Tag Archives: advice

When it comes to choosing an agent to sell your home, your first choice might be to seek out the one in town with the swankiest digs; lighting that changes colour, freshly painted walls, swish cars in the driveway, silver edged coffee makers. However, image isn’t everything. Some of these agents may be wonderful, but in some cases they aren’t necessarily the best. When choosing an agent, treat your selection like you would pick at the crop of a dating website; be fussy.

So what sort of things should you be looking for, when seeking out your house marketer? We’ve picked our top tips; use them wisely.

Website – ALL agents should have a website in this day and age; if they don’t, this is an immediate bad sign. To gain full marketing exposure of your property, putting it online is imperative. This is where most house hunters start their search. If your agent does have a website, check how often it is updated. Yesterday? A month ago? A year? If the length of time is longer than a few weeks, think again. If they don’t keep their properties and website updated, they won’t be keeping your house marketing updated either.

Reviews – Just like a product review, people review their experience of a service. If someone has received outstanding service at the hands of an agent, some will choose to write about it, just as many will with negative reviews too. It goes without saying that occasionally one negative review will slip through the net for most agents, but view all reviews as a percentage. If an agent has over 10% negative evaluations, read what their downfalls are, and what happened. On some review websites, some agents might even comment back on some reviews, so look out for these points too.

Photography – As we discussed in this blog, photography is paramount when marketing your property correctly. Get it wrong, and no one will take a second glance at your house. With this in mind, analyse your agent’s photography skills. Is it professionally done, or does it look as if they took a few shots with a camera phone? If they care about the look they are trying to achieve when marketing your home, they’ll care about you as a client too.

Reliability – To gain a little bit of insight into how reliable your potential agent is, ask around for word of mouth opinions. People at work, friends or family are bound to know someone who has recently moved, and used the same local agent. Get to know how dependable the agent was in terms of contact, marketing, pricing and other things important to you. If their approach was rushed and impersonal, that’s how they’ll be with you too. It’s a no-go.

Popularity and experience – How long has your agent been in the market? If many years, this is a great sign that they’re doing their job well, and are trusted. While new agencies do grace our towns every few years, without the knowledge of how they work, you won’t know what to expect. Getting an agent with solid experience and a hearty background in helping their client’s sell their house well, is what you need.

By looking at the things that matter when choosing an agent to market your home, you’ll ensure you choose the right one who will only want the best for you as a client. Be picky in the property market; it’ll guarantee you end up with the right ‘date’ for your house.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

You’re just about to put your home up for sale. You’ve chosen your estate agent, decided upon an asking price, and planned your launch date. Your home is looking wonderful: spick and span, and sparkly clean.

Now all you need are some finishing touches. But which? What should you buy to transform your house into an extra-special home that will wow your viewers, and generate an offer?

Here are our top 9 styling secrets to add that ‘show home’ glow:

Secret #1. Cushions – a really easy way to instantly update that fading suite and add colour, texture and interest at the same time. If your living room is neutral and ‘safe’, add cushions with a splash of colour. If on the other hand, your colour scheme is vibrant, try pale coloured cushions, in cream, pale grey or faded gold.

Secret #2. Rugs – a large, deep rug can transform a room, adding warmth and style. You don’t have to spend a fortune on one; there are some inexpensive rugs easily available online. A rug can also cover a carpet past its best, or add a sense of cosiness to a room with a hard floor.

Secret #3. Fruit– big glass bowls or wide vases of fruit in the kitchen add instant colour and style. Fill them full of just one type of fruit (oranges, green apples or lemons look wonderful) to complement your kitchen in a contemporary style.

Secret #4. Flowers – make sure your flower arrangements are in keeping with the style of your house, and also the room: long elegant Cala lilies are great on a large dining table, whereas little hand-tied posies are just right for a rustic kitchen.

Secret #5. Toiletries –choose the very best you can afford here; it matters: a little Molton Brown goes a long way! Don’t let the family use them though; they are just for show.

