Spring has finally sprung. The evenings are getting lighter and the days warmer which makes it the perfect time to get your house in order and on the market.
But before you open your doors to a rush of viewers, consider our six top tips for maximising the appeal of your property and securing your sale.
Dig out your list of odd jobs
You might have learned to live with that slightly wobbly shelf or dodgy door handle, but potential buyers won’t be impressed. Buyers will be looking out for problems and even small maintenance jobs might make them wonder what else could be wrong with the property. Make sure they can only see the positives. Take a good look around your property, starting from the street and ending up at the end of your garden. Note down every little job that needs to be done and get going. This includes freshening up the décor to neutral tones if it is looking a bit tired. Once you have done this give the whole property a good clean from top to toe. This will help give your property a fresh feel which will give your buyers a positive feeling about the property.
De-clutter
Help your buyers visualise themselves living in the property by minimising signs of your life there. Pack up all personal items such as photographs, ornaments, even DVDs, and CDs. While you are at it take a look at the furniture and ask, “does it need to be there?”. You want to give the feeling of space so leave enough furniture to demonstrate the purpose of a room, whilst giving plenty of space for prospective buyers to move around freely. If you are opting for open viewings there may be several groups of viewers in your property at one time, while this will help emphasize the competition for purchasers, maximising the feeling of space will be essential.
Maximize the unique features of your property
What made you buy this property? What did you fall in love with when you first viewed it? Whether it was the unique period features, south facing garden or mod cons, someone else will be bound to fall in love too. So, take some time to remember what your first impressions were and make sure these aspects particularly stand out to your prospective buyers.
Let the professionals take the photos
Doing all this work will only be worth the while if you are able to entice buyers to come and see your property for real in the first place. This is where professional photos come into their own. A great selling agent will be able to get your property professionally photographed to make it stand out from the crowd online. The photos need to whet the appetite of the online viewer and proper staging, lighting and photo editing will do this. You want your prospective buyers to be immediately drawn to everything your property has to offer.
Get your property visible online
Using a professional agency to market your property will ensure that it will appear in all the right places online. Around 80% of house hunters now use the internet as a starting point for their property search, so it is essential that your property is featured on all the main property portals. This is particularly true when considering the buy-to-let market, where investors are quite often not local. As an international city, Edinburgh attracts people from all over the world so it is vital that you are reaching all these potential markets. At Braemore Sales & Lettings we are partnered with the UK’s largest property websites, Zoopla, Rightmove and Prime Property, in order to give your property as much exposure as possible, as our properties appear on a total of 10 property portals, maximising the chance of it appearing in front of your ideal purchaser.
Understand the competition
The growth in online property portals also provides you with one final tool in your toolkit to ensure you maximize the appeal of your property. Use these sites to research what your competition is like. Get one step ahead by checking out the other properties your prospective buyers are seeing alongside your property. This, after all, will be what they are comparing your property against, so make sure the odds are stacked in your favour. If you notice that your property has something the others are lacking, then don’t be afraid to shout about it. Make sure these features are prominent to anyone visiting the property. That way when they are considering which property to put the offer on, yours will be top of their list.
Most important of all when selling your property is choosing a knowledgeable local agent who can help you with all this and more. For information on how Braemore can help you get the most for your property contact Scott Webster, Head of Estate Agency on 0131 624 6666.
To enquire about Braemore and our services, get in touch with us, here.