EARLY SPRING CLEAN
Your home must be thoroughly cleaned and de-cluttered. By removing personal effects, buyers will be able to visualise themselves living there much more; plus the rooms will feel lighter and brighter. We are all looking for good size spaces and if your home is full of furniture, that’s really hard to imagine. It’s not going to be your home anymore – so take the family pictures down and then repair the walls.
There are many professional staging companies that can really maximise the potential of your home – some will bring in new furniture – others can work using all the lovely things you already have; just placing them in a different way or removing what’s not required.
Furniture and effects you’d like to keep and take to your next home, can be put into storage - there are some fantastic companies now that can deliver a box on a pallet, you fill it and then they store it in safe storage, for as little as $4/$5 a day. So please don’t fill your garage will packing boxes!
Good Tip: Use white linen on the beds – even if it’s just a blanket over the top of your normal duvet, but it will make the room look so much fresher, cleaner and bigger. If your beds look like luxurious hotel rooms, that’s going to be a bonus.
Talk to us and use some of the tried and tested contacts we have – all our agents have professionals that we can personally recommend cleaners, gardeners, stagers that won’t necessarily break the bank.
THE BEST HOUSE ON SEXY STREET
Street appeal is so important. If your home looks dirty or we can see marks/ sunfading on the back of your curtains, you will need to get them washed and sorted out. Cobwebs and pavers need a waterblast, steps should be clean and repaired as necessary.
And being able to find the front door is important too! You may not normally use your front door to access the house, but that’s the first port of call for a buyer. So a lick of paint on the door, clean glass inserts, maybe some lovely pots of colour at the door, all to lead the way.
A good idea is to pop along to a desirable houses’ open home and see what they have done, then when you return home, try to look at your own house with fresh eyes.
GET THOSE REPAIRS DONE!
Spending a small amount of money to repair some of those little things, may seem like a waste when you’re planning to move out, but by eliminating them, it gives your buyers less terms to negotiate over. So check for any damp, moisture, rotted wood on the decking, carpets with pile missing, doors and windows that are sticking.
Make sure your outside lights are working and use them in the evenings as you’d be surprised how many people will do a drive by after work to check out your location and what the neighbours are like. And on that note, if the neighbours front lawn looks like a dogs breakfast, ask them to give it a mow or offer to do it yourself – you’ll be raising the value of the whole street by doing so.
Carpets should be cleaned a few days before your first viewing to allow time for any cleaning smells to evaporate. Window cleaning is imperative as people will want to check out the view and it’s no good if they can’t see out the door!
FRESH AS A DAISY
A fresh lick of paint can do wonders for a home – it will make it look brighter, lighter and bigger as well as cleaner. It doesn’t cost much to give it a quick paint, but it is important to make sure the finish is good – paint splatters on door frames can make it look like there’s a lot of work to be done to fix it up. This can lose you money at the negotiating table.
Flat white is a no-no as it will make the house look cheap. Traditional homes such as a villa or bungalow, unless modernised, may work well with warmer tones such as quarter Spanish white. Or try some of the half/quarter tints of Resene’s most popular colours such as Sea Fog, Tea and Blanc. Alabaster is great for trims.
Check here for more ideas.
PRETTY AS A PICTURE
Photographs are your most important asset when it comes to the actual marketing of your home. Whether buyers are looking online or in the print media, you only have a few seconds to catch their interest, so we need to make sure your place looks magnificent! If you have lovely gardens or outdoor lighting, a photo shoot at dusk is lovely and can make a home warm and inviting. We want it to look appealing and fresh.
Here are some examples of photos which are OK – but they could be better. And we want your home to look the best it possibly can.
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STINKY HOUSE SNAGS
Nobody likes a smelly house – pet, smoke and damp smells can be a major turn-off for buyers. You may have acclimatised your nose to smell of your poochy, so check with your agent it they notice any smells. During the sales campaign, you might want to send your little friend on holiday to the kennels or a friends– it may make it a more settled time for them, as well as alleviate any pet smells. You might get the money back with a higher sale price.
Damp smells danger for all buyers, so it it’s a bit of carpet that needs replacing, get it done as early as possible.
Buyers can tell when you’re trying to cover something up, they’re already looking for reasons not to buy your property. Deal with those objections by dealing with those issues before they crop up.
OPEN DAY KNOW-HOW
Fresh flowers can appeal on open days, but the days of brewing coffee and baking bread is over. Clean, fresh, light and bright is the way to go.
SWITCH IT UP
Keep tweaking and adjusting your marketing campaign with your agent. Just because you started out with a set of images at the beginning, by switching things up, you might attract a different set of buyers.
By looking at your Vendors Report, it should be clear where your buyers are coming from and what by asking questions at the Open Home, we can see what brought them to your home. Then using that info as a well as the knowledge and experience from the entire team at Bayleys, we can make sure the campaign keeps tracking well.
BE REALISTIC WITH THE PRICE
Don't assume that the renovations you’ve completed will be covered by the sale price – and equally you can’t set the price by the funds you need to move on to the next project. Your agent will be able to give you a much more accurate and realistic figure based on actual sales in your area and where your home fits in the market. Whilst this is historical data, and no-one can foretell the future, it will give you a much clearer idea what you may achieve.
WHAT TO DO IF YOUR FIRST ATTEMPT FAILS
If your property is passed in at auction it doesn’t mean that it’s all over. Sometimes it’s a pricing issue, sometimes it’s that your property is quite different from the rest, so finding the right buyer, in the right position takes a little longer.
After each open home, agents will question your buyers where they see the value in your property – and if the pricing is way off, you’ll soon know. Frequently there are buyers that love your property, but just aren’t in a position to make a bid at auction. A good agent will work with those other buyers and may be able to close a deal within a couple of weeks of the auction.
If feedback suggests the price is right, you might need to be patient as a post-auction campaign takes effect.