Viewing tips when selling your house

It’s time to move!  Maybe you just landed that new job,  maybe you are wanting to move because the family has grown, or maybe the kids have left home and you are wanting to downsize. In this article, we will help guide you through the murky world of finding an offer and getting the price your home deserves.

Getting your house ready to sell

Get your house ship-shape before it goes on the market.  Before you have instructed an letting agency in Leeds to sell your property, you should get your property up to the standard that buyers will be happy to accept.

Within days of choosing your estate agent, they will be taking professional photographs of your property, 360 photographs and sometimes even virtual reality videos for those buyers who simply don’t want to travel to see your property.

This is why it’s crucial to make sure your property is looking its best for them.  It’s amazing how many photographs we see that show untidy bedrooms, gardens and cluttered front drives. Many sellers think as long as the house looks great when the viewer enters, this is all that matters. Having professional photographs with untidy rooms will lose you potential buyers, as there is only so much a photographer can do.

How should one dress their house up for sale?

By showing off the best features.
You have to imagine buyers to think on a more basic level, where they need to be shown how good your home can possibly look.  Is it worth doing up your house before selling? Yes if you want to maximise the potential return from your property.  Decide on what strengths your property has – then proceed to show those strengths off.

First impressions before entering the property

Within the first few seconds of driving or walking up to your property, a prospective buyer will be judging the outside of your home.

• What does the Driveway look like?

• Is there enough space for parking their car or cars?

• Is your home painted and looking able to weather many more winters?

• If you have a front garden, is it well kept?

• Do the bins look nasty or is everything looking prim and proper?

• Do the windows need a lick of paint?

• Maybe your front door needs a new door knocker?

All these things might seem minor, but they could be the difference between getting the best offer possible or reducing your price.

What to do when your house is being shown?

If an agent is showing your property – the best thing you can do is leave the property. Crowding the viewers will help no one.  Of course, if you are showing the property give the viewers space and be there to address any queries they may have.

Does an empty house sell faster?

An empty house will take longer to sell. This is officially true with decades of research gone into this exact topic. Homes that are fully furnished and occupied or even staged will sell faster. Not only that, they also increase the value of your property.

Some buyers lack imagination and need their hands held when it comes to the buying process of visualising what a house will look like. Empty rooms often look smaller than they really are. An empty property will show up all the wear and tear.  An empty property also reeks of urgency when selling a property, and the belief that there is an urgency to sell will slow down most prospective buyers.  Psychology can be a crazy thing but it is fundamental in the buying process of properties.

How important is staging when selling a home?

Does staging help sell a house? We have already learnt that empty homes take longer to sell. Thankfully due to decades of research, the staging of a home; where you lay it out like a show home, will quicken the sale and likely ratchet up the asking price.

Good luck with selling your apartment, house and your old home – in a seller’s market the process is obviously easier, but I hope with these tips you may maximise the offer on your property and speed up that sale process, enabling you to move on to the next stage in your property life.

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Get in touch for a chat on 0113 345 3031 or email info@switchproperties.co.uk
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