Tag Archives: Home Staging

When it comes to moving home, the stress doesn’t stop after you’ve found the right property for you. Packing and moving your belongings can prove to be chaotic and time consuming, but there are certain things you can do to make the process run smoothly. The experts at ABC Movers & Storers have put together some top tips to help you make the most of your moving day.

1. Make a List

Make a priority list of all the things you need to pack and in the order you should pack them. This will make it much easier when you start piling your possessions away. Tick off the items once you have packed them so you know exactly what has been packed already. You can also create a system including boxes containing items from i

Individual rooms, for particular uses and of a certain category. By grouping your possessions together like this they will be easier to organise when both packing and unpacking.

2. Start Early

It isn’t worth leaving all of your packing to the week before you move because you’re likely to either forget things or run out of time. Start with the things you only use now and then like books, tables, out of season clothes and ornaments. You can box these up in the weeks before your move so that in the last week you can concentrate on packing those things you use daily.

You’d be surprised at the amount of things you can live without for a month or so, and with the promise of making your moving day less stressful, it’s definitely worth planning ahead.

3. Label Boxes

This seems simple enough but people get it wrong so often. Label your boxes by room; if you need to colour code then do so. This will ensure that when you go to unpack you will know exactly what boxes should go in what room, allowing you to access your possessions when you need them.

Don’t just label the room either, write down some of the contents on the box so you don’t have to search all of your belongings to find what you’re looking for. When you’re labelling, make sure you write on the side of the box and not on the top. This will make it easier to see the contents when the boxes are all stacked.

4. Mark your Essentials Boxes

You may need a few boxes filled with items that you will need straight away – things like phone chargers, kitchen utensils and cleaning products. Marking these with a different colour duct tape will make them stand out straight away, making sure you’re not stranded when you get to your new home.

When filling your essentials box, take time to consider what items are going to go in there and what you will need as soon as you get to your new home. Writing down a list before you start to pack will make sure you don’t miss any vital items!

5. Don’t Fill the Boxes to the Top

Filling your boxes up to the top may m

Make it difficult for you to carry them around when transporting them. Whilst making the most of the space that you have is efficient, you will be making it more difficult for yourself to transfer your belonging to and from the removal lorry. If you put the heaviest items in smaller boxes not only will you be less tempted to keep packing extra bits and bobs, but you can take up less space without adding to the weight.

With these easy steps, you can be sure that you are fully prepared for the big day, making the move stress-free and easy. Make sure to plan ahead in order to avoid anything going wrong and try to remain as organised as possible. You will soon reap the rewards of spending time organising and labelling, and unpacking will be made even easier too!

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.

Sometimes it’s hard to remember a time before review websites. How did you manage to buy a toaster without knowing how much trouble ‘jona43, Basingstoke’ had with its shorter-than-ideal power cable? Imagine your level of regret, had you plumped for that villa in Spain, unable to benefit from TripAdvisor contributors informing you about its strange smell …

Review sites are a significant enhancement to life in 2015. Studies show that 77%* of people read them before making a decision on a product or service; of these, 90%**admit that the reviews influence their decision to buy (or not) a product or service. An independent, trustworthy and transparent review site is no longer a ‘nice to have’ for any industry.

Unarguably, selling or letting your home is a massive moment in anyone’s life, with huge ramifications if you choose the wrong estate agent. We’ve launched raterAgent (www.rateragent.co.uk) – in ‘beta-testing’ until March) to provide the TripAdvisor-type information that you – and those that come after you, from your reviews – need, so that it’s no longer the crazy emotional lottery that it can sometimes feel.