Secret #6. New bedding – especially for the master bedroom, where it matters most to your buyers. Choose a subtle style in a light, neutral colour, and add some cushions and a good quality throw for some hotel-style luxury.

Secret #7. Towels – used towels never quite look the same as brand new ones, so treat your bathrooms to some gorgeous new towels. Don’t keep them out after the viewing; whip them away and store them so they stay looking their best.

Secret #8. Add the lifestyle – leaf through any interiors magazine, and you’ll see rooms ‘staged’ with lifestyle elements. These are mini ‘room sets’, like a table set for breakfast or afternoon tea. Something as simple as a tea tray and a cake on a stand can make your home look wonderful for a viewing, and might just tempt a viewer to stay around and enjoy it!

Secret #9. Atmosphere – to enhance your viewers’ experience of your home, make them feel comfortable and welcome. Put on some neutral background music to encourage your visitors to linger, and light scented candles in subtle fragrances for a finishing touch.

Where to buy:
To stay up to date with current trends, colours and styles without breaking the bank, try these high street and online retailers:

Next – great range of coordinated soft furnishings and home accessories at value-for-money prices.

Marks and Spencer – usually a little more traditional, so better for older homes in the main.

John Lewis – my favourite, but the more expensive of my suggestions. Great for sumptuous fabrics and decorative touches.

Matalan– not the best quality, but you definitely get a lot for your money! Right on trend, and full of bargain pieces like vases and ornaments. Well worth a visit.

House to Home -great online website for sourcing all the things you’ll need, and finding inspiration too

eBay – A fantastic resource for homewares, both new and second hand. You can search by item, size, colour, shape, you name it. I once furnished almost an entire house for sale from eBay, and saved a fortune. Try it!

When your home is looking dressed and styled, it’s so much easier to feel confident about its appeal, and you’re more likely to get closer to your asking price. It doesn’t take much time and money for your home to look truly amazing, and to take you a big step closer to being able to move on.

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If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

When to put your home on the market, and why timing is so important.

Often, when we decide to sell our property, we simply engage an estate agent and then ask them to market it immediately. However, putting your house on the market at the wrong time of year for your particular buyers may mean that your property launch is more of a dribble. You need early and strong interest from buyers who want to move, and that takes a little planning. Newsflash – certain times of the year are better for selling particular properties than others.

The key is to know your buyer and plan according to their timescale, not yours. Different types of buyers like to move at different times of the year, according to their own needs. It’s not healthy for your eventual sale price, or for your emotional wellbeing, to have a property languishing on the market for months, so the better you can plan your launch, the more likelihood there is that your property will sell quickly.

Who buys when?

Young couples and singles: First time buyers often begin their first home search very early in the year. Perhaps they have spent one Christmas too many at home with their relatives, and realised it’s time to move out. Their search often starts in earnest in January and February, and their purchases at the lower end of the market – apartments and terraced homes – then supports the second and third time buyer market – semi-detached and detached homes. This, in turn, supports the larger properties, and so the cycle goes on. One thing to remember about young couples and singles, is that they tend to look at lots of different properties, and as they are not in a hurry, their search can go on for months, and even years. So be patient with them, and let them take their time to make up their minds.

Families: Family buyers tend to buy at three distinct times of year: autumn, spring and early summer. Do you recognise the significance of these times? They are school term times. Buyers with children don’t usually like to house hunt during the holidays. First, they have better things to do, perhaps going on holiday, and second, it’s a whole lot more stressful viewing a home when you have a bored and whiny child to contend with. Mums and Dads tend to wait until the children are in school, so they can view the house in peace.

Downsizers: Older couples and singles usually prefer to look at homes during the warmer months, so bungalows and retirement homes will often languish on the market over the winter time. The elderly don’t want to venture out to look at homes in the rain and snow, and nor do they want to move house in the winter time. For them, summer is the ideal time to sell, and to buy, and this type of buyer tends to look at fewer properties, and make their minds up more quickly.

