Throughout the years, many Home Owners looking to sell their properties have asked some advice on how to ensure that their property isn't left on the market for months on end. To ensure the interest is high and remains high.
Our answer is simple, if you were going to try and sell your car; you'd give it a good clean and brush up. So why not do that when you’re trying to sell your home?
It's all about getting the buyer connected with your home, to imagine themselves living in it, and to visualize how much it suits their family and lifestyle. Creating this isn't down to luck, it’s about taking a step back and ticking all the boxes, so they can't resist!
Here are our simple but effective top tips:
Your front door and its surrounding area is the centre piece of appeal. This is where the initial first impression comes into play, the last thing a viewer wants to see is a stiff, chipped, marked old wooden door surrounded by weeds. So repaint the door in a tasteful colour, rip up those weeds, update the outside lights and put some potted plants on either side of the door. Make the exterior look welcoming, because that’s exactly what it’s meant to be! If the outside looks bad, people presume the inside will as well.
The entrance hall, most people don’t think this is important after all, it’s just a hallway right? Wrong, this is the first impression of the interior. Do you want the first thing they see and smell to be those old muddy football boots?! We recommend a quick lick of paint in a neutral colour, remove any bulky furniture, and upgrade the lighting to give a nice bright airy feel throughout. If you feel that the hallway looks to bland, try using some colourful accessories such as a rug to add that spark of contrast.
Lighting, now although this sounds silly, it’s remarkable how effective the correct lighting can be. Using the wrong bulbs can cast a shadow across the room, making it feel dark, dingy and drab. So install some brighter modern lights to change your home into a sunny cheerful surrounding!
Clutter, NO NO NO! If you've outgrown your home, use storage! Taking pictures of a cluttered room is the hardest thing for an agent to do; there simply is no way to make the room look welcoming and bright if you can’t see any of the floor! So get that stuff out of there – Free up that room and watch how your room appears twice as large in the pictures and in reality.
The back garden, be wary of what people will see when they walk into the garden, an unkempt garden? Loose concrete slabs? Your back garden should look like a space waiting for entertainment! Viewers should be able to imagine with ease, the family BBQ or the water fight – They shouldn't have to strain the imagination to reach this conclusion. If need be, buy inexpensive patio furniture, potted plants and possibly some outdoor lighting to tie it all together!
Buyers expect to see an immaculate home with no signs of dirt – This includes last night’s take away and the undies in the bedroom! Potential buyers need to imagine themselves living in “your” space, your perfectly clean home!
Don’t leave your home like some bland neutral hotel room, get some personality into it! Almost all of the buyers out there have no clue how they want to decorate – they haven’t found the home yet! So give your home some personality so they can thrive off of your ideas and be creative without thinking too hard! The best way to do this is to paint the room in a neutral colour and make the accessories the colourful spark. The neutral walls will allow the room to appear bright, airy and therefore make it seem larger and brighter. The colour will add that personality and turn the house into a home waiting to be bought!
The kitchen and bathroom. The two most important parts of the property. Getting a new kitchen or bathroom fitted isn't the cheapest thing to do, and normally turns out to be the make or break factor.The best way to sort this is to clean, unclutter and touch up. Make sure the work surfaces only have the essential items on display; this will allow the kitchen to already seem bigger due to the amount of visible space. Re-seal the bath. Scrub down those tiles and get everything back into order!
Our top tips should always help peak some interest in the market. So give it a go. Some example pictures below will help you see what we mean; you decide which one you think looks most inviting!
This is the first step to finding out how much your property is worth.
One of our dedicated property professionals will arrange to value your house,
completely FREE with no obligation to sell through CS.
We think it's important to get a true, accurate valuation, whoever you decide to list with!