So let’s dive in to the R ‘N’ D of choosing the right estate agent;

RESEARCH: Hardly a shock, bearing in mind what we do, but this is why we do. You could lose tens of thousands of pounds – literally – if you fail to choose the right agent. From a poor valuation to bad negotiation skills to weak process-closure, you need to know who’s good at this – and, particularly, who is not;
NEGOTIATE: Test them out, if they can’t negotiate with you they’re not going to do well on your behalf against a buyer or tenant, are they? Make sure that they know you’re serious about getting the best deal for your prize asset and they’ll operate in a similar way on your behalf;
DITCH: If it’s 3 months in and it’s not sold, you need to be honest with yourself and your agent. Are you right for each other? If not, don’t hesitate – move on. There will be others that will have watched the plight of your property from afar with ideas on how to make this re-launch better. But use discretion. Don’t forget you still need to find the best, so give your comments to raterAgent and check the latest ones there too.

There are other sites out there that provide a similar service, but do they check every single review that goes live to make sure that it’s genuine? At raterAgent we do.

Help the next person down the line with a detailed review of your last estate agent. And, when you’re next looking around for one, make sure that you’re not just getting the emotional pitch and get the inside track with raterAgent – you’ll never regret those extra minutes of research.

Mal McCallion is CEO of raterAgent, the UK’s most trustworthy dedicated estate agent review website. He has worked in property technology marketing for the last 15 years, having previously helped launch Primelocation in 2000 and the estate agent proposition of Zoopla in 2009. You can reach him on [email protected].

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.

Winter brings with it many challenges, but selling your home during this season shouldn’t be one. House hunters still look around during the winter season, especially if they’re looking for a fresh start in the New Year. The nights may be darker and it may seem more of a challenge to make your home more appealing, but with a few practical tips, your home will gleam with winter charm.

Heat it up! No one wants to wander around a cold house; it is uninviting and can put people off immediately. If you know you’re going to arrive at the same time as the potential buyers, set your timer to come on a few hours prior to the viewing. Not only will the house be toasty warm, it’ll prevent any noises of boilers kicking in. Before they arrive, maybe pop the fire on low too if you have one; it makes a living room so warming and homely.

Clear the path. If the winter is a cold one, chances are that the snow will arrive. Ensure your front path is shovelled to make it clear, and gritted to prevent slip ups. Trawling through the snow to the front door isn’t massively inviting.

Let there be light. A dark home is not in the least bit appealing for viewers. If they’re arriving after dark, turn on lights in all rooms. Don’t use the main big lights, go for lampshades. Turn on any lights in cupboards or on appliances. Don’t shut any curtains; it’ll make rooms seem closed in. Do not use the TV as a light; turn it off. Take advantage of timers too; if people go past your home and see for the sale sign, your home will seem more interesting with lights on.

Dress your rooms. Make a room look inviting and well-staged by creating a mood. In the dining room, set the table for a meal using your best china. Put your lotions and shampoos in neat groups in the bathroom, and hang freshly laundered dressing gowns. Place winter flowers in vases around the house. Set a newspaper on the coffee table and a few magazines.

Visuals! Make your home sparkle on the inside, and keep it really clean. Vacuum carpets, wash the windows, dust furniture and clean the floors. Clean out your fridge; surprisingly, many people look in the fridge, especially if it comes as part of the kitchen fittings. Display pictures around your home of your garden during the warmer seasons, so they can see what it looks like during this time of year.

Beware of smells. While making your home smell nice is a must, don’t spray air fresheners or perfume in case visitors are allergic. Focus on getting the home smelling naturally clean and welcoming. A lovely inviting smell is baking; make some cookies and time them so they’re just ready as people arrive. Ensure that you offer them to the buyers though, or they’ll be disappointed!

By following such simple tips, you’ll ensure your home is welcoming and appealing during the winter season. A homely midwinter home will tick all the right boxes, allowing your buyers to imagine themselves living there when the cold weather rolls around.

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.

I don’t know about you, but even if your lucky enough to be in an area of the UK that is seeing a rise in property prices, it’s easy to wonder why to bother styling a property when it’s hopefully going to be snapped up quicker than an an Ikea sofa in the sales….

Well, I hope that you, the reader, have already screamed at the screen “NO! This property is probably the biggest investment of a person’s life! Why WOULDN’T they want to show if to it’s full potential and maximise the selling price?” If this was your reaction, may I shake you by the hand and welcome you to the 21st Century ! If not, well, then you may have a little catching up to do.

