According to the latest surveys, buying a home is majorly influenced by ‘love at first sight’. One in two buyers decide after the first visit and don’t need another one to make a bid on a home.
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Useful tips to get more viewings for your property:
More details in the article and the video below:
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When you step into a house there is naturally one room which buyers gravitate towards. The important question is, which room convinces you to buy? If you’re looking to sell your home it is useful to know which room to prioritise for open houses, images of the property or facts about your home.
Read more in this article on guildproperty.co.uk:
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You have probably heard that first impressions are vital but did you know that within 15 seconds a buyer has already developed an opinion of your property? This is why creating the right first impression is critical to achieving a successful sale.
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FROM YOUR DRIVEWAY…
Ensure the front garden looks its best – mowed lawns, weed-free flowerbeds and an uncluttered access to the front door. Make sure your house number or name is clearly visible from the road. Leave plenty of room for potential buyers to park.
A WARM WELCOME…
Be ready, turn the heating on and light fires in winter. Open curtains and turn on lights because people react favorably to brighter properties. Appeal to the senses with fragrant flowers, there are many ways to create an exciting interior with surprisingly little money.
FAMILY PETS…
Its preferable for your pets to remain outside during viewing. Where possible make sure your carpets and furniture are hair free.
THE CHEF’S PRIDE OF PLACE
Your kitchen can have a major impact on the sale of your house. It should be well organised with tidy cupboards and worktops. Make sure its is virtually spotless and smells fresh. And keep your tea towels in the drawer not over the hob.
SPACIOUS BATHROOMS
It’s imperative this room looks bright, clean and tidy. Dripping taps, discolored carpet, dirty tiles or evidence of a leaking shower unit should be addressed. Make sure the toilet seats stays down.
TIDY BEDROOMS
Clean and tidy bed linen gives the impression you care about the presentation of yourself and the property you live in. Remove any evidence of washing or ironing to allow your room to look larger and more spacious. Clear the toys and make the beds.
D.I.Y.
Don’t allow your property to let you down, ensure any loose tiles, missing handles or broken windows are mended or replaced. If you are unable to do the task simply ask us to recommend an expert. Bad D.I.Y stands out more than you think to a buyer.
PRESENTATION
The positioning of furniture in each room can give the impression of either clutter or space. If necessary, remove some furniture from your main rooms. living, dining, and master bedrooms to allow ease of viewing. Touching up paint and re-sealing wallpaper can improve the quality of presentation. First impressions are vital.
Buying a new home is a big decision and expense. By understanding the buyer’s need to visualize themselves living in your home you can dramatically increase its sale-ability.
Let buyers look around at their own leisure.
Have all essential guarantees on hand and be prepared to answer any questions that arise.
Selling your house, especially if it’s your first home, is a big decision and not one to be taken lightly. Before you go buying your next house, make sure you’re ready to sell your current one first. I don’t mean applying a new coat of paint and trimming the hedges, although that certainly helps the sale price. I mean other things you might not have thought of. Here are 9 key things you need to consider when selling your house.
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First, consider your financial situation. Where will you live after you sell your house? If you’re moving out to an apartment first, there will be a period of a few months where you’ll be paying a mortgage and rent. Can you afford that? You’ll need to have some extra funds put aside to help cover you for those months.
Hand in hand with your finances, comes the price you want for your house. What you bought the house for and what you want to get out of it are irrelevant. What matters is the current real estate market in your community. An appraiser will accurately tell you the true value of your home. Don’t ignore their recommendation and market the house at too high a price or you’ll put off buyers. Remember, those buyers have realtors who can tell them if a house is priced too high.
Don’t let your house sale be held up due to missing or incomplete paperwork, ensure it’s all in place from the word go. Are there any issues with the house that would prevent you from selling it? For example, what if you owe more than the house is worth? This will slow the process down as the bank will need to approve the sale price. What if you discover that your mortgage has a prepayment penalty? Talk to your lender and ensure there’s going to be no issues and that you have everything you need in place to help your sale go smoothly.
You will have plenty of choices when it comes to choosing a realtor. There is certainly no shortage of realtors in your area looking to sell your house. After all, they earn a living off the commission. You can either choose a big name company like remax or 21st or instead hire a local realtor. There are pros and cons to each approach. A big company would have the resources to get your house out there in front of a lot more people. Yet the local realtor truly knows the community like no other.
When getting your house prepared for the big sale, consider your target market. Do you live in an area with a lot of young families or conversely is it mostly peopled by downsizers? Think about the likely buyer of your home and stage the house accordingly.
The first step to making your home appealing is to de-clutter and depersonalize the space. Look at your home with fresh eyes and take down decorative items specific to you (like family photos) and de-clutter each room to maximize the space. Simply leave enough furniture in each room to show its purpose.
Finish all of those odd jobs you’ve been meaning to get around to, from fixing dripping taps to cleaning moldy grouting. The houses which sell quickest are those which don’t need work done to them. Leave small jobs undone, and potential buyers will worry what else you haven’t done.
A fresh coat of paint can do wonders to brighten up and refresh a dated home. Choose white or cream to maximize the sense of space, and to appeal to as broad a range of people as possible.
