How to Get Your House Ready for Sale
Welcome to Chapter 2 of our Series, your Conveyancing Questions Answered All in One Place.
Today, we deal with the sale of your home – and more particularly what you need to do before you put your home on the market.
How to Get Your Home Ready for Sale
Spring and Autumn are the optimum times for putting your property on the market for sale.
“Spring and Autumn are the optimum times for putting your property on the market for sale.”
Estate Agents just love the Spring. The Housing Market traditionally stirs and more Buyers are lured from their Winter hibernation.
Winter’s drab appearance (especially in the garden) is making way for the optimism and colour of Spring.
Autumn ( folklore would suggest after the children are back at school) is another good time to sell as the goal of “being in by Christmas” is achievable.
Truth be told the Housing Market is adaptable all year round. It’s just that in Winter and during the height of the Summer there are fewer people searching for homes.
We’ve compiled some sensible tips for you to put you in the right frame of mind
1. Don’t Rush: Take Your Time To Get Your Home Ripe for Selling:
Give yourself enough time between thinking about selling and actually ringing the Estate Agent for a valuation or market appraisal with a view to selling.
The goal is for anyone viewing your property to imagine themselves living there.
“The goal is for anyone viewing your property to imagine themselves living there.”
Buyers are eager to glimpse what sort of lifestyle their new home may offer.
Michelle Gallagher from JDG Estate Agents in Lancashire believes your ultimate buyer needs to see themselves cooking in your kitchen, relaxing in your lounge watching the T
V and the kids playing in the garden. Make it obvious what each room can be used for.
Michelle calls it Home Staging and it’s about creating this desire.
Home staging takes into consideration the flow of your home, your furniture arrangement and looks at eliminating clutter and concentrating on neat and good presentation, so your home looks brighter and more spacious.
It may be somewhat clichéd but fresh coffee, fresh flowers, the smell of baking bread and a roaring fire (although maybe not in the summer) really do add to the ever so important first impressions. And, let’s eschew the dog or rather the smell of the dog. You may have become accustomed to the smell but it may be an overwhelming scent for your Buyer.
2. Kerb Appeal Attracts Buyers and Puts Them in the Right Mood – What Will Your Buyers See?
Start with the front garden. If you are not a keen gardener get someone in to help as the cost will be insignificant if you realise the best price for your home.
Expend a little elbow grease in mowing the lawn (especially the front lawn) and a bit of nip and tuck to plants and hedging that need it and add a bit of colour to beds and borders.
Then, sweep (think Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter clean) on to the front door – does it need a lick of paint (gleaming is good) down the Hallway and back out to the Garden again. The Garden should be resplendent with colour (if you haven’t visited a Garden Centre in a while – do it. It will hopefully inspire you).
If you are unsure about what to do the better Estate Agents will give you some guidance. After all, they will have seen many, many houses and know what works and what doesn’t.
It is important to get your home in not just top condition but top, top condition (as football pundits might say) before it goes on the market.
First Impressions Count – especially when selling your house, and yes, as the expression goes you never get a second chance to make a first impression.
“First Impressions Count – especially when selling your house, and yes, as the expression goes you never get a second chance to make a first impression.”
3. The Re’s and the D’s: Re-paint, Re-plaster and Re-point and Declutter Declutter and Declutter
Competition amongst sellers is invariably fierce so it is essential that your property stands out from the crowd.
Smartening the appearance of your home may not add too much value, but importantly, it could make the difference between selling in a reasonable time or your house sticking and going stale on the market. Repoint where necessary – it will make you feel good about yourself.
Neutral remember is good – not nuclear.
Well-presented puts the potential buyer in the right frame of mind to make an earlier offer and can create competition between prospective Buyers – an Estate Agent’s dream.
4. No Excuses Either If You’r
e Selling a Flat
And if you are selling a flat don’t think that doesn’t really apply to you as you need to ensure the communal areas are up to scratch (even if you have to do it yourself – with permission of course).
5. A Few Finishing Touches
If you have been around a show home (and if not now would be a god time) or seen pictures in glossy magazines you may have noticed the emphasis on accessories.
Accessories add to the image of a desirable place to live.
Could you add a few finishing touches to your home?
The relative cost to the benefit realised with a quicker sale would be well spent.
So, think cushions and candles, flowers, feature wall paper and fluffy towels, scents and sensible colour.
It’s true that where you are looking to buy a house you will be more concerned initially with “Location, Location, Location” but when it comes to selling your house or flat it’s definitely “Presentation, Presentation, Presentation.”
“It’s true that where you are looking to buy a house you will be more concerned initially with ‘Location, Location, Location’ but when it comes to selling your house or flat it’s definitely “’resentation, Presentation, Presentation.’”
With a little forethought and planning you can make sure your house is All Ship Shape and Bristol Fashion and you could reap the rewards of a sale of your house within a reasonable time.
Your Conveyancing Questions Answered – All In One Place
