BUY- Presentation, Presentation, Presentation!
Clear up, clean up and redecorate. Yes you have heard it before but, aside from the price, it is probably the single most important thing you can do to ensure your property stands the best chance of achieving the best price. If you have to ship some furniture off to self-storage for a few months then it may be a worthwhile investment. It really is worth the effort to ensure that before every viewing the property is clean and yes a few well-placed vases of flowers and a newly opened bag of coffee beans won’t go amiss either! It’s no surprise that house builders and developers often pay significant sums of money to have their apartments professionally dressed. Finally, and even if the decoration was redone only a few years ago, it may still be a very worthwhile and cost effective exercise to have the halls, stairs and landings and any key rooms given a quick lick of paint.
- Price it right!
It seems obvious but it is amazing how many properties come to market at the wrong price. It is vital to ensure the agent you employ really knows your local area extremely well and has an accurate picture of local prices and comparable recent sales. It can sometimes be better to actually set a guide price at the lower end of expectations thus creating even more viewings and a number of offers competing for the property.
- Marketing!
When choosing your agent make sure they are going to be using a professional company to take the photos. Gone are the days when a few snaps by the agent with a compact camera will remotely suffice. With the majority of buyers starting their search online you need to stand out and so the photographer should ensure that they not only take top quality photos of the exterior and interior but also highlight any particular features of the property with close ups. Remember you are selling a lifestyle not just bricks and mortar. However it is also important to leave a little to the imagination, after all you want people to visit not dismiss it from photos alone. The first few weeks of marketing are often `key’ as to how successful you are. This is when most agents will be getting their `prime’ buyers to view the property so ensuring they see the property in the best possible light it absolutely vital. A good agent will be providing you with feedback which is vital and enables you and agent to interpret this feedback to ensure you can tweak how the property is marketed accordingly.
