‘Turning our family home into a show home enhanced its sales potential’
Keen to move to a bigger house but in the same area of Essex, Helen Brown, a policy advisor, and her wife, Claire, decided to assign the sale of their current home to a local estate agent, Hammond and Smith. ‘We had several quotes and a wide range of valuations,’ says Helen, ‘but felt Hammond and Smith gave the best advice.’ One tip the couple welcomed was not to go for a video. ‘They suggested that it can deter potential buyers from coming to view a place if they feel they’ve seen enough already,’ explains Helen. Another good piece of advice was to drop the original price of offers over £630,000 to £600,000 – this change of tactic opened up a whole new search category online and, within weeks, an offer came through at the higher price.
When several viewings had been arranged in one day, Helen and Claire would take their two-year-old son, Edison, out for the duration, leaving the agent to show buyers around.
‘To make sure the place looked its best, I would leave instructions out,’ adds Helen. ‘For example, putting the downlights on and opening shutters and windows. The exception was the bedroom window at the front of the house, which we kept closed as the road noise outside could put people off.’ For second viewings, the couple would always be at home to ‘bring life to the house’ by answering questions, describing the history of the 18th-century cottage and offering suggestions for potential changes, such as turning the playroom into a dining room or study. ‘For the first viewing, you’re presenting a show house while for the second, it’s all about showing potential buyers a relaxed home they can see themselves in,’ says Helen.
There’s no need to go to enormous expense redecorating and revamping when preparing your property to sell, as quite often it’s all about just doing the simple things. ‘The main objective,’ explains Helen, ‘is to give the impression you look after your home. Declutter and depersonalise if you need to but, above all, make sure it is spotlessly clean and tidy, as people really do notice these things. Spruce up appliances so they look like new and fill the place with fresh flowers and scented candles.’