SELLING YOUR HOUSE?

I currently have my house up for sale; we have had viewings and of course viewed a number of other properties that are for sale.

Prior to putting the house on the market the wife gave me a list of all the little jobs that needed doing and fixing, a lick of paint here, hang a door there, fix that leaking tap, you know the usual kind of stuff.

We then invited our estate agent round to value our property – again we asked for and were given advice on what we could do to help make our house more sellable. Tasks completed the house is ready for someone to buy.

This blog asks the question – why is it that when we are selling a car for any thing from a thousand pound to ten thousand pound are more likely to have our car cleaned, polished and serviced to make it look more attractive. Yet when it comes to our home probably the biggest single investment that we will make in our lives and therefore the possibility of making a fair size profit from that investment do we not have the same mind set?

Let me explain. As mentioned above I sorted out all of the things that needed doing around the house – just as all the vendors of the properties that we have viewed and those that we haven’t. Yet, and I was as guilty of this as anyone else our floors are left unattended.

Along with the ceiling the floor area of any room in any house is without doubt the largest area, but how often do we look up at the ceiling? More often than not we look ahead or slightly down making the floor a major factor.

During my viewings and the survey on my own house I have noticed that there are hundreds of homes with tiled and wood floors, the vast majority of which at the very least could do with a professional and expert freshen up and clean – just as we would with our vehicles. A lot off these floors could do with sanding, repairs, deep clean or sealing. Grout lines may have become discoloured or stained, wood floors scratched, marked or stained.

After discussions with estate agents from many different agencies and towns I have come to the conclusion that having the floor area of your home looked at and serviced before you place your property on the market will not necessarily add value to your home. However it will almost certainly add to the saleability. It will help to create a wow factor when the house is viewed by prospective purchasers. It will help to highlight a large surface area in your home and show that your home has been cared for – just like all of those other little jobs that you done in the first place.

The minute we decided to put our house up for sale we just wanted it to sell as quickly as possible, we want to move on to our next home. I am pretty sure that you as a vendor feel the same way. Any thing that helps speed up the process and does not take a lot of time and money has to be worth it.

Remember that there are always hundreds of other homes on the market at the same time as yours

First Impressions Count – Make yours a Great One!