Tips for Selling a home – if you take this on board you will achieve your sale at a lower cost and stress level.
First impressions count
Kerb appeal create a great first impression – most buyers make up their minds in the first few minutes of arriving at a property. They will probably go past before deciding to come in.
The most important features for kerb appeal are well maintained windows and a roof that appears to be in good condition. A well maintained tidy front garden, maintained pathways and good fences as well as a well-painted frontage are equally important.
Fresh Paint and choose the colours with care
Giving your windows walls and doors a touchup of neutral paint will make your home seem lighter and bigger
It will enables those viewing to easily imagine how they would adapt the home to their needs. Your choice of lime green skirting and Royal Blue painted walls may not be the first choice of your potential buyer so consider neutral colours such as Beige, cream, magnolia etc.
Declutter – but don’t depersonalise
Get rid of all the excess items, paperwork, old magazines, either put it in storage, take it to a friend, sell it or give it away. Try to give line of sight from the doorways to the furthest point in the room at floor level, if you can see lots of floor the perception is the home is larger.
People need to be able to envisage how the property could look if they were living there so make it easy for them to see all the great living space and potential for comfort you are offering them.
Some people are buying into a lifestyle as much as a property, showing them the attractive side of your home and how it supports a relaxed lifestyle, perhaps you have smart home technology in use that makes life easier.
Consider removing any oversize furniture that makes a room feel small and replace it with smaller items of furniture
Obvious Maintenance
Do any minor repairs that are required – holes in walls, cracked tiles, torn or threadbare carpets. Many buyers want to move in without making changes.
Clean everything until it sparkles, remove any signs of limescale, bleach clean and repair the tile grout, hang up fresh towels or remove the ones you used that day. This will make the place more appealing and allow viewers to imagine living there.
Tidy up the garden
Mow the lawn, trim bushes back, clean the patio and furniture of lichen and dirt. While this doesn’t add much value to your home it makes it more likely to sell as people visualise themselves using the garden.
Smells
Even a chain smoking chef who owns a cattery and kennels is going to be put off your home by smells of food, your Pets or the smell of smoke. It’s possible that we all become “Nose blind” so if there is any doubt ask someone you know to be totally honest with you – just in case.
During the Viewings
Let the kids go and see their friends, remove the pets, turn off the TV and Radio and if you have any other distractions see how you can mitigate the impact it could have.
Allow the buyer to ask questions, give precise short answers and try to let them do 80% of the talking with you being there to service their interest, there is no point explaining about how that wardrobe came from your aunt who swam the channel in 1922 – their are not interested.