Update your home prior to selling!

Let me share some tips I learned from Property Oxon on how to sell your property quickly by staging your home. This is especially important for those of you who are looking into a move overseas, because positioning your house in the UK properly will allow you to get the most revenue possible, which you can then use to buy your place in the sun.

Start by examining the outside of the property:-

  1. Curb appeal. First impressions count and what is the first thing people will see? Is it good or bad?
  2. Is the front garden aesthetically pleasing? What about windows and doors, if they are UPVC white do they look white? Or dirty? Cleanliness is very important and if nothing else you should ensure the house is clean throughout inside and OUT.
  3. Does the doorbell work? Is there anything loose that could be tightened – if you have ignored simple jobs then there is a feeling from the potential buyer you will have ignored the big jobs too.
  4. Are there any cracks in the walls and around windows?
  5. Then examine the Inside of the property:-
  6. Does the house need re-decorating? A small investment and a lick of paint could add thousands to the value of your property!!!
  7. Is it newly decorated, but to an acquired taste? (oranges, browns, bright yellow or black!!) Very specific décor can put potential buyers off if the colours and schemes chosen are very personal to you and they don’t like them!!

Kitchens and Bathrooms are critical in the buyers mind. Always ensure they are clean, tidy and fresh. Is the toilet or shower mouldy? Do the taps look old? Is there grease up the kitchen walls? Don’t forget the potential buyer is looking to live in this house and if the initial cleaning job puts them off you have no chance of selling for a good price.

You don’t have to go as far as Grand Designs, but you can make a place look better so that you can sell it for cash quickly!

Keep even things that will be taken from the house very clean, it helps create a good impression.
Small details like fresh towels; rugs and soap make a difference and provide evidence to buyers of how you have kept your home.
Remove anything that clutters the house. Store it away, give it away, throw it in the bin but don’t leave it lying around the house. It will make the rooms look smaller and a potential buyer will almost certainly not want to see it!!!
Be sure the house is clean from ‘top to toe’. This cannot be emphasised enough. Even if the house isn’t particularly well decorated this can help massively – people may be prepared to accept old and clean more than new and dirty.
Windows need to be spotless. Ensure Curtains or blinds are fully open to maximise the amount of incoming light into the property.
It is best to keep animals out of the way. However much you love your border collie you can bet your life the potential buyer will not be keen on his living habits and odour if they aren’t a pet owner.

 

How to not sell your property quickly

There are so many ways to screw up the sale of a home that is not even funny. Keep in mind that potential buyers are not interested in seeing a bunch of knickknacks, dirty carpets, old furniture, or dimly lit rooms. It may seem like common sense but you may be surprised by how many homeowners in Britain are unable to sell their property quickly because they do not even pay attention to how their house looks to potential buyers.

Selling a home is not always very exciting, in fact can be downright terrifying, but if you prepare your house properly, talk to your relatives about the sale, establish a good sense of the value of the property, and remain somewhat flexible, it does not necessarily have to be hard.

That said, there are proper and improper ways to sell your place. You may get excited at the idea of making some extra cash or having a brand-new lifestyle and an up-and-coming village, but before you can actually take advantage of these options, you have to realize that there are a number of pitfalls associated with selling the property, and if you do not pay attention, your house will sit on the market for a long time.

The most typical mistake is selling the home even if the entire family is not ready however. Marketing the house could be a physically, mentally and sentimentally taxing encounter. Someone who will not be ready will simply experience difficulties. Also, not understanding the instant market is a grave blunder. Failing to be aware of the market will make it difficult to promote the house.

FSBO or For Selling By Owner selling without the right research is also a mistake. Certainly, it can be a profitable decision however it only applies to people who have completed a lot of research in order to offer the house. Talking about FSBO, others opt for this because they do not trust agents. Sadly, not all realtor or real estate company is unreliable. Some can help when it comes to selling the house rapidly and at a great price like many online cash sale companies.

One of the most common ways that people screw up the sale of their house is that they remain inflexible about the price, and end up putting the value of the home much higher place than what buyers are willing to pay. One of the best ways to get an accurate estimate is to see what other properties sold for locally in the last year, and find out what the sale price was per square foot. I like tell clients that they should always be honest, and one would hope that the solicitor or estate agent that the dealing with is also adhering to a code of ethics when it comes to buying a house for cash.

General, to avoid any problems in selling your house, you should not overlook these things.

Property in TV And Movies

Like any Londoner, I need to get away once in a while from the crowds, and what better place to do so but at a movie theater right? however, I do find that there are some films that do it for me and motivate me to be a better person, to think deeply, to care about the world, and to try being a better mathematician and property manager.

I have been waiting for several months for a decent movie. unfortunately, there is not a great deal at the box office that peaks my interest so afraid that I am stuck watching the same old movies over and over again. If you are interested in connecting with me about films that relate specifically to the UK property market, do drop me a line on my contact page.

I find that channel 4 produces a number of good property programs, and I secretly wished that I could host one of them, but it looks like I am stuck here in Britain for now. There are, however, some pretty wonderful drama is like Downton Abbey and Brideshead Revisited, that feature some of the UK’s best country estates.

I Am Scared… Just kidding

while I am not entirely new to blogging, this is the first one that I am doing related to the property market here in Britain. I find that the United Kingdom is a great place to buy a home, wait for it, if you are posh. The rest of us may struggle day-to-day simply to afford a small two bedroom flat in the northern part of the city. With prices increasing at a rate of 18% since the recession, the market here is zany. This makes me want to move abroad, leverage my financial assets in a weaker currency, and enjoy life, not to mention more pleasant weather. However I would not be a true citizen of the crown if I did not complain and grumble about the gray skies overhead, now would I? so I hope you will put up with a little bit of my foolishness in this blog, if for no other reason than it is an entertaining look at putting my property on the market in the not too distant future.