If you know who is most likely to buy your home, you can plan your launch to market more effectively. Remember that the less time your home is on the market, the closer to your asking price you are statistically likely to get, so plan for a quick sale!

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

Are you wrestling with the decision of exactly what the marketing price of your house should be?Worried you’ll make a mistake, and concerned about the consequences?

Selecting just the right asking price for your house can be a challenging task.; one that should be made easier by the advice of your estate agent, but often that’s not the case. After all, if you’ve interviewed three or more estate agents to give you an up to date market appraisal, you may have found yourself in possession of three different asking price recommendations.

We’ve been advising homeowners on pricing strategy for well over a decade now, and in that time, we’ve tried and tested some simple guidelines to help you select the best asking price for you to go to market with.

Rightmove’s search bandings

If you choose a strategically optimised asking price, it will make sure your house is found in a Rightmove search:

When you use the drop-down search in Rightmove, you’ll see the price ranges become further apart as the prices go higher. So for searches below £300,000, the bands jump in £10,000 rises, whereas between £1,000,000 and £2,000,000, the price bands are in £250,000 increments.

If you select an asking price that’s just below a Rightmove price band, say £599,999, your property will only show in a search up to £600,000, but not including it. This is what we call the ‘Rightmove Zero Pricing Strategy’. By pricing your property at £600,000 exactly, it will appear in searches that both start and end at £600,000. Simply put, pricing your property at the exact same price as a Rightmove property search band, your house will show in more searches; potentially up to double the number of searches you’d get found in, with a non-optimised price.

The psychology of pricing houses

Estate agents often like to use a price with all the nines, because they believe it’s a psychological price point. But this is an outdated viewpoint, that doesn’t work in today’s digital world. Let’s face it, a price with all the nines like £999,999 is a cheap ploy – an ‘Asda’ price. Your buyers aren’t daft, so don’t treat them as if they are. Give them some respect with a ‘John Lewis’ price.

After all, as my Dad would have said, “Look after the pennies, and the pounds will take care of themselves”.

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If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

The summer holidays are finally here, and many of you will be heading off for a week or two of relaxation! If you have your home for sale though, have you considered what will happen if people want to view it while you’re away? Some people feel fully confident leaving all viewings in the hands of their estate agents, whereas others prefer to be around for all viewings of their home. You obviously don’t want to lose potential buyers by not allowing views while you’re on holiday, so follow these tips below for pre-holiday preparations.

Bring in a friend – Your estate agent will always contact you to arrange any viewing, but let them know you’re on holiday and what your preferences are. If you want someone else to be there during a viewing, ask a friend or family member to be there too, and tell your agent this will be the case.

Keep in the loop – Despite lazing by the pool, you still want to be kept in the know while you’re away, especially if a viewing could lead to a sale. Ask your agent to drop you a call or email with any news or updates, and especially if interested parties are looking to make a second viewing.

Comments cards – Your estate agent will know the majority of your home details, but when it comes to particulars, you’re the best person to speak to. If you expect viewings when you’re on holiday, leave out little notes and comment cards on places and objects of interest. Potential buyers will appreciate the time taken and gesture, and may even help a sale.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions

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If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

If your home has been sat on the market for longer than you even want to admit to yourself, you may be considering ringing up your gracious agent, and telling them to drop a few numbers from the big one. They may even be encouraging you to do it, too. People buy homes on price, right? Wrong. Dropping your price is not the way to go, and can actually have a negative effect and create long term damage. Sound a bit farfetched, for something on offer to you? While it may do, you have to consider what people are thinking when they see a house reduced in cost. Get ready to change your mind…

Is something wrong with it? If a house is dropped in price, people begin asking questions. Why hasn’t it sold so far? What’s wrong with it? Why the dramatic price drop? Their image of the house won’t be rosy and optimistic; it will begin to look like a sale item. While your home may suddenly attract a few extra viewings, they’ll be walking around your house looking for the pessimistic side of your four walls, and wondering why it wasn’t snapped up already.

