Presenting Your Home
When trying to make your home more attractive to a buyer you are attempting to convince someone else that they want your home as much as you did when you bought it. Once your property is on the market, all eyes will be looking for what’s really there – so it’s important to make sure you prepare well, to appeal to as many people as possible. A few small changes can make the world of difference to presenting a property favourably to as many prospective buyers and tenants as possible.
Those Little Niggles
While you may be used to the kitchen cupboard that doesn’t shut fully or the loose tiles in the hallway, or the living room door that catches on the floor, a viewer may take the view that these are items that will take time and effort to put right, creating a negative impression in their mind. Similarly, cluttered surfaces and corners could be perceived as mess due to a lack of storage space. The idea is that a buyer leaves the property with a many positive thoughts about your home as possible, they may be viewing something else straight afterwards and comparing.
Clear Those Surfaces
Remember that you are parting with your home, however the buyers are looking for a house. The difference is marginal, but it affects people’s perceptions of the property if it’s overwhelmingly ‘you’ or full. When trying to make your house more attractive for a buyer it’s best to present it as much as possible as a blank canvas, so that during the viewing the buyer can mentally ‘move in’ and imagine themselves living there. The more a buyer can ‘see themselves here’, the more likely they are to want to buy it.
Clean Air
First Impressions count – cigarette smoke, pets, children, damp or spicy food, it would be reasonable to say that these factors can create smells that linger and over time, we can become used to this, so the best thing to do is to ask a friend to come round, take a deep breath, and offer an honest opinion. If the property does have a slight odour, then the best course of action is to make sure the property is aired well and to eliminate the source of the smell.
Make Your Home More Attractive Outside Too
Kerb Appeal is very important to a buyer’s decision making process, you want the visit to leave a positive impression. Have a clean front door, does it need repainting ? Make sure the rubbish and recycling bins are away or tidy, if you have children, the toys are not all over the garden and your pets if you have them, have not left any messages in the middle of the grass to be seen or stepped in. Clear any household rubbish that you may have been meaning to take to the local tip. The outside space is just as important as inside.
