Advice on selling your property this Autumn

James Robinson, our General Manager offers his advice on preparing your property for an autumn sale.

Where does your agent live?

Estate agency has become a very corporate affair with too much reliance on the property portals. Very often at the top end of the market, houses are sold to buyers who were not actively looking but have trusted an estate agent, normally through recommendation, to call them when the ‘right property’ is coming to the market. So the best choice of agent is more likely to be one who lives and socialises locally than a commuting director managing a team of young and inexperienced negotiators.

If it’s a wreck call it a wreck

Do not accept your estate agent’s cringe worthy descriptions as in ‘deceptively spacious’, ‘old world charm’ ‘faded grandeur’, ‘bijoux’ blah, blah, blah! If your house is a wreck shout it from the rooftops. The majority of our buyers want something they can do up. Post the referendum/stamp duty lunacy, buyers want to feel that what they buy has scope for improvement so they can recession proof themselves. After all, it is better to pleasantly surprise your buyers than disappoint them when they arrive.

Ask your friends

It is probably best not to only ask your estate agent what you should do to improve the appearance of your house because chances are you won’t like what they say and will probably fall out. It is far better to ask independently, your two most brutally honest friends to view your house and give their most truthful and clinical opinions.

30 seconds to make a first impression

Do redecorate outside, tend and tart up the front and rear gardens and whatever you do, don’t boil up cabbage just before a viewing.

Corridors of power

Unless your house is extremely grand, remove pictures in the entrance hall and corridors as they make them feel narrow and dark – mirrors really do work wonders.

If you’re looking for advice on how best to present your period mews property this Autumn, contact us. Our experienced sales team will be delighted to visit and offer recommendations on furniture placement, stylish art pieces which will enhance living areas and potted greenery for your doorstep.

This article first appeared on Deborah Battsek PR page.

Image Source: tastetravel.wordpress.com