Five Reasons Why Empty Rooms Make it Harder to Sell
We’ve all heard the advice about de-cluttering the house when it’s time to sell, but did you know you can go too far? It’s actually bad news to have empty rooms when you’re hoping to shift your property, and here’s why:
Reason one – people buy homes, not houses
You’re not just selling a house or flat, you’re selling a home. This space is where people will hold parties, bring up children and where they’ll curl up on the sofa after a hard day at work. They see all this when they walk into your home, so don’t ask them to look past bare walls and an expanse of floor. An empty house is depressing, which may well turn off a buyer there and then.
Practically speaking, empty rooms make it harder to imagine how their furniture will fit in, as it serves as a reference. If someone looks at your table and knows that theirs is a shade smaller, they know it’ll fit in that nook just fine.
Reason two – furniture helps people to understand how large a room is.
People generally can’t tell if a room is 13 feet by 11 feet or 12 feet by 10 feet just by looking at it, especially if it’s empty. Also, if a room is an unusual shape – L-shaped or long and narrow, for example – buyers might not know what they can fit into it. They might think there’s not much room for their furniture when in actual fact there is.
Reason three – empty rooms don’t let people work out the configuration of furniture
This is especially important if there’s a small room. Bigger rooms don’t present an ergonomic challenge to viewers (although if they’re empty they can seem desolate), but smaller ones definitely do. If you’ve got a nifty arrangement of furniture, or some innovative pieces, then the buyer might be inspired to make your house work for them rather than discouraged.
Reason four – empty rooms show up all the flaws
Rather than gazing through the house from room to room, viewers fixate on minor flaws, like small bumps in the carpet, less-than-perfect plastering and ever-so-slightly wonky light fittings. This is not to be encouraged.
Reason five – empty rooms make you look desperate
Everyone likes a bargain and if a buyer thinks they can knock off a few grand because you’re in a rush to sell, they’ll look for any excuse to try it on. Having one or more empty rooms will make them think you’re getting divorced, or you have already left the city and are eager to be rid of the property. Then they’ll start thinking of low offers.
