Tips for Selling Your Home
Selling a property for the price you’d like to achieve isn’t always simple. Luckily there are a number of tips you can follow to help you achieve the best possible price for your home.
Pricing It Right
Prior to putting a property on the market, it’s wise to get it valued by several different agents. You will usually find an agent who prices it high – without any means or research to justify this figure. Be wary, they are using age-old industry tricks to win your business, knowing you will eventually sell for the more realistic price after your patience is worn. The other agents will usually offer a more realistic guide price ranges and even back this up with recent sales history of property much like yours for comparative purposes.
We’d suggest a different approach. Take the realistic figure and drop it a bit more and market your property for an ‘attractive’ price.
Your property will attract more interest from the right types of buyers, more offers and when buyers start to make bids for your property it will drive the price upwards. The one limiting factor is that this works best for good properties in good neighborhoods and might not work for properties assumed to be difficult to sell, although everything has its price.
Professional images
You want to sell your property for the best price, naturally, so you invest in an agent you feel you can trust to do this for you. Therefore we suggest you ‘insist’ that any images for marketing you on the web are carried out by a professional.
Almost all buyers now look online in the first instance, so you want the first web impression to really count. You need to hook buyers will classy shots and a short but appealing description of what’s on offer. Anything less and you will be damaging your chances.
Half Empty Closets
Buyers have a habit of snooping when it comes to viewing a property and storage is a massive selling point. If your home looks cluttered, it will appear cramped. Removing half of what is already in your closet and neatly arranging only the best pieces you have will create the illusion of ample storage space.
Light It Up
Lighting can have a major effect on your home, both externally and internally. Clever lighting can make a space appear cosy, larger, welcoming and clean. Poor lighting can create the illusion of a dingy, small space. Increasing the wattage (brightness) of any light bulbs you already have in place is a great sales tactic. You can also take advantage of any natural light by ensuring your windows are clean, investing in a bright, white drape and pulling it back in an aesthetically pleasing manner, in order to allow the sunshine to light up the interior of your home.
Play The Agent Field
Another great tip involves hiring a well-reviewed property agent. Hiring a ‘cheap’ agent might initially sound attractive, but lets think about it for a second – when was cheap ever the best? If an agent is offering you a cut-price deal, they very likely will expect a rapid turnaround, as working any harder or for longer just won’t make the business proposition attractive to them. Do you think this corresponds with you selling your property at the best price? Of course it doesn’t.
We’d recommend suggesting a fee structures that pushes your agent to achieve high. Therefore why not agree a much higher fee if the agent does better than the market suggests they can and a much lower fee if they don’t do as well as expected to. The fee can start low and go up in increments as the sale price achieved becomes higher. Do you think this might encourage your agent to push harder for you rather than try to convince you to accept a price in the pursuit of a quick sale time? We think it would, for sure.
Ensure Your House Is Show-Ready At All Times
You never know when a potential buyer is going to walk through the door, which is why ensuring your home is show-ready and pet free at all times is a must. Hiring the services of a cleaner prior to your first viewing is a great idea. A simple once over will allow them to free your home of unwanted smells, pet hair, dust and clutter.
Imagine that a celebrity magazine is visiting and wants to give an interview and they have told you they will take a few images of your home for the world to see. That’s how it should look at every single viewing and especially for when the agent sends their photographer for the marketing images.
The First Impression Counts
It’s important to remember that the exterior of your home is just as important as the interior. Regardless of how immaculate your home appears from the inside, buyers will judge your home before they’ve even walked through the door. With the addition of brightly coloured flowers, inexpensive shrubs and a lick of paint, you can give your home instant curb appeal.
Take The Home Out Of Your House
An important consideration to remember when it comes to selling your house is to de-personalise it. The more clutter in your home, the less likely it is for potential buyers to imagine themselves living there. If you can, store the likes of keepsakes, children’s toys, memorabilia and photo frames in an attic or in storage (just until the house is sold!). It may also be wise to consider hiring a home stager in order to maximise the full potential of the space you have. They will rearrange your existing furniture in order to showcase the best floor plan possible.
The Kitchen Is The Hub Of The Home
Ensuring that your kitchen is one of the best rooms in the household is a must. This particular room is often regarded to be the central hub of all homes and is usually where families dine, cook, chat and entertain. If you’re kitchen looks dated, it could mean a reduced sale price. If you have the cash funds to upgrade it, it could be a worthwhile exercise, but please do take advice from an agent as to what’s hot and what’s not in kitchens! Adding a lick of paint to a new worktop, or introducing a few new appliances (if they are well used) might be all you need to do, however it’s important to ensure that your kitchen is the best that it can be given the funds available.
Don’t Over Upgrade
Quick fixes prior to a sale are a must, however, it’s important not to go overboard. Huge improvements cost money and you must remember that you are trying to sell your house, not better it for your own personal use. Replacing the likes of door handles, curtains, cabinet hardware and leaking faucets is perfectly acceptable as these are the quick fixes that make a different without costing too much. However, adding the likes of a new conservatory could cost you thousands, and you don’t know whether a buyer even wants one!
Be Welcoming and Informative
Image Sourced
When you show a potential buyer around the household, it’s important to be both welcoming and informative. Tell them a little about the area, what changes you have made to the house and whether you have planning permission in place or whether other houses in the street have made significant changes, such as a loft conversion. Your enthusiasm for your property and the area will certainly help towards creating a strong interest in the buyer . Aside from welcoming potential buyers into your home through adopting a friendly manner, there are a number of other factors to consider too. Dotting vases filled with freshly cut flowers around the house, placing fruit bowls brimming with brightly coloured fruits and even placing a plate of cookies on the counter will give the house a welcoming appeal. Have a coffee on the go and if you sense some interest with the buyers, offer them one and take a seat in the kitchen to talk about what interests the buyers in your area. These finishing touches, despite taking little effort to achieve, make a huge difference.

Ireally like your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you design thjs website
yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz answer back as I’m looking to create my own blog and would like to find out where u got
this from. thank you
Hi we got the website designed by Image Conscious they are based in Surrey
I, too, like the design of your blog. While the advice you offer is sensible, when it comes to making your home clutter-free it can be more time-efficient and cost-effective to hire a skip (http://www.proskips.co.uk/).
This allows homeowners to clear out sheds and garages while preparing for their home move by getting rid of bulky items stored in lofts and under-stairs cupboards.
Helpful blog to those looking to sell their home. Not spending too much on improvements is a great tip. Thanks for posting.