Walking into this otherwise beautiful kitchen, the buyers first impression was a blank wall and a bin. Storage solutions were addressed and the space was styled to feel more welcoming, spacious and highlight the selling features of the room.

Regardless of whether you are in a region of experiencing a buyer’s or seller’s market, showing a property to it’s best advantage in the marketing photography and during viewings can only enhance the greatest profit for the owner and estate agent alike. Agents are starting to realise that by having a Home Stylist/Stager ready for referral brings a little added TLC and customer service, that goes a long way in these fiercely competitive times.

This eating area was very narrow and normally seated only 2. By adding an inexpensive table, chairs, and repurposing the existing furniture in other rooms, the buyer could now experience the advantages of the space and imagine having friends round for dinner.

There are a few myths and misconceptions about Home Styling or Home Staging: Yes, decluttering a space, painting everything White (this season’s ‘Magnolia’) and pushing all the furniture to the edges of the room CAN make a space feel bigger, but this is not what Home Styling is about…. where’s the wow factor? the USP? the thing that makes THIS property stand out from the the other terraced houses on the street and have the buyers springing off to secure their mortgage?

This small conservatory was previously just a passageway to the back door. It was transformed into another ‘room’ where fresh coffee and the beautiful garden could be enjoyed in the sunshine.

The small investment required in hiring a Home Stylist/Stager who can address those tricky features, storage or layout issues of the home while also enhancing the positive features, is a sure-fire way of reducing a buyer’s concerns and increase the perceived value of the property. It is all too easy to assume that the buyer has the same vision as the agent or seller. This is often NOT the case.

A cluttered office space that overlooked a tarmac driveway was transformed into a tranquil and spacious office/guest room.

Home Styling taps into the buyers aspirational requirements as well as their practical needs in order to secure the best possible price for the client and estate agent alike. It is an inexpensive service that is likely to pay for itself when clinching the deal… It’s a “Win-WIn” situation all round.

Catriona Archer offers Home & Retail Styling starting from £95 for a half day consultation and is based in Bath and the SW of England.

For more details, visit www.catrionaarcher.com, email [email protected]. or follow on twitter: @catrionaarcher.

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 UK housing market is at an all time high since 1998 and research by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) showed that on average, 22.700 homes were sold each month since the start 2014. People up and down the country are taking advantage of this “time to sell” and investing money back into their properties through redecorating and DIY.

It used to be that a lick of paint and a few nice light fittings were enough to generate interest in a house but people are getting savvy with their use of space, especially in the cities where converting an attic into a second or third bedroom could increase the average value of a house by 12.5%.

In order to entice people to buy, sellers are taking it one step further and totally revamping rooms in their houses.

Cellars, for example, if large enough can be converted into a second living room or entertainment room. This type of conversion is the most expensive however it yields the highest return on investment when it comes to adding value to a property.

As the “Help to Buy” Scheme increases in popularity more and more younger people are considering property as an investment so sellers need to provide the right incentive to cater for a younger audience in order to achieve a successful sale.

If there isn’t enough space to totally transform a cellar or loft then remodelling other rooms can also prove profitable in the long run.

This infographic by Evolution Money called “The Real Cost of Home Improvements” gives you an idea of what rooms can be renovated, how much you would expect to pay and what the average percentage of value you could expect to add to the asking price.

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.

Welcome to Wednesday and the third in my series themed on Wimbledon.

In his book, Adapt – Why Success Always Starts With Failure – Tim Harford explains we must adapt—improvise rather than plan, work from the bottom up rather than the top down, and take baby steps rather than great leaps forward, in order to achieve success. Thus our great tennis players are constantly adapting in order to improve their games, often one tiny step at a time. Only by losing a point or a game can they re-evaluate, review, adapt and apply a new technique. In other words, without failure, there can be no success.

