Selling Your Home - Tips from the Experts
Instant smell – instant sell. Brewing a pot of real coffee or having baking bread in the oven is an old trick but the smell of a property is often crucial in giving the right first impression. Fresh flowers are also a good idea.
Kerb appeal is essential. Many sellers spend many thousands of pounds on the interior of the property and forget that most people are making a judgement on your property from their car on the opposite side of the road! A freshly painted front door is a good place to start. Hanging baskets and a tidy front garden and mowed lawn are also important.
A confident buyer will sweep into a room. Don’t let your buyer have to get through pizza menus, junk mail, last years autumn leaves or coats on banisters! Keep your hall tidy.
In winter, always have the lights on during the day. Light and bright houses sell! “Up-light” is often better than “down-light”. They can add enchantment!
In summer , natural light can liven up your home a give a feeling of freshness and cleanliness. So draw back the curtains and open windows where possible. Take down any net curtains and ensure that your windows are clean!
If there are any damp or unpleasant lingering smells(cigarettes or dogs in particular) make use of “plug-ins” or scented candles.
If a property is vacant, always leave some furniture behind to give the place a lived in feeling. In addition some buyers have little imagination and cant work out where things go!
There is a well known saying in the industry that if a buyer sits down in a property, they feel at ease and is possibly thinking of putting in an offer. Make sure therefore there is space around settees and armchairs so that viewers don’t have to step over coffee tables to get to them.
Attend to routine maintenance issues(peeling paint, garden gates hanging off hinges, rusty letter boxes). These items give a bad impression and can lead to buyers making lower offers.
Gardens should be as neat and tidy as the inside of a property. Always mow the lawn before a viewing in the summer and remove leaves in the autumn.
To nervous first-time buyers a damp stain caused by a small long ago leakage may suggest an impending flood.
