Garden gnomes, tacky chandeliers, tasteless wallpaper or a wild garden? What are the biggest property turnoffs for potential buyers when looking round a property?

A nationwide survey* carried out by financial comparison site Mozo discovered it wasn’t necessarily the décor which turned off potential buyers.

No parking, mould and lack of natural light were actually top of the list.

According to Mozo, the top 10 property turnoffs are:

No parking                                                          59%

Damp/mould                                                     50%

Dark rooms/poor natural light                      34%

No outdoor space                                             28%

Small rooms                                                      16%

Dated / unrenovated kitchen                        16%

Dated / unrenovated bathroom                    15%

Lack of storage                                                 14%

Flooring needs to be replaced                       12%

No laundry                                                        11%

Simple solutions

Now we do know there are simply some things you can’t do anything about – like no parking, small rooms and no laundry – however, you can very easily and quickly rectify some of the other biggest property turnoffs.

Find the cause of the mould and damp, rectify it and redecorate.

While some may consider installing a skylight in a dark room, it will probably be more cost effective (and quicker) to look at some of the great lighting solutions around and redecorate the room in light colours.

Decluttering, removing bulky furniture and again redecorating a room in light colours will increase the feeling of space in small rooms and there are some cost effective ways of modernising a dated kitchen or bathroom; consider changing the faucets or cupboard doors and paint the room in a neutral colour.

A shabby kitchen or bathroom may not necessarily be a turnoff – some buyers want something in need of bit of work so they can put their own stamp on the property.

Consider your market

A property will sell regardless – but you want to be sure you’re selling it at the maximum price for the minimum work and cost. When we’re approached to sell a property, we look at the property holistically and tell you all the things to consider when preparing a property for sale, such as the time, effort and cost in making a renovation, what the market is doing and how quickly you want to sell.

If you want some more ideas on how to prepare your property for sale and maximise the value of your house on a budget, our FREE booklet, 101 ways to maintain and prepare your home for profit, is packed full of tips and ideas.

Simply text the word ‘PROFIT’ to 0416 906 799 and we will send you a link so can download the booklet directly.

Being one of Newcastle’s longest established real estate offices, our innovative team can give you great advice on what you can do to improve your property and we are constantly achieving great results for our clients. Plus, we have a database of potential buyers looking for different real estate, so we can get your property directly in front of people genuinely interested in your type of property.

Drop into the Cardiff office or give us a call on 02 4956 9777. Or send an email to mail@newcastlepropertymanagement.com.au.

*Research information: Nationally representative survey of 1002 Australians aged 18 years and above conducted by Pureprofile between 7 and 9 September 2016.