If your house is languishing on the market, with no viewers in sight, it is very easy to become disheartened and disillusioned with the entire selling process. It certainly isn’t often easy, especially when you are selling a unique home. Maureen O’Hara once said, “To cope, people need to be certain enough to act and uncertain enough to learn”, in other words, to have the courage of your convictions whilst still being humble enough to accept you may need advice and help. Not an easy conflict to deal with.

If you don’t have any viewings, review your marketing, and make some small changes to effect overall large improvements; if you have plenty of viewings but no offers, critique your home; maybe commission a professional home stager. If you are getting offers but they are below your target sale price, read up on negotiation skills, or even engage a professional homebuyer to negotiate on your behalf. In short – raise your game, and adapt, adapt, adapt.

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.

Julie Stevens of Younique Designs Ltd is a professional Home Stager.

If you have been trying to sell your home for some months and possibly even had a sale fall through you could find yourself broken hearted, demotivated and lost of all inspiration of what to do next. You may have lost sight of why you wanted to sell in the first place.

My advice to my clients who find themselves in this situation is the following:

Firstly, Reflect back to your decision to sell – was it a half-hearted thought? Maybe you saw the perfect next home for you. Did you think, ‘lets just put it on the market and see what happens’? Was it pressure from family members who think its time you moved into something smaller and more manageable? Whatever the reasons for your decision were, were you really committed to it?
Reassess where you are now. What has happened? How has the marketing strategy of your agent been implemented? How many viewings have you had? Have your photographs been refreshed on line? Do you have a brochure that represents your property well? How many price drops have you been through?
Ask yourself afresh why you want to sell. If you have a clear answer on this then you can move forward. Understand what your desires are, how you want to feel when you sell and move into your new home.
Understand that you have to be motivated to action in order to achieve those desired feelings.
Start afresh with new eyes to see the home you have for sale.
Realise that your home is a product to be sold – as such it has to be packaged and marketed in the right way to appeal to the right buyers. It has to stand out from the crowd; it has to have the right features and benefits to meet the aspirations of your potential buyers.
Take the advice of a professional Home Stager to see if your home is presented and packaged in the right way for your target buyers. A Home Stager will understand the aspirations of buyers and know what they want to see when looking for their new home.
Put yourself in your buyer’s shoes – what do you see?
As a buyer yourself for your new home – what do you want to see? How does this differ from what you have to sell?
Write down what you did

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 it comes to a property brochure for your home, you shouldn’t settle for anything but the crème de la crème. Your brochure is an essential tool that viewers will use to get a feel of the lifestyle they can achieve in their potential future abode. Most individuals read up on travel destinations prior to booking, and a property brochure is the same; it provides the essential and inspiring information, and makes your home look beautiful for anyone ‘planning’ a visit.

What if your brochure isn’t working for you though, or – even worse – what if you don’t have one?! As you can read from this previous post, some agents don’t believe in brochures. Some don’t create one, and your online advert for your home on Rightmove will simply link to the agent’s website. Something printed off the agents printer in a flimsy folder with dark photos and copied text, isn’t a brochure either. To a buyer, this indicates lack of care and attention, which they will also attribute to your home.

A brochure sells the lifestyle of your home, its quality and everything that makes it wonderful. You can print it, save it to your phone and email it around to show to family and friends. It gets people excited, and makes them want to view your home even more. It should contain beautifully presented and professional images, floorplans to dazzle and emotive text to describe each detail of the home you have loved. It is there to sell your home.

If you want to refresh your home selling strategies this year, the brochure is the place to start. If your inspirational brochure sits amid a pile of monotonous brochures, yours will be the one the buyer chooses. Be proud of your home, and create a brochure that shines.

If you are now looking at your brochure and wondering if it would meet the HomeTruths’ grade, give us a call, and we’ll tell you!

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.

It’s very frustrating when you aren’t getting viewings. I spoke to a lady recently who has only had one viewing in three years! Even having your home for sale for a few months without a viewing is worrying. It’s normal to get an initial flurry of viewings in the first few weeks on the market, and for that interest to wane a little as the weeks and months progress.

