By: Julia Aidan
Submitted: 2009-05-29 06:40:21 | Word Count: 631
Selling your house in today's economic climate is difficult enough, but there are some simple rules that people tend to forget, however by following these rules you might even get to sell your house a little more quickly.
It is all about presentation, first impressions count for everything and most Estate Agents will tell you that houses are normally sold to prospective buyers within the initial first five minutes of a viewing.
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So here so some common-sense tips that you should follow when putting your property onto the market.
Ensure the carpets and floor coverings of your property are kept neat and clean. If need be employ the services of professional company to clean your carpets. A bright clean carpet will lift the whole mood of a room – they they are dirty and grubby this will bring down the tone of a room and make it feel smaller.
Minimalise your kitchen, put away any electrical items, spare jars pots and pans. Less clutter means more space. It goes without saying that a less cluttered house has a greater chance of selling that a house that appears to be cluttered. De-clutter your cupboards, take out any unwanted items – again cupboards with a little room to spare in them with appear bigger than they are.
If you have large expanses of wall try hanging a picture or two – this will do two things. Firstly it will breakup a plain area and secondly and more importantly it will allow you to introduce some extra colour into a room without the need to re-decorate. However make sure that the picture is fairly mainstream – strange art may put off a buyer straight away.
It is vital that all windows are spotlessly clean. Again you may need to bring in a professional company to do this for you. Rooms can be given the appearance of being larger if they are filled with natural light. In addition natural light gives a room a much warmer feel to it and will make it more 'softer' and have a homely ambiance.
In show business, they say never work children and animals. Selling a house is the same. Make sure that all the children's toys are put away and as hard as it maybe ensure that the children's rooms are very clean and tidy. If you have pets ensure that the litter trays are clean and most importantly that they do not smell. If you do have pets ensure that your furniture does not have any pet hairs on it.
Sometimes the way to overcome any unwanted smells is to buy and burn some scented candles or sometimes incense (but make sure that the smell from these is not overpowering). Another good trick is to put freshly cut flowers in a room. Not only will this give off a very pleasant fragrance but also will again add colour to a room. If you do place flowers in a room remember that they should always look fresh – never leave limp or dying flowers in a room.
One last tip is to remove or reduce down the number of photographs you may have on show. It is vital that any prospective buyer can imagine that the house is theirs. With too many of your favourite or personal photographs on display this is going to be hard for a buyer to do. You want them to feel that they could move it straight away and whilst it may seem a little hard to de-personalise your home – it really could make the difference in making a quick sale or leaving your house on the market for a very long time.