Quality issue – Even though when it comes to many material goods, many of us love a good bargain, it’s different when it comes around to property. With a long term investment, we want to feel like we’re buying in to something worthwhile and valuable, and often budgets are blown and overspent when purchasing the dream property. If a price is assertive and optimistic, it means it is being sold for what it is worth. Drop your asking price, and the quality of it will suddenly seem a little dented. Surprising, but true.

Confidence – If shares were falling on something, would you buy them? The same can be said for property; do you want to put in an offer on something that has decreased in value? A drop in price indicates a lack of confidence in your own home and its original price. If you want to install confidence in your buyer, show confidence in your own home!

Are you thinking of dropping your asking price, or is your agent persuading you to do so? Reconsider! Contact us, we can help.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

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We know setting prospective buyers loose on your home to play Simon Cowell can be daunting; suppose the dog has an ‘accident’ or the neighbours decide their bonfire just can’t wait until November 5^th?

Yes, buyers can indeed be difficult to please, but here’s the good news – we know exactly how to please them. Putting the effort in, pays dividends when it comes to getting that all important ‘quick sale’!

Follow our 9 tips to get your house big fat ‘yes’s’ across the board:

Improve your kerb appeal

We know you should never judge a book by it’s cover, but sadly, people often do – a lot of people will drive around first before deciding on which properties to visit.

The exterior of your home is just as important as the interior, if not more so for that all-important first impression. Peter Illingworth Estate Agent says ‘you must make sure every part of this visual picture looks at its best. If the interior is beautiful they may never see it if the exterior is shabby. The pavement in front of your home should be swept clean if necessary, any weeds that are growing should be removed, unsightly bins hidden and any litter picked up.’

Invest in some doggy day-care

As much as you love Rover, not everyone’s a fan. Potential buyers don’t want to walk in and smell cat litter, or walk out with dog hair stuck to their clothes; it gives the impression that your house isn’t clean. Hire a dog sitter or at least exile your furry friends to the garden whilst showing buyers around.

Come up smelling of roses

Or lilies, daisies, tulips – you get the idea. A bunch of flowers goes a long way!

Or there’s always the oldest trick in the real-estate book: pop some cookies or freshly made bread in the oven and intoxicate your buyers with that warm fuzzy feeling, instantly bonding them to your home – or so they say.

Whilst whipping up freshly baked goods each time you have a prospective buyer in your house may be impractical, you can always ‘brew some fresh coffee’ or buy flower-scented candles for an alluring welcome buyers are sure to appreciate. At the very least, ensure all ashtrays are out of the way and Fabreeze is always on hand.

Keep your hardship to yourself

If you think buyers will hear your life story, feel sorry for you and consequently sign on the dotted line, you’re sadly mistaken. Whatever the reason is for selling your house – be it debt, death or your husband running off with the next-door neighbour – keep schtum! Nearly a quarter of the cases of off-putting behaviour in the My Online Estate Agent survey involved sellers unburdening themselves about the reasons for their marriage break-up. Save it for your shrink, please.

Clutter is killer

Get rid of it – and sharpish! Buyers want to be able to imagine themselves living in your home, and family photos, swimming certificates and your grandma’s ornaments make it that bit harder. If it’s too painful to get rid of them permanently, why not put them in temporary storage?

Keep it PG

According to research by My Online Estate Agent, one in five buyers have encountered ‘something unusual’ when being shown around a property. A total of 22 per cent of house-hunters have been confronted with weird collections of sex-dolls and teddy bears, while 11 per cent have had to avert their eyes from naked pictures of the owners. Awkward.

Less ’50 shades’ more ‘vintage lampshades’, please.

Lighten up

Light, bright and airy – three words to take as house-selling gospel. Especially when it comes to kitchens and bathrooms, open plan is in fashion and buyers want as much space as possible. Colour scheme-wise, think whites and creams, or pastel hues.

Bathrooms and kitchens are two of the most important rooms in a property and should be immaculately clean and tidy when showing a property to viewers – again accessorised to emphasise light and space.