But what can you do when viewings peter out altogether? You know what your agent will advise – if they haven’t already. “Drop the price” they will tell you. So what else can you do to revive interest, other than dropping your asking price?

Ask for your Rightmove Property Performance Report. This is data your estate agent has access to, inside the Rightmove console. If they are not using Rightmove, they will be able to access similar statistics within Zoopla, On the Market or Prime Location. Property listings with images and floorplans, that are updated regularly, have the best performance metrics on Rightmove and the other portals. The Report also shows the number of times your property listing was clicked on over the last 7, 14 or 30 days, together with a comparable against the previous period. Additionally, this statistic can be compared against similar property listings on Rightmove, so you can see whether your property advert is competing well or not. A ‘similar’ listing is typically what a searcher would see alongside your property when they search on Rightmove, and therefore could be considered as your ‘competition’. If your home listing is not performing or competing well, it could be a strong indicator of the reason you’re not getting viewings on your house. Check your photographs – do they really show your home at its best, and are they up to date? If your outside images reflect a different season than the current one, ask your estate agent to re-photograph your house and garden. Then check your next performance report to see if your numbers have increased.
Revisit your property description. Firstly, draw up a profile of the kind of person you think is most likely to buy your home. Age, status, motivation for moving, and so on. Then write down a list of adjectives about your house that you think would most appeal to these target buyers. Look at your property description – does it need rewriting to incorporate these key words? Your agent can help you with this. I’ve changed property listings in the past to better appeal to a family, or to someone looking for a change in lifestyle. Words matter, so make sure your written description best sells the primary features of your home, to the person most likely to be attracted to those features.
Commission a home stylist. Often for less than £200 a professional home stylist will look at your home with a critical and unbiased eye and advise you on what you can do to make the most of your house: usually there is very little expenditure necessary, but small changes can make big improvements in attracting the right buyer.

Final thoughts

When you discuss your home’s saleability with your estate agent, explain that you’d like to improve the presentation and the marketing, before considering a price drop. Until those two elements of your home’s saleability are as good as they can be, you won’t be able to eliminate the possible reasons for the lack of viewings.

Happy selling!

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.

Needless to say, when selling the home, every room of the house needs to wow potential buyers. Viewers will enter your home with reluctance by default and will scour with a fine tooth comb for anything they can criticise. This is probably due to the fact that investing such a large amount of money into a property is a scary concept and buyers will want their new homes to be in mint condition, requiring no repairs. If your viewers can see your house has been well maintained and cared for they’re more likely to buy it.

Bathrooms in particular, can be hard to maintain when selling your home as they undergo such regular use. Rather than neglecting your bathroom, it should be given regular maintenance to reduce the amount of work required before each viewer is scheduled to arrive. Here are some quick maintenance tips that ensure your bathroom is pristine in preparation for every viewing.

Abolish the mould

Bathroom mould is unattractive and could be a deal breaker for potential buyers. It indicates damp problems and poor ventilation. Be sure to bleach mould before you put your house on the market and continually practice excellent ventilation when showering and bathing to avoid returning mould. Wipe down the bath and shower quickly after every use to avoid blackening grout and silicone.

Invest in some attractive accessories

Clean, sparkling mirrors can revive a tired bathroom whilst reflecting light to create the illusion of space. Replace any toothpaste-stained toothbrush holders with a new one that is used only when viewers are expected, to prevent it from spoiling.

Wash and fold towels

Wet towels strewn messily over radiators aren’t attractive and can emit a damp odour. Wash and dry towels before every viewing and ensure they’re folded or hung neatly. This will create a pleasant odour and a luxury appearance to your bathroom.

Bathrooms can be a major selling point for a house if presented well. If you have more than one bathroom then perform regular maintenance on them all. Try to put yourself in your viewers’ shoes, if you saw your bathroom in a house would you buy it?

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.