Selling your house in spring

Selling your house in spring

Along with blue skies, daffodils and tulips, spring also heralds the largest number of buyers actively searching for a new home.

If you’re considering selling your house this spring, here’s just a few top tips to make it stand out from the crowd:

Drive by appeal

Whilst it’s easy to spend hours online checking out potential new homes, possible buyers may also hop in the car and do a quick drive by before arranging a viewing.

Before instructing an estate agent, take the time to spruce up the front garden, mow the lawn, sweep the drive, ensure the doors and windows are gleaming and invest in a new container of spring flowers by the front door. But remember, ongoing maintenance is required to keep your home looking tip top until those contracts are signed. First impressions really do count and you don’t want to fall at the first hurdle.

Declutter

To sell your house in spring, or indeed in any season, decluttering is compulsory. Potential purchasers need to be able to see your home in all its glory and visualise how they could live in the space. Clutter detracts from this and can easily lose you a sale.

Find your ruthless side and go through your possessions – parting with those items you no longer need, want or use.  Pack them off to the local charity shop and then temporarily rehome everything else you don’t need for day-to-day living in either containerised or self storage until your home is sold.

Cleanliness = house sale

For most of us keeping our homes super clean, just in case a viewing is arranged, is one of the most stressful parts of the moving process.

Property guru, Phil Spencer, recommends engaging a professional cleaning company to undertake a deep clean. Tackling jobs like cleaning the oven, shower doors and vacuuming under sofas makes a huge difference.  Hiring a professional cleaning company may be cheaper than you think, so why not let them do the hard work and then all you have to do is keep on top of things.

And, if you’re planning to sell your house in spring, don’t forget to open doors and windows and let that fresh air in.

A picture is worth 1000 words

Marketing photographs play a major role in determining whether a potential purchaser arranges a viewing.  For your property to be seen its best, declutter, clean and stage each room before any shots are taken. Use photography skills as part of your selection criteria when deciding which estate agent should represent you. If you don’t like the shots taken, why not take your own, or invest in a professional photographer to deliver clear, bright photos that showcase your home’s wow factor?

Brief the agent

If you’re selling your house this spring, don’t forget to fully brief your estate agent.

Prospective buyers ask questions and good estate agents will want to be prepared to answer them.  If your home is bursting with gadgets, fancy lighting systems, smart phone-controlled thermostats, or you’ve had a rainwater harvester installed, make sure the estate agent knows all the facts.  If they don’t know how everything works, neither will your potential buyer.

If you’re thinking about moving home this spring, then you can find out more about our house removals services or view our great range of storage solutions if you need to store items whilst you’re in the process of moving.