Having trouble selling your house? Perfect pitching with the help of the homestagers
"Ten years ago, no one had even heard of homestaging. If you wanted to sell your house, you had a quick whisk around with the feather duster and rearranged the cushions. You didn’t pay someone to come around and tart the place up, for heaven’s sake. That, of course, was in the days before property shows filled our television screens. Before that, we expected buyers to fall in love with our homes, warts and all. Now, though, more of us are having to kick-start the romance, by indulging in a little cosmetic surgery on our properties, pre-sale. “If you don’t think you need a homestager, take some photographs of the inside of your house and have a look at them,” says Anita Richardson of HouseWow. “That’s the only way you really get to see your home as others see it. And it will come as a shock. We all tend to be blind to our home’s imperfections.” It’s true, of course. Suddenly those familiar old carpet stains leap out at you, as do the marks on the wall, where you tried to force the double bed up the stairs. So what’s the solution? An immediate major overhaul, with expensive soft furnishings? Not at all, says Lynn Pick of Home Stylers. “Don’t take any notice of interior designers who say you need to spend £30,000-£40,000,” she urges. “You can achieve the same effect for a fraction of the price.” The standard spend among Pick’s clients is £1,000-£2,000, with £6,000 being the ceiling. Following her initial inspection of your property, she draws up a homestaging battleplan that covers everything from her fees (£195 per day) to redecorating and refurnishing. But before the beautification begins, the cleaning must commence. “A professional deep-cleansing of the carpets can work wonders,” Richardson explains. “As can a visit from a cleaner around the rest of the house. Followed by a raid on the cupboards to clear out all the stuff you’re never going to need. And replace it with some of the clutter that’s currently out on show.” The basic principle of homestaging, it seems, is that in order for your home to appeal to people, you must first depersonalise it. “Too many of your own personal effects just puts buyers off,” Richardson adds. “One house was full of the owner’s collection of Star Wars figures. Things like that just distract buyers and make them think they could never possibly live there.” The same applies to decor, says Pick, who trained with television house doctor Ann Maurice. “If you have bright pink walls and your prospective buyers have a three-piece green suite that they know will clash, it’s going to put them off,” she says. “The fact is, if people have a choice of properties, they’ll go for the one that needs the least work.” Keep colours neutral, then, is the homestagers’ advice. If you have an avocado bathroom suite, maybe think about replacing it with white. Bathrooms and bedrooms should be filled with prosperous-looking towels and pillows, the plumper the better. “You should strive for the standard of presentation you’d expect to find in a hotel bedroom or bathroom,” Richardson says. “Once the viewers have been and gone, you can put your lovely new towels back in the airing cupboard, and get out your grubby old everyday ones.” Does it work? Definitely, says Jill France, who used HouseWow to perk up a largely unfurnished cottage she was selling on the outskirts of York. “People who viewed the cottage before said it seemed rather small and they weren’t sure how to use what space there was,” she says. “The estate agents warned me that putting in furniture would make the place look even smaller but, in fact, the opposite turned out to be true.” Within a fortnight of their revamp, the Frances received an offer. As for how much to spend on homestaging, the rough rule of thumb is between one and two per cent of the asking price. It’s hard, of course, to quantify exactly how much the facelift will make you, but what is beyond doubt is that well-dressed houses sell quicker and make buyers less inclined to offer a lower price because they know there will be competition. By contrast, less alluring properties are harder to shift, although, as the vendor, you may be the last person to realise this. Richardson adds: “The estate agents want to keep your business, so they’re not going to rock the boat and tell you why your place isn’t selling. Trust me, we homestagers are the only people brave enough to look the owner in the eye, and say: 'The smell of your dog really isn’t doing you any favours.’” Christopher Middleton The Daily Telegraph Thursday 31 March, 2011
TIPS FOR CHOOSING AN ESTATE AGENT.
So you have made the decision to sell your property. I am often asked advice about choosing an estate agent especially in an area where I do not personally know anyone to recommend.
One of the first tips is do not choose an agent because they valued your property at the highest price what you are looking for is "an expert negotiator and marketer". Choose three agents and look at Open Houses they are holding and see how they and their staff handle potential purchasers are they helpful to everyone or are they standing in the driveway smoking (yes this really happened to me) and importantly how they treat the property they are selling. I know one Agent recently who was selling a million dollar property when showing people around he failed to show them the vast storage space purposely built at the back of the garage - the house sold at auction and I always wonder if the property might have sold for more if the buyers knew about this vast space.