“Wildly coloured bathroom suites were regarded as the ultimate in taste in the 1980s, but can look pretty hideous to modern eyes,” says David Newnes, director of LSL Property Services. He claims such a fitting could knock up to £8,000 off the value of your property. Wowzers. Oh, and keep it clean people! Research by Rightmove among 4,000 buyers found that dirty kitchens and bathrooms were the biggest turn-offs – so get out that Mr Muscle before every viewing.

Putting the effort in, either on your own or with the assistance of a specialist property company can clearly pay dividends when it comes to answering the question – ‘how to get a quick sale’

Stay Switzerland

Fancy yourself as the next Kelly Hoppen? This is not the time to test out your skills. The thing to remember is your taste is not the same as everyone else’s. Keep colours neutral and decoration to a minimum to make your house appealing to as many buyers as possible.

Be warned: additions can be made but unsightly adornments cannot be unseen! Offer an empty shell for buyers to build their dream home around from scratch – your estate agent will thank you for it.

Enlist the experts

Don’t fancy dealing with estate agents, viewings, and the general stress that comes with finding a buyer? You’re not alone.

www.sellhousefast.uk buys over 300 houses a year, direct, from all over the UK! Simply apply online, agree a price and set a date for a rapid and hassle free sale – often completed within four weeks. Oh, and they buy houses regardless of condition, meaning everyone’s invited.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

When your home has been on the market for a while, it’s easy to become disheartened and disillusioned. “What’s wrong with our house?” you may ask yourself. At first, I’m sure that every viewer got the star treatment – you would changed the bedding, banish the dog and buy fresh flowers for each and every viewing, now it all seems like too much effort for what you’re sure will be another timewaster.

However, it’s not all about doing what you can to make your house look as appealing as possible, though obviously this is important; you also need the right mindset.

Think of something difficult you have tried to do: perhaps you’ve given up smoking, lost weight or passed an exam. Maybe you tried several times before you actually achieved your goal. If you look back on your previous attempts, why did they fail when achievement was clearly in your grasp?

It’s all to do with mindset; any dietician will tell you that you have to be in the right mindset to lose weight, otherwise you’ll keep failing. Those friends I know who have successfully given up smoking after many years of ‘trying’ tell me that eventually they just set their mind on their goal, and that made all the difference.

But when you’re selling your home, it’s not in your control whether your viewers actually offer or not, right? Wrong! Of course, you can’t force them to make an offer, but you can make sure that you are totally focused on your goal of selling.

When you are focused, you will call your agent more often, research the competition, keep your home looking beautiful, make suggestions to improve your marketing campaign; and all this because your mindset is that of a seller. When you give up, you lose the fight.

To help you get into the seller’s mindset, make a list of all the reasons you want to move. Write them in two columns: one list for your motivations to move out, and the other for all the reasons you want to move to the place or home you have chosen. Keep this list taped to the inside of a kitchen cupboard you use every day. Read it often, and use it to motivate you to get out the vacuum cleaner one more time for a viewing; or polish the bathroom taps, or clean the front door.

Stay focused, stay motivated, and the buyer will come. All because of your mindset.

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If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

When buyers are property perusing, the first minute of a potential home viewing is imperative. An initial positive sixty seconds puts them into a great frame of mind, where as if they pick fault in those vital moments, chances are they won’t be signing on any dotted lines. A good first impression will make your viewer want to live in your home, and that’s what you need to establish in those first moments.

We’ve previously discussed kerb appeal, and the stamp your home has already made before buyers even get to the front door. If this is flawless, read our tips on the first sixty seconds when they step through the door…

Maintenance – How’s that broken light fitting in the hall, are the wires still dangling from the ceiling? A minor five minute job for you can lose you a sale. Showing a lazy attitude to your general DIY before a house viewing, can leave people deflated and wondering what else you might not have fixed, especially things that can’t be seen. Complete all repairs in the house before you have people over.

