Top five home improvements to increase the value of your property
There are a number of things a vendor can do to increase the value of their property. Here are my Five Top Personal Favourites:
1. Declutter
The Lrst step is to declutter the property from top to bottom. Please don’t forget about decluttering of your attic and your garden. Hire a big skip and get rid of old broken items. Anything still useful, please recycle and give to your local charity shops.
Remember clutter eats your equity so if in doubt “Chuck it out”. As Coco Chanel says, “Less is more”, and this is so truer when it comes to the sale of a property. Remembering decluttering is also great as it makes it so much easier for you to clean and get the house ready for a viewing when there are fewer items around the house.
Also decluttering can make the house appear more organized, brighter, spacious and more appealing. It is really that important.
2. Deep Clean
Fantastic. You got all your unwanted items out of the way with your recent decluttering project and now it’s time to roll up the sleeves and get stuck in. Nothing beats a good clean and remember clean from the top to the very bottom and don’t forget about cobwebs in corners and on light Lttings. Nothing smells or feels as goods as a clean house. Washing up liquid, disinfectant, window cleaner, bleach etc. are magniLcent items to get your property ready for sale.
3. Fresh Paint
Wow! Even writing about helps me visualize walking into and smelling a property that has been freshly painted and given to us to sell. It is like music to the soul! Never underestimate the power of a clean lick of paint. It can make an incredible difference in presentation. The best colours to use are a warm pale cream or a very light grey.
White paint can come across very clinical and cold. My personal favourite is a light warm cream. Be warned though if you paint one room and don’t paint the others, the unpainted rooms can stick out like a sore thumb. I believe the house ideally should be painted throughout, including with ceilings, architraves and doors painted too. Remember we never get a second chance to make the right first impression.
4. Staging and Dressing
A house must be sparsely furnished for sale as it is always better to sell a house furnished than unfurnished as many buyers cannot visualize furniture in a property. The furniture should be clean and in good condition.
It is essential to depersonalize also and remove personal photography as you want your buyers to see them living in your property. Accessorize carefully, tastefully and delicately. Things like rugs, lamps, cushions, throws, pretty colour coordinated accessories, fresh Zowers positioned on a dining room/kitchen, hall table, clean and ironed bed linen, cushions, new and fresh hand towels in the bathrooms. Fresh scented perfumes can just add that sprinkle of magic to entice your buyer to make you a fabulous offer you can’t refuse or entice multiple buyers to make multiple bids on your home to give you the Dream Price you were hoping for. It all works trust me! Always ensure your gardens are magniLcent also. During the wintertime, it’s not too easy to have a garden looking at its best but tidy it up as best you can. In the spring/summer months have your gardens and lawns magniLcent.
Plant colourful Zowers and shrubs and invest in window boxes and hanging baskets. Dress your patio areas with your garden furniture, garden cushions, parasols and barbeques (as long as they are not old and rusty!). In the spring/summertime, the garden is an extension of a room outside. Have it breath-taking so your purchasers can visualize sitting out in the sun in the garden sipping a cool glass of prosecco, chilled gin and tonic or a beer while smelling freshly cut grass and a delicious steak sizzling on the barbeque. Remember, you are selling the lifestyle. You are selling the dream. Make the buyers just have to buy your home!
5. Heat
If you are ever selling a residential property and it is during the cold months, please remember how important it is to ensure your property is lovely, cosy and warm for all viewings. Cold houses are incredibly di_cult to sell, and if they do sell, they tend not to get the price they should. Buyers will place an offer on a warm house Lrst. When it comes to selling a second-hand house, it is critical to ensure the heating is on and is working as this house could competing with a more modern higher energy rated house. Remember to have you home toasty and snug for all viewings.