So you have decided on three local agents - I think using someone who has to drive forty minutes to show someone your property is not a good idea unless of course there are no agencies closer. There are some key questions you can ask each agent:
- " What do you personally offer that will help me get the best price for my home?
- What is your point of difference?
- What is your company's market share in this area?
- Who do you think will buy my property?
- How do you propose to achieve a premium price for my property?
- What tools do you have to ensure every potential viewer lookst at my property?
- Can your company give my property the exposure it deserves on the internet?
- How many websites can a potential buyer view my property on?
- Which sytems will you use to market and sell my property?"
I would also ask friends and or relations who have recently purchased or sold a property about the Real Estate Agent they used and would they recommend them.
Your agent should also suggest ways of presenting your home or offer you the name of a Professional to help you. Personally I think the property should be in Open House mode before you ask agents around but of course this is not always possible.
Harcourts Bryan Thomson says"the appraisal process is a chance for you to see how well the salespople communivate and to gauge their attitude and skill in response to your queries. You must trust your salesperson to achieve a great result - if you don't have that confidence, move on. Throughout the sales process, expect honest feedback - if the price is too high, you should be able to discuss that too. You should have a relationship where you can expect feedback, good and bad."
Megan Jaffe says "it's important you choose an agent who continues to build their database. In this market the agents who are selling are extremely well-organised. They're perfecting their processes, systems, documentation and improving their vendor communications. At the end of each meeting with a vendor I always ask, is there anything I could have done to serve you better?"
And I think we would all like to use a Real Estate Agent who goes the extra distance - finding them can be difficult!
Words in Quotes Vicki Holder of Habitat Magazine
FOLLOW THESE RULES FOR DRESSED2SELL
- DE-CLUTTER
- CLEAN, CLEAN AND CLEAN AGAIN
- MEND, FIX, RE-PLACE
- DE-PERSONALISE
- DRESS/RE-ORGANISE
I would advise de-clutter first. Clutter is anything you don't use, is broken and just takes up space. It is easier to see what needs to be done in each room if it is free from clutter. Clutter can be anything from too much furniture to obscure collections (multiple shelves of beer cans collections will not help sell the property). Cupboards and wardrobes need to be de-cluttered as well. Purchasers will look inside! The trick is to make three piles:
- To keep and divided into what is necessary to present the property and what should be put into storage.
- Second pile for charity donations for items to good to throw out. If you feel you could sell some items just divide this pile.
- Last pile just to be thrown out - you might have to hire a skip. This rule can be applied to toys, garden equiment, books and games, electrical items, linens, clothes and nic nacs. In a future blog I will discuss de-cluttering in more detail as it is something that should not just happen because you are selling your property - this especially applies to wardrobes!
Kitchen cupboards and if you have one a pantry pull everything out - throw out items passed their sell by dates, clean shelves and replace and organise items. While doing this check handles on cupboards, are top of cupboards clean? Do splashback tiles need re-grouting? Cupboard doors do they need re-laminating or painting? Perhaps work top needs replacing. And don't forget the fridge and freezer - clean and remove all items stuck on the front. If your oven is fitted (or you are not taking it for another reason) make sure this is spotless and in good working order.
Bathrooms - this is certainly the area of clean, clean and clean again. Check tiling - if there any cracks replace tiles - what condition is the bath, shower, wash baisin and toilet in? Should some or all be replaced? Taps working properly? What condition is the floor? Don't forget the bathroom cabinets.
Linen cupboards again pull everything out and re-organise.
Check all lights, lamps and air-conditioning units. Replace bulbs where necessary.
Now your property has less or hopefully no clutter start cleaning. There are cleaning companies that will professionally clean for you if you feel it is too daunting. Don't forget to look up not just down! Geiko debris, clean fans (and check they are working) and make sure there are no spider webs. Check plaster work on cornices and ceiling roses. While you are cleaning check locks on doors and windows - do windows and doors open easily espcially sliding doors? Taps, showers - are they leaking? Do some walls need painting? Does a carpet need replacing or could you use a rug? Perhaps you need to book a carpet cleaner. Wood floors - re-polish - glowing wood always an excellent selling point. I would say do not disguise things that are broken either mend or leave. People will wonder what other things are not working if they find something that has been disguised as working when it was broken.
You can now start thinking about the space you have to work with. Each room should be dressed to show clearly what it is used for. The more bedrooms the better - In the UK over 60% of people moved houses because of the bedroom so very important to make bedrooms look uncluttered and luxurious. Think about how you can use and define each space in your property. Look at some other properties in your area during Open Houses or on www.realestate.com.au this should give you some ideas on preparation, presentation and price and I will give more tips on dressing2sell in another blog.