Nothing is a bigger turn-off to potential buyers than a grubby property – so pop on your rubber gloves and start cleaning. The less a potential buyer has to do, the more they can imagine themselves living in your property.
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Moving home is often cited as one of the most stressful experiences in life. However, you can make the process a little less stressful by following advice and avoiding common mistakes.
Not all estate agents are the same. Check out their fees and whether there are hidden costs and what their success rate is. Many people simply settle on the first company they come across and end up regretting it. As with any venture, it pays to shop around and ask the right questions before you enter into any arrangement.
Another mistake that sellers make is over estimating the price they’ll get for their property. This is more common nowadays where many bypass traditional estate agents and simply pick a selling price out of thin air. Do your research and see what similar properties in your area are going for and set a reasonable price.
These days, the majority of homes sold in the UK are placed in online listings. Don’t accept poor quality images. If you’ve chosen a good estate agent, they will make sure your property is looking its very best through high quality photographs. These are the first thing a buyer will see and you only get one chance to make a good first impression. Therefore, it is essential that your agent is using photographs that will really appeal to potential buyers.
There are plenty of houses for sale – and you want to make sure buyers won’t discount yours. They will, though, if things are broken when they come for a viewing. You may well be planning on fixing whatever’s broken before you move, but your buyer doesn’t know that. Get it fixed before you put your property on the market
You’ve probably spent a long time making sure the inside of your house is not only clean and tidy, but also well decorated, perfectly laid out and just generally ideal for showing off to that buyer who’s coming around. But don’t forget, as much as the inside of the house will dazzle them, the exterior gives it that kerb appeal, and can help them form an opinion before they’ve even come inside. The garden sells your home, even subconsciously, so as much as you want to get the inside of your home perfect, forgetting the garden is a big no-no. It’s all too easy to miss things like tired old fences, lawns that are slightly too long or items strewn about the garden, but these are all things that give your home a negative kerb appeal, and it’s absolutely essential that they’re addressed before the home comes to market.
When potential buyer’s come to view the house, they need to be able to picture themselves living there. If you have personal touches lying around such as photos and your own personal colour scheme, it makes it more difficult for buyers to imagine it as their own. Therefore, you need to ensure you are offering a neutral ‘blank canvas’. This means painting the walls a neutral colour and taking down any personal touches that distinguish it as your home.
Lastly, don’t hide anything from your agent. Make sure you are upfront about any issues there are with your home. This will save you lots of time and money as they will come out eventually, potentially ruining your sale too.
… and with bigger prices!
Photo source: Property Division http://bit.ly/2vHBgAy
You would never think it matters, but it actually can really count when it comes to the property price. Yes, we are talking about the ‘unimportant’ bathroom problem.
The bathroom might be overlooked when a seller tries to prepare the house for a viewing. However, studies show us that the bathroom can raise the general selling price.
And don’t think it’s actually all about fancy faucets or high-end furnishes. All the improvements can be done by yourself and are quite reasonable for anybody who is handy and wants to cash in some more money by taking care of the bathroom themselves.
The article on Property Division lists a couple of things to do in the bathroom that were proven to give the best first impression on the prospective buyer. Paint the restroom in a blueish shade, clean it thoroughly, and improve the lightning are the first three easy steps.
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There are numerous reasons why a house is not selling. It could be the fault of the estate agent, a lack of market activity, or an unattractive property presentation.
Divorce cases. These are very off putting to buyers. Even if the agent has not been informed or has been asked not to say anything, somehow, the buyer picks up on the atmosphere. If a divorce is the reason for selling, then try to vacate the property before the agent starts to do viewings.
If you are trying to sell your home but for some reason it’s just not happening, then it may be time to ask yourself a couple of questions. And be honest…
Could I be more flexible for viewing times and days?
Am I assisting or hindering the viewing?
Am I presenting my property to the best possible standard?
Should I consider a price reduction?
Am I being given viewing feedback from my agent?
Some useful tips seem obvious but are regularly overlooked by many. The simplest of things can make or break a sale. What is parking like in the street? If you have a drive, keep it car free. Allow the prospective purchaser to use the driveway.
What day are the bins collected in your street? If your street is a victim of looking untidy in the run-up to bin collection day, then try to find a day when the street looks presentable.
If you live in a street that has a school, then do DO NOT have any viewings around the time that parents are parked in your street when collecting their children from school, as parking will be hard to find. Likewise, if the neighbours’ children are a nightmare, then they will also be at school.
If you have a great feature in your home, i.e. the rear garden, then try to book viewings when the sun is up and upon the garden.
Calm background music is always a nice touch, as this can set a mood in the property.
A sure-fire tip is to think ‘Show Home’. If you have collected a lifetime of memories over the years, start to box it all away and store it under the stairs. You have already made up your mind to move, so start the process and start to pack away.
Make sure that the house smells nice, free from pet odour and smoke.
Make sure that pets are out of the house… You may love them, but not everyone will.
Finally, we will live in a home on average for 10 years. Statistically speaking, you will probably only have to sell a home 5 times… So choose an agent wisely and allow them to take the stress out of the selling process for you.