observed as the 10 home sales killers, dirt & odors are conspicuous as the number 1 & 2 home sales killers today!

The article goes on to share the results of interviews with a panel of knowledgeable real estate specialists from across the country.

The following two statements make this a must for home sellers as a predicted strong spring and summer buying season gets underway in the residential real estate market place!

#1-Dirt

Hands down, the panel agrees: Nothing turns off a buyer quicker than a dirty house. Dirty carpeting conveniences a prospected home buyer that the house is dirty and probably wasn’t taken very good care of.

#2-Odors (pets #1 problem)

Buyers, it’s said, buy with their noses. Make sure your home smells fresh and inviting. If your home smells like pets used the carpeting as a toilet, expect the house to stay on the market FOREVER! Urine off-gassing will affect the sheetrock, cabinets, ceiling and other textiles throughout the house virtually guaranteeing a no-sale.

Preparing a Home for the Market . . .

In order to sell a house, the seller should make sure that it is in top marketable condition. If not, a good realtor will strongly offer such advice. However, it is entirely possible that the owner may not have the funds to completely redo their house, but there are small and simple things the owner can do in order to

Improve the overall look and atmosphere of the house.

Here are several things that buyers often say turn them off from buying a particular house when they are looking into buying it.

First on the List Is a Dirty House

If a house is dirty, it will not look appealing to a potential buyer. Many real estate agents will advise that homeowners try to ‘deep clean’ their home, so it can look as nice as possible for the buyers.

Freshening a Home for the Market

If the carpets are old or dingy, you should probably consider replacing them. If replacing the carpets is not in the budget, you should at least have them professionally cleaned and deodorized.

Be aware that another major turn off for buyers is odors. Offensive odors will turn off the buyer in a heartbeat.

Odor #1 – One of the main issues with smells is pets.

Many people who own pets don’t notice that their pets have a distinctive smell. But it is important to realize that people who have never entered your home before are not used to your particular pet smells. Additionally, even a pet owner becomes suspicious because of possible hidden pet damage that they have experienced themselves may exist.

Finally, it is important to realize that many people are not even animal people at all. This is why it is crucial to try to eliminate all potentially objectionable smells that could be offensive to a potential buyer.

Odor #2 – The above is also true with smokers. The home owner should be advised to try to remove any signs that they are smokers, like ashtrays and the like. If you cannot rid your home of cigarette odor consider having Tru-Clean release a gas or fog in your home to eliminate the odor. These services are economical and may make the difference between your house selling or lingering on the market for months.

It may also be in your best interest to at least try to clean the furniture or have them cleaned by a cleaning professional so that most of the smell is gone from the house. Also if you are a smoker wipe dow your cabinets and other hard surfaces where tar has built up.

NOTE: Never just add a pleasant smelling perfume to your cleaner and assume it will work. This might please the customer while you are present, but it will in no way solve the problem, and the odor will return within days if not simply hours of your departure.

Tru-Clean is proud to be the “cleaner of choice” to many of our areas leading realtors, interior designers, flooring contractors and furniture retailers and we know how assist in preparing a home to sell for top dollar.

Tru-Clean is a Certified Partner with the prestigious Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) and the international Carpet & Rug Institute. We are also A+ certified with the Better Business Bureau and Angie’s List.

For more tips on removing odor from your home or how to prepare your home for sale please feel free to give us a call at any time. We’ve helped hundreds of homeowners and realtors in preparing homes for listings and we can assist you too.

For more information about our services please visit us online at www.trucleansurfacecare.com or call us any time at 239-541-4888.

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Tru-Clean offers services such as:  Thoroughly exhaustive carpet cleaning, restorative tile and grout cleaning, allergen-free mattress cleaning, pet urine and odor control, cigarette odor elimination, leather and upholstery cleaning, Oriental, wool and silk area rug cleaning.

We service the cities of:  Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Lehigh Acres, North Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Punta Gorda, Estero, Bonita Springs, Naples, Buckingham and Marco Island FL.