What realtors do when
You’d expect real estate agents to be experts when it comes to listing their own properties. learns some of their secrets.
Poke around the internet and you’ll find any number of horror stories about what real estate agents globally have found at open homes, from a pet crocodile found roaming in a United States bedroom to life-sized naked photos of the owners’ family hanging on the wall and sellers still asleep in their beds.
While roaming crocodiles aren’t too much of an issue for Kiwi realtors, it’s fair to say they’ve been exposed to their fair share of horrors when showing buyers through properties, including untidiness, unpleasant odours and sites that aren’t presented to appeal to the target market.
With a front-row seat to what not to do when selling a home, you’d expect real estate agents to be experts when it comes to listing their own homes.
And Anji Foster is. Having been in the property business for 15 years, the last eight with Wellington’s Lowe &
Co, Foster describes herself and her husband Jason Lowe, who works for the same company, as “gypsies”.
“We’ve moved around a lot over the years since meeting in Auckland and have owned seven homes in Dunedin, Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington,” says Foster.
The same advice the mother of two young adult children gives clients is what she herself follows when listing her own home for sale.
“Get help from a professional home stager or stylist. Even if you think your home is okay, it’s good to get an expert set of eyes who can advise on what might need changing. You can also borrow furniture from a home stager, instead of buying a whole lot of things that you might not have any use for going forward. So you’ll save money in the long run.”
Foster walked the talk when she sold her last home three years ago. “I used Roz Scott, from Tickadeeboo home staging, because we had a bedroom that was used as a dumping ground for things we couldn’t find a place for.
“It never looked pretty and I didn’t want to buy furniture for it that we wouldn’t use again. Roz helped us stage it so that potential buyers could see how it could be used.”
Remember too that rooms generally look bigger with furniture in and smaller when they’re empty.
The couple also put some of their older pieces in storage in favour of Roz’s newer items.
“They were well-loved pieces that wouldn’t have appealed to our target audience.”
Foster also believes in giving the property a good clean, inside and out, bearing in mind that nosey open home visitors like to peek into wardrobes and cupboards.
Also think about cleaning the carpets if needed. And while you don’t need to go full Marie Kondo, a good decluttering and tidying of bookshelves can go a long way, as