Cleaning – You may have enjoyed your eggs on toast this morning, but the buyers won’t enjoy the pots on the table, or the leftover smell. It may seem like a minor detail, but if it’s one of the first things they see, it’ll leave an impression. Do the dishes and make your kitchen shine. Hoover and dust each corner and crevice of your home to perfection, wash the windows, and make people want to live there.

Clutter – De-cluttering is vital for the first minute of a property viewing. If buyers walk in to a hall or living room that is full to bursting, it makes rooms look smaller and your home immediately feels chaotic. To envision themselves living there, buyers need clear open spaces to picture where their belongings and furniture can go, and it’s hard to imagine this with piles of stuff in their line of vision. If you have a lot of clutter, spend a weekend sorting it out. If it’s easier, store things at a friend’s house, although throwing out things you don’t need now will save you time when you move.

Smells – Just like the eggs example, any lingering smells will hit buyer’s noses instantly. Open the windows (weather permitting!) to let fresh air into your rooms. Put any pets outside or ask someone to look after them. Create a nice smell for the air, such as baking. Read about smells in your home in more detail here.

Colours – Even if you love your very darkly painted entrance room, heading into a dark room could give a bad first impression. Research has shown that a lot of buyers prefer natural colours such as magnolia, and this is a sensible choice for a hallway. Heading into a light and bright room, works wonders.

If you want to create the right first impression with your buyers and generate a positive viewing, the points above are crucial to pay attention to. If a sale can be generated from a few hours of work, it will be worth it when you are shaking hands with the agents for your property.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

Have you heard of guerrilla marketing? The term was coined and defined by Jay Conrad Levinson in his book Guerrilla Marketing and was invented as an unconventional system of promoting something, that relies on time, energy and imagination rather than a big marketing budget. Typically, guerrilla marketing campaigns are unexpected and unconventional, and consumers are targeted in unexpected ways and places.

There’s a lot that estate agents could learn about guerrilla marketing techniques, and how to apply them to selling houses. In this still-tough market, sellers need all the help they can get. But don’t leave it to your agent; there’s plenty that you can do to give yourself the best possible chance to attract interest and beat the competition. Here’s twelve guerrilla marketing tips to get you started:

1. If you have an unusual feature, design or story about your house, try to generate free PR by getting onto local radio or in the press.

2. Offer a financial referral incentive to all on your email contact list, and ask them all to pass it on. Make it a really worthwhile reward – several thousands of pounds – to make sure they get excited about it.

3. Leave your brochure between the pages of some of your used magazines, and then take them to doctors’ and dentists’ surgeries for their waiting rooms.

4. Attach a lidded, waterproof brochure box to your for sale sign so people can help themselves to your brochures when they are driving or walking past.

5. Your largest employers in the area will probably have noticeboards where you can pin a brochure, or at least an index card..

6. Put your asking price on your for sale board. This particularly works well on a busy road, or on the rear fence of a house that backs on to a playing field or park.

7. Have some small postcards printed with your property details and contact information; wherever you go, make sure you have some with you and can leave them in appropriate places.

8. Calculate the price per square foot of your house, and compare it to your competition; if it is favourable, print a table showing how you rank and make it available to buyers.

9. If you have a family house, make sure any children are well catered for, and encourage them to play on swings, slides, trampolines etc, leaving their parents free to look around in peace. Pester power can work a treat!

10. Follow the developers’ lead, and place some signs around the house detailing appliances and any other features, such as pull-down loft ladders and garage door remote switches. Men in particular, love any gadgets, and it gives them permission to try them out.

11. Ask your friends and neighbours to write some nice testimonials about the house, the neighbours and the village or town. Leave these printed out on the table for them to take with them. Include any interesting local stories and famous or celebrity residents.

12. Facebook sites are really easy to create – make one to showcase your house complete with local information, photographs, details about local stories and famous neighbours etc. Share the link with your email list, and add it to any marketing.

The message here is, don’t leave it all to your estate agent – there’s so much you can do. At the very least, you’ll feel that you have taken back some control of the marketing of your property – and at best, you might just find yourself a buyer!

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.