SPRING IS IN THE AIR

With House Doctor

I don’t know about you but I’m feeling as though this has been a long winter. As soon as the weather starts to improve the property market picks up. Many families like to find their new home in the spring so they can exchange and complete in time to move by the summer and, for those with families, children can start their new schools in September.

If you are planning to sell your home this year then you need to prepare before placing your home on the market.

Q.Why prepare your home before you talk to an estate agent?

A. Sothat you can present your home in the best possible light prior to it being valued. Often a home can stall on the market because of price, presentation and/or location. If you get the presentation right, research actual sold prices in your neighbourhood so you have an idea of the price you should achieve, then you have some of the information to help you choose an agent. Oh, and we cannot do anything about location, you’ll need to address any problems about that with your chosen agent.

Note: If your home isn’t presented well and it sticks on the market then you will have lost your initial “ new to the market” advantage. The usual agent response to this is to drop the price. Isn’t it easier to have a well presented home right from the start?

Most prospective buyers will have made a decision about your home during the time it takes to walk up to and into your entrance hall. You have to make a great first impression and stand out from all the other homes that they are viewing.

“Buyers expectations have changed, partly thanks to property programmes and magazines, they want better and better properties.” Jeremy Leaf, Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. Sunday Times

Ready, Set, Actions for Selling

I have some ideas to get your plan started. Grab a cup of coffee or tea, get a pen and we can start to plan. Actually, there is something else I want you to do if you can. Grab your phone or a digital camera and go around your home taking a picture from the door area into every room. Also don’t forget the outside, cross the street if you can and take a picture of your house. Now download them onto a laptop or print them onto ordinary paper.

Kerb Appeal

Lets start to look at the pictures you’ve just taken through the eyes of a potential buyer or visitor. Let’s look at the outside first. Can you see the home easily? Is the number or name visible? Will it be well lit at night so viewers can find it easily? Does the roof look sound? What about the guttering etc.? Is the front door welcoming? Does it give a great first impression? Remembermost viewers will look online first before they decide to view your home. Will your house make the cut? I think of it like “Tinder” -dating for Houses Will they swipe left or right?

Inside

Take one room at a time and look at the pictures you have taken. Pretend it is in a magazine you are reading and study it as though seeing it for the first time. Don’t be shocked by the pictures. The first time I did this I had to spend time clearing my rooms of clutter I hadn’t even noticed until I printed out the photo. It’s amazing what the eye gets used to.

Let’s use this picture as an example.

This bookcase is in a living room.

What’s your initial impression?

Calm and peaceful or Oh my good gosh! In this example, what’s the first thing your eye is drawn to? Is it a lovely focal point or too bright a colour? Does the room look small because there is too much in it? Is it looking tired and in need of a new paint job?

There is so much more to consider when home staging but let’s stick to these few actions for now. In this room, all those lovely but space filling items such as books, videos and toys will need to be packed away ready for moving. One advantage is you are starting to organise and pack before the move another, for those with families, if you pack while the children are at school they hopefully won’t remember everything they had!

Moving with children

One of the best tips I was given for moving with children was to get them to choose the 10 items they cannot live without. Whatever is left can be sorted, stored, gifted or thrown. I have a friend who used to hold toy swop coffee mornings. It was a great way for us Mums to catch up with each other and the natural minimalists amongst us took lots of toys to the event to swop but didn’t pick many new ones to take home! Whatever was left over went to a local charity so we all felt good about the day.

Just in case you were curious, here is the room after staging. 
The owners called us in before getting the home listed and they achieved a quick sale for more than the asking price….

Ready, Set, Actions for Selling, continued

Lets get back to your action plan. You need to carry on this process with all the rooms in your home, looking at the pictures and jotting down what you feel needs to be done prior to listing your home. Prioritize your list and set aside a little time each day or a longer time at weekends to complete it. Remember not to just list the more obvious de-cluttering, painting or cleaning that needs to be completed, also list any repairs that need finishing, ask yourself what is the rooms function. If it’s a dining room, show it as a dining room, even if you use it for work, clear and show it how the agents marketing will name it.

If you are feeling over whelmed and get help by calling in Staging professionals they will also consider the furniture placement, colour flow, kerb appeal, demographics, target market and many other factors in and around your home that will help give you the competitive edge.