These 4 Simple Mistakes Could Make It Harder to Sell Your Home

People who are working with a mortgage lender to buy a home make their decisions based on many factors. Buyers don't want to get a mortgage loan for a property they don't love -- so the job of sellers is to help those buyers decide that the home for sale is the perfect place for them.

Unfortunately, some home sellers make mistakes that make it more difficult to find a buyer. If you're listing your property, you don't want to be one of them -- so be sure to avoid these four problems that could derail your efforts at a sale.

1. Too much clutter

If you have too much stuff around your house, you could be setting yourself up for a hard time finding a buyer. That's why 95% of agents surveyed by the National Association of Realtors recommend decluttering a home before listing it on the market.

Having too much clutter can make selling your home harder for a few reasons:

• The space will look smaller.
• Buyers may fear you don't have enough storage space.
• The clutter could hide attractive features in your home, making it harder for buyers to see perks like crown molding or a fireplace.
• Buyers will have a hard time looking past all your stuff to imagine what they could do with the home.

You're going to have to move all your stuff out when your home sells, so get a head start before listing. Go through the house, toss out anything you don't plan to take with you, and consider boxing up some of the other things if you still have a lot of stuff around.

2. Bad smells

Bad smells are an obvious turnoff for potential buyers. They may be concerned about the cleanliness of the home, the cause of the odor, or the ability to get the smell out when they move in.

You could try to cover up a bad smell with things like air fresheners or boiling a pot of water with vanilla or baking cookies before a buyer comes. But buyers will often see through these techniques and wonder what you're hiding. Instead, try to get to the root of the problem by doing a deep clean and neutralizing the odors.

If you aren't sure if your house has a smell, ask your real estate agent or a friend who you can trust to be honest with you to come through and tell you, as you sometimes don't notice this issue in your own space.

3. Pets being present

While you love your pets, buyers may not -- so 83% of NAR agents surveyed recommend removing pets from a home during showings. Pets can make potential buyers nervous about the cleanliness of your home. And some buyers may feel uncomfortable walking around with animals present.

You also don't want to take a chance of your pets getting out if a buyer is careless with a door being left open -- so take your pets with you when you clear out of the home.

4. Keeping your blinds closed

Natural light is prioritized by homeowners as a feature that improves their happiness, and with good reason. It can make a space far more cheerful to spend time in. So don't keep all your blinds and curtains shut when people come through. Let the light shine in.

Fortunately, these mistakes are easy to avoid, so be sure you aren't making them if you want the best chance to sell your home.