7 Key Points to Securing a Sale (The Bugle)

The current Buyer’s Market in residential properties provides wonderful choice and aggressive pricing for buyers. The sellers, faced with extensive competition from other alternate options, have to do everything they possibly can to present their homes in the best possible light and thereby improve the sell-ability. Well just how can you do this?  As property professionals we see the same mistakes being made over and over again by sellers, which impacts directly on the pricing achieved for their property or even being able to get to the point of an offer. There are no guarantees, but by considering the seven key points below, and applying the recommendations, you will give yourself the best possible chance of securing a sale.

(1) First Impressions Count: As Gary Player is famously quoted as saying, you only get one chance to make a first impression. The sense of arrival provided by your property, even before a prospective buyer walks through the front door, is often referred to as its “curb appeal” and is very important to shaping a visitor’s perception. Presentation is essential. Ensure that the garden or landscaping is neat and tidy, manicured and inviting. Remove all obstacles and repair or replace anything that could be distracting. Broken roof tiles, loose gutters, cracked paving tiles, poorly maintained garage doors or driveways can be distracting and need to be repaired prior to your first showing.

(2) Maintain Neutrality: Extreme colours or themed rooms may limit your market. Neutral colour schemes on the walls and floors provide the buyer with a blank canvass to put their own signature on.

(3) Less is More: Furnished homes can, under certain circumstances, be an advantage, but a cluttered home can have a very negative impact. Remove excess furniture, clean out garages, neaten studies and clean out cupboards.

(4) Lighten Up: Light and bright interiors sell. Often older homes may have heavy curtaining. Do everything you can to make sure the home is as light as possible. If natural sunlight is limited, ensure the lighting is new and bright. For viewings ensure that every light is turned on. Make sure your bathrooms are well lit and the bedside lamps actually work.

(5) Repairs First: Invest time and effort into going through every room in the home and repairing everything. Door and window handles, garden gates, balustrading, built in cupboards, tiles, and air-conditioners all require regular maintenance and repairs. Get it all done. Replace worn items with new. Repainting a home internally and externally prior to listing it for sale is singularly the best investment you can make.

(6) Pay Attention to Detail: Review everything from the perspective of a buyer. Worn light switches are easily replaced with new. Bathrooms are to be spotless. Remove old silicone strips and replace with fresh new white beads. Shower floor and doors are to be immaculate. Glass hobs and extractor fans should be as good as new.

(7) New House Smell: Avoid everything that could provide strong odours, including items that relate to cooking or pets in the home. Smell is a very powerful sense. Use it to your advantage by including fragrant scents in the rooms and cupboards.

Once you have prepared your home for sale, select your estate agency of choice, and work together with them to facilitate viewings as far as possible.

(Author: Andreas Wassenaar, published in The Bugle, 6 Feb 2013)