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Selling a house in the wintertime is never easy. Your garden is looking far from its best, dogs and children are wont to bring in mud and leaves, and everything looks so grey. I’ve put together a list of 10 Top Tips to help you market your home more successfully during a typical soggy English winter:

1. Have a strict rule with boots and shoes – off at the front door then away out of sight.

2. Have your carpets cleaned if necessary to make sure they are looking their best.

3. Keep muddy wet dogs out of the house – in the car or with a neighbour. A non-doggy lover will be very sensitive to any aromas of wet dog.

4. Have your outside hard areas professionally cleaned. Getting rid of leaves and debris, and power-washing any grubby areas will really help your garden look well cared for.

5. Put away your garden furniture if it is plastic or wood; if it’s metal, you can leave it out so long as it doesn’t look too forlorn. Make sure tables and chairs are arranged nicely, and store your parasol away for next year.

6. Place lots of bird feeders around your garden at strategic areas, outside windows. Your viewers will be enchanted to see all the wild birds feeding on them.

7. Keep your home warm and cosy at all times, ready for a viewing. If you have a real fire, keep it laid ready for lighting, and have all your side lamps lit throughout the house. Don’t shut your curtains until at least 8pm, to give any drive-by viewers the chance to see how welcoming your home looks from outside.

8. Stop all viewings over Christmas; your home never looks its best covered in Christmas decorations with your living room dominated by the tree. At the very least, it will give you a break whilst you’ve got so much to do.

9. Offer viewers a hot drink and a comforting treat, like a piece of homemade gingerbread.

10. If possible, dress beds with darker coloured bedding sets, and drape with blankets and quilts for a super cosy look.

Follow these ten tips and you could be moved by the time the snowdrops appear!

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.

Ladies, have you ever visited say, Debenhams, no money to spend, and only seen the most beautiful dresses and shoes? If only you had some spare money, you would surely find the perfect outfit. But walk into the same department store with a plan to buy a dress, and the money to match, and can you find anything? No, you can’t!

Well it’s the same with houses. When a viewer who has not yet sold his house (or maybe not even put it on the market) views yours, the chances of him falling in love with it are far greater than if he was in a position to buy. I have long since held this belief, and not only has it been proven many times, it actually happened again today, and to me! Viewings have been high, at 1-2 per week on average. Today, I had a viewer who absolutely loved the house, and promised vehemently that he would put an offer in – just as soon as he’d sold his house. A tad annoying really……

The lesson here, is don’t get excited if you get strong interest, unless the buyer has already sold, or is in a proceedable position. Otherwise, you’ll accept the offer, relax your marketing and staging efforts a little, (or a lot) and pat yourselves on the back that you’ve practically sold your house. Beware though; your buyer wants your house all the more because he can’t have it, and when he finds himself in a position of being able to transact, don’t be surprised if he changes his mind. After all, what do you think he was doing all those months he was on the market? Looking at other properties of course; just to be sure. There are a lot of properties out there on the market after all.. so much choice……

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.