In the last blog we talked about how property staging can make a big difference, (click here if you missed it) but sometimes you need a little extra.
Sometimes there are things you can do to enhance your property. It may take a little time & effort but the results will be worth every penny, as you should sell faster & achieve a higher price. This means, less mortgage payments, less bill payments on the house you want to move from and premium offers.
We should give these sellers a gold star, they listened, and they achieved!!! So how did they do it?
Step one: Advice
Step two: Effort
This charming little property had been up for sale for 2 years, with two different agents. It wasn't a new agent the house needed, it was a little VMAGIC.
After just a fortnight... look at the results:
Victoria's recommendations:
- Paint over the stripey wallpaper and continue the neutral theme that was already on the other three walls.
- Add a mirror (that you can take with you when you move)
- Clear the clutter from the shelves and sideboard
- Add some cushions
- Add a throw on the darkest chair at the opposite end of the room to brighten the shot
- Turn on the lamps and lights for the photographs
TIME ON THE MARKET BEFORE: 2 years
FIRST VIEWING: 5 days from launch
OFFER TIME: after 8 Short Weeks
SUCCESS RATING: 5*
Take one bedroom...
We were commissioned to do the full home staging on behalf of the client, as they were unable too due to poor health. It cost a little extra, but it meant she got the sale she had been waiting for. What have we done here? Can you guess?
- Moved the bed into a better position (using brut strength, it was a very heavy bed!)
- Dressed with new sheets (from our staging Stock)
- Added cushions (from our staging stock)
- Added interesting pictures to liven the room
- Added a throw at the base of the bed (from our staging stock)
- Brought in two bedside cabinets (from our staging stock)
TIME ON THE MARKET BEFORE: 9 weeks
TIME ON THE MARKET AFTER: 2 weeks
OFFER: after just two weeks from re-launch
SUCCESS RATING: 5*
Here are a few more before and After shots that of properties we have advised on, can you see the differences? Think your sale needs a re-boot?
Our advice is free, it comes with our desire to ensure your Property sells, faster & achieves a higher price.
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Until next time...
What to read next?
Make friends with flowers, they help sell houses.
Estate agents love handing out advice. I love it because what we suggest works, we see it everyday, we know what sells, we know what your buyers really want to see, feel & experience.
Sometimes though, it helps to show you what we do & show you what you can do to ensure you have the best launchpad for your property & this is my most favourite part, the one part that you can make a huge difference to how your sale progresses, increasing your viewings and the likelihood of offers.
You may not know this but we actually do lots to prepare your house for sale.
We DO MORE than any other agent to ensure that your presentation of your property actually sells your home. Much like 'show apartments'. Well, I have been styling them for sale for a long time.
Remember
"it's not what you've got, but what you do with it that counts"
I have put together some of our most recent ones and I'm going to show you how I did it, whether it was suggestions to the seller or something we did on the day of the photograph appointment, there are always ways to increase your chance of a sale, here's a little of my VMAGIC...
On the day styling:
These two photographs were taken by the same camera on the same day.
What we did:
- Added 2 staging cushions to complement the curtains
- Added a neutral throw
- Put a new bulb into the bedside lamp (borrowed from another lamp in the house)
- Plugged the lamps in (thank heavens for my trustee extension lead!)
- Turned them on
- Added three other accessories from our staging stock
We have suggested to this client to pick up a couple of similar items to enhance their room for each viewing too.
What a difference! Do you like it?
How about this property...
Our expertise requested extra cushions for that luxury look, we even requested they light the log burner, (yes it was a hot day), but it was worth it! Just look at the results...
We even moved the blue sofa on this one to enchance the pictures, this is what a true Home Styler does & this is what we offer each of our clients...
Attention to detail can make a massive difference to your property marketing:
We only turned the lamps & lights on and our wonderful camera picked it up sharp & crisp.
You see, preparation is key to getting your house photographs perfect to promote your property, get more viewings, more offers and higher sale prices.
This is one of our extra special ways in which we ensure your property is promoted professionally, it is why we allocate a large window in our diary for your photograph appointment, and this is why our photographs look like they do. Here are a few extra 'before and after' photographs...
My name is Victoria, I have a passion for creating a visual feast for buyers to get their teeth into. We have had a fantastic year, we have sold houses within days of Launch, beaten asking prices from similar properties on the street, sold properties that have been stagnant on the market for years and within 2% of asking price, and so far many of our properties have sold for ASKING PRICE, or very close to it.
Need a little advice? Feel free to tweet me, or join me on Facebook for our latest releases, top stories, and regular blogs.
See you there..
PS: Buy extra cushions to complement all your décor, they can then be moved from room to room to enhance your photographs. Try natural shades, or base colours, like grey, biscuit & caramel & cream. Looking for that luxurious look, add them in different fabrics, like wool, cotton, silk & Mongolian fur. Layer them up for a designer touch.
Selling a house isn't easy, it's rather daunting in fact, with all the big decisions to be made the bigger picture to see, the financial stresses, the time consuming factors, the timing, Estate Agents, buyers, paperwork, the list goes on.
With all this it's very easy to miss the small things or worse still expect your potential buyers to overlook them.