HOUSE DRESSING; HOME STYLING; HOUSE DOCTORING; PROPERTY STYLING ALL EQUAL DRESSED2SELL
There are many names for styling a property house dressing, house doctoring; home styling; all equal Dressed2Sell -. I have been helping people present their properties for sale for nearly ten years - it compliments other parts of my business and because I work in the UK from time to time I keep up with trends that are happening outside Australia. Not all my business is to dress the property some Clients prefer having a Pre-Sale Home Report written for them so that they have more of an idea of what to do. Presenting your own home is very difficult as you have an emotional attachment and you do not see things the same way as a stranger does - some things you have probably stopped noticing! With an investment property to which you have no emotional attachment presenting this for sale is still important it might well mean a quick sale and a better price than anticipated. If asked I tell people to call the Estate Agents that you are choosing around AFTER the property is looking its best. The Agent then is selling the property looking its best not knowing how it looked a week or a month ago.
You have probably heard the anecdote about the Lady who is going to the races so she spends the morning at the beauticians and hairdressers having already purchased new clothes, shoes and a hat to enjoy her afternoon. This Lady has spent hundreds of dollars if not thousands on her appearance for one afternoon but when selling her own home which is her biggest financial investment she does not want to spend one cent and reap the rewards.
My first tip is once you have made the big decision to sell move out mentally. Think about where you want to go and where you want to live when the property is sold - imagine yourself there when feeling upset about the move. Some people have a farewell party now so that they can get on with the business of preparing the house for sale.
How much time you spend on your property will depend on how much there is to do. Some people de-clutter once a year and others never. My suggestion is make a list of what needs to be done and work from there so that on the day of the first Open House or Inspection the house is presented well enough for a purchaser to move in and live.
Walk outside your property and view it as a potential purchaser would do from the road or even a neighbour's garden -
BE CRITICAL and BE HONEST.
Does the roof, gutters or downpipes need to be replaced or cleaned?
Are there many overhanging branches that need to be trimmed?
What does your front gate and fence look like?
Is your street number visible?
Does your driveway need to be weeded or updated?
Does the exterior of the house need to be washed or re-painted?
What does your front garden look like?
Do you need some new plants?
Or do you need to clear out some old plants?
What does the lawn look like - perhaps you need a few metres of turf?
Does the front door look welcoming? Would a coat of paint help or new glass?
If there is an outside verandah is this inviting - could it be used with table and couple of chairs or a day bed? Especially important if the property has views from the front area.
Exterior blinds or shades are they clean? Or perhaps they need replacing.
Windows clean on exterior?
Side gates - are they working - do they close and if they lock does it work?
Exterior lights and switches - are they all working - including swimming pool lights.
Do you have a pool?
Do any of the pool surround pavers need replacing?
Pool fence compliant?
Pool gate closes automatically?
Pool pump and pool cleaner working?
Pool Safety and a current CPR Notice must be displayed so that it is visible from your pool area.
Does your dog dig in the garden? Eat plants? Or just generally make a mess outside and inside? Think about kennels perhaps for a week or two prior to Open House or ask a friend, neighbour or member of your family.
Are your potted plants looking healthy and pots looking attractive?
Do your garden beds need to be tidied? More mulch? More plants?
Have you a water tank? Might be worth getting even a small one so that you can keep the grass green and plants growing.
Is there an area in the garden - if your garden is large enough you can set up an outside seating area or just a daybed? Hang a hammock?
Is your pond clean? Fish look healthy?
Garden sheds are not an eye sore? Perhaps some screening?
Washing line not dominant - a new one that pulls down might be better?
Garage - can puchasers see that it is a two car garage and not the dumping ground for sports equipment and other items not in use?
Car port is it attractive or an eye sore?
Next blog I will discuss the interior of the property and how to go about making it look the best it can for potential buyers. I started with the outside as it doesn't matter what the inside looks like if no-one stops and walks through the front gate! There is a thirty second rule and with some people even less if they don't like what they see they will not stop. I realise that I am mainly talking about houses but apartment owners you might have to be pro-active e.g. screening rubbish area; making sure outside and stair lights are all working; that common areas are clean and tidy; that pool the pool is clean and that the shared garden looks attractive.
I look forward to sharing my tips on presenting the interior of your property for sale. And remember if you need any advice on presenting your property for sale please contact me,