The moment of putting your home on the market heralds a burst of activity, it is like a flame roaring into life and like many a bright flame it is often the culmination of a long smouldering spark.
Few people wake up one morning and without any prior thought whatsoever go and put their home up for sale. The opportunity that many miss exists in that period between the first realisation that moving home may be in the air and the final burst of activity as they throw themselves into the arena amongst all the other people selling their homes.
That period of reflection and of decision-making, if used properly, can be one of the most important and productive periods of the whole moving process and one that can reap great rewards for the thoughtful planners amongst you.
Why?
More and more people who are thinking of selling their home are talking about home staging, careful marketing and many will think about works they could do to improve their chances of selling and of realising a better price. The problem is that a good number will also leave it to the last-minute and suddenly realise that they don’t have time to get jobs done, the tradesmen are all busy or the weather is against them.
Over the last thirty years I have also met too many people who have spent money on jobs they didn’t need to get done, have overspent or perhaps even missed something that may be more effective.
My advice to anyone thinking of moving is get a good agent in to see your home as soon as possible. Start to think about the jobs that could be done to make your home more appealing and potentially more valuable. Plan works according to the time of year and plan your marketing to suit. Look at the quality of marketing agents provide and question, who is going to really make my home stand out for what it is? There is a lot of marketing done that manages to bring special homes down into the realm of mediocrity.
If you can’t put your home on the market till the end of the year or even into the new year and your garden is a massive selling feature think about getting photography done in spring or summer in readiness. If the way your home faces means the light falls more flatteringly at a certain time of year then plan with your agent to get the photography done accordingly. Discuss improvements that can be made to your home, the gardens and outbuildings. Think about when to photograph ponds, lakes, copses and views.
If you know you intend to move and your house is overly cluttered think about preparing in advance by beginning to plan, possibly sell items or think of storage but don’t get too carried away. De-cluttering isn’t all it’s made out to be.
A good estate agent will advise you on when your home is best suited to coming to the market and will think about how the process should commence to suit your needs.
If you have had the foresight to plan ahead and suddenly you see your dream home come available how much better will your entry into the marketplace appear if photos and a brochure are sitting in the background ready for that moment, that call to action.
There are plenty of articles here in our journal that will get you thinking about the various rooms of your home and your garden. Take a moment to read them here and please do plan ahead. You all know the old saying, ‘fail to plan, plan to fail’.
You’re unlikely to fail in selling your home in this market but will you achieve the best price? Will you find the buyer who suits your needs? Plan ahead and it’s all the more likely you will achieve the best you possibly can, work closely with an agent like ourselves and you can be better prepared and more effective.
People buy with their eyes and their hearts, the head plays its part, common sense so to speak but the more you prepare to make the best impact visually the more effective the marketing of your home will be.
If you’re thinking of selling a home, we’d love to talk to you in more detail. Give us a call on +44 (0)800 368 8991 +44 (0)1303 474101 or contact us here.
You can see Matt’s advice here Planning ahead
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