Part 2: Thinking of selling after Covid-19?
In part one I covered packing up all none essential belongings, giving your home a deep clean and the psychology of your homes potential buyers....
In part one I covered packing up all none essential belongings, giving your home a deep clean and the psychology of your homes potential buyers....in this article from my 13 years experience of asking feedback from viewers I want to delve deeper into exactly what people are looking for when they view a house.
First impressions are everything! One of the most awkward conversations I have with anyone is about smells in their homes! I have learnt the hard way on this! One lady burst into tears when I said her house had an overwhelming smell of dog...but she ended up thanking me for it when we sold her house. That was a new carpet job - it’s that important! Really, I can’t stress how important it is to get a friend to come to your house and be honest with you about pet smells. Viewers can be put off immediately and in worse case scenarios won’t want to continue looking around..If it smells you need to get rid of it. This may even be new carpets all together but at the very least get a professional clean of your carpets. Obviously this would all need to happen after lockdown. We recommend Colin at Lightfoot Carpet Cleaning Services - he has a Facebook page check it out.
Generally as far as smells go the classic freshly made coffee and baked bread go down really well in Kitchens. Scented candles or air fresheners are also a good idea.
Make sure the front of your house looks as attractive as possible - kerb appeal is hugely important and the front photo is likely to be the first one people look at. It can be the difference between them clicking on it for a further look. Does the front door need replacing or painting? Is the garden tidy? Does the render need painting? Are all fences nicely painted? Lawns mowed?
Internally I often get asked how far do we go? How much money should we spend?
It’s difficult to say without seeing the house but it’s very rare I tell people to go as far as putting a new bathroom or Kitchen in. The reason being is you’ll only generally add onto the value what you spend...so it could be a waste of time. It’s very rare in this area that you’ll add a load of value on top of what you’ve spent.
Generally I’ll tell people to re-decorate if not neutral. If carpets are dirty I’d advise a clean.
The finishing touches: Without being sexist fellas, this is where women excel! If you check out the property we have on the market on Ffordd Dewi in Oakenholt you’ll see a perfect example of how home accessories can be used to make a home look stunning. I love it when a home is dressed in this way because it makes the photos look tremendous.
Part of my market appraisal always involves giving some advice on how to prepare your home for sale. Remember we currently have the option to do a zoom video conferencing valuation or I can give you a very accurate valuation as well as some advice via the social distancing valuation link below...
Hope this series of articles have helped during these difficult times! See you on the other side!
Stay safe
Ben Roberts
MD