As with all emotional purchases it's important to offer an ideal, an answer to the reason they are moving, something they desire. Whether it is a downsizer who wants something easy to keep clean or a young family who wants something bigger and more spacious. Each of these buyers are hoping that this is something you can offer. Therefore,
it is important to make your viewer's decisions as easy as possible.
Here are my TOP 5 things to hide on a viewing (or on your photographs too) to make their decision easier:
1 - Washing
This includes, clothing lines outside (try fitting a retractable one that will retract when not in use), pegs, clean washing, ironing piles, clothes racks and rails and also those odd socks off the top of the radiator.
Leaving these around will leave a buyer wondering what they will do if they moved in and they might then add a utility room onto their wish list. Leaving your house the bottom of the pile!
2 - Hoover
They are always out, you need them to hand when your selling just in case the estate agent calls with an immediate viewing. Find a place for it, preferably in a cupboard. If this is left out during a viewing the buyers will certainly be wondering that there is no-where for it to go and that will leave a big, 'is there enough storage?' question in their minds.
3 - Personal medicines
Most people have ailments and a treatment for them, whether it be in pill form or creams. Now if we are looking for an 'IDEAL' property the less we know about the current occupants the better, as you might not be what the viewer was aspiring to. Try hiding any personal medicines/creams in none see through boxes in cupboards. Why not try and make a feature out of a wicker storage basket for a shelf. Imagine if they knew and you met?
4 - Bins
Smelly, unsightly and never a feature or benefit to your property, if it's nearing bin day, ask a neighbour politely if you could store your bins with them just for the day. Foul smells and the realisation of everyday life can be a deal breaker.
5 - Cleaning cloths
Who doesn't love a clean house? We all do, we all also wish we had a cleaning fairy but that isn't the case. Hide your cleaning products and solutions, but most importantly, BIN THOSE CLEANING CLOTHS. The one that you use to clean the bathroom that you keep behind your toilet or those dirty sponges from your kitchen sink. Surfaces may look clean but when a potential buyer eyeballs your grubby cloth they will run for the hills. Invest in some cloths you can dispose of easily. It will mean you will satisfy even the cleanest of buyers.
Good luck.
Ps, Don't forget to hide your valuables too.
Things to do list:
Check your current photographs to see if any of these items feature!
Loved this blog and want some more help to sell your home quicker?
Here's a list of fantastic helpful blogs for you to use to sell Faster & maybe for more
Ask Victoria
Let's answer those burning questions you all really want to know about what we do...
Where do you advertise?
We advertise where the BUYERS are looking, that means Rightmove & Zoopla.
Did you know that Zoopla power a lot of other portals including Primelocation and the search functions on Sky, The Daily Telegraph and our local Visitor and Guardian websites?
We also do a lot of Social Media. Our buyers love the individual adverts we do for them on Facebook and Twitter. It get's their house noticed. We have booked many viewings direct from Facebook. IN fact one of our viewers went on to buy the home. Result!
You don't have many houses in my area, surely this matters?
Well, this is quite simple really. The internet has changed the way we look for our next property. Social Media, Rightmove & Zoopla all offer buyers a avenue to search in the comfort of their own home. So if you are searching in a location for a property it WILL appear. and your buyers WILL see it. So it doesn't matter if we are there with one or 60 houses in your location. Your buyers WILL see your property.
You don't have many for sale in my price range, does this matter?
This also, as above, is something that won't make a difference while you are trying to sell. We give your house the same exposure (actually a we make sure that your property stands out) as all the other properties on the portals in that price range.
Think about this: If a buyer phones up for a property in your price range you will be the first that comes to mind! This actually works in your favour, as you are not fighting against any others that we have for sale. You are THE only one.
Do you take any properties?
We don't. Our services are not offered by any other agent in our area and in order to provide our customers with the best possible service we will only take on selected properties. Would you like to see if your property fits with our agency? Feel free to give me a call.
You don't have many properties on.
Okay this is a statement, not quite a question but still an important statement. I do not have many properties, mainly because we keep selling them! In fact we are running low. This is because our focus on launching your property with the right marketing works!! This is also a benefit, we know our houses inside out. When your buyers call us with their requirements we don't really need to the computer system to match your house to them, we don't need to weed out the ones that they don't want, from a sea of 3 bedroom semi's, we can straight away start selling the viewing to them and get them in to your property.
We are smaller for a reason, but more and more people are wanting to use our signature style to sell their homes because, it works, it looks fantastic, and we CARE. We notice the details, we polish the taps, we move the bins and we work to ensure that your photographs capture the beauty of your home, and this ultimately leads to MORE VIEWINGS & HIGHER OFFERS QUICKER!!
So, what is your secret?
Now that would be telling, but, we have sellers who want to sell and are willing to use our style to their advantage. They are willing to work with us in making the best out of their property. In fact one willing seller hadn't sold with two other agents and was on the market for two whole years. After seeking our advice, they carried it out. We re-launched the property and guess what....8 weeks later we found a buyer who paid 98% of asking price. IT WORKS, IT REALLY DOES!!
Want to find out about our selling secrets and get some hints and tips you can put into practice? Click here for our list of our useful blog posts, then grab a cup of tea and read away...
Can other estate agents really demonstrate their differences? We can and we do often. Ask us to show you, it's my favourite part!
I can't wait to work with you
