Prep House to Sell in UK (Any hints, tips please!)
 

Hi folks,

We're currently in the process of preparing our house ready to go on the market. (We didnt think we had much to do until I went round the house, made a list of all the 'bits of things' and it looks like loads now! :scared: )

So the junk has been cleared, still have a bit of painting to do and Im going to de-personalise our 'home'.

Any other helpful hints or tips would be welcome! :)

Also is it me but isnt it the weirdest feeling? I love this house we are in now and Im busy painting neutral colours all over the place and its not for our benefit. I feel very strange indeed! Having said that though Im not sad to sell it, its just a strange feeling. Ok, ok, I know its prob just me experiencing this but I thought I would share!

Anyhow, back on topic! I was going to have 3 separate valuations done and weigh up the service the estate agents provide.

Anything else anyone thinks I need to consider?

Many thanks,
Karen
x

Re: Prep House to Sell in UK (Any hints, tips please!)
 

Hi Karen,

Sorting out your stuff is definitely weird. We sold our fridge on e-bay last week and now the kitchen looks all bare and empty. :( Stupid what sets you off, init?! ;)

Good luck,
GG

Re: Prep House to Sell in UK (Any hints, tips please!)
 

Hi Karen

having sent our visa to our agent at the weekend we have turned our attention to the house. There are all the obvious things I guess like neutral colours, fresh bread/ coffee/ flowers, declutter etc.

My best hint would be to not get rid of too much big stuff before you have sold as an empty house feels cold and impersonal.

First impressions last so make sure the front of the house / front garden are tidy.

Faded decor probably isn't too bad unless it is awful as the new owners will decorate everywhere but stains may suggest a leak.

Maybe ask some friends around that don't know your house and ask them for first impressions they would have as a house buyer.

Re: Prep House to Sell in UK (Any hints, tips please!)
 

Hi Karen,

Just a thought, but with house sales slowing you might be best to say 'offers over x amount' or offers invited... as things are certainly slowing down where we are and this is how we sold ours.

good luck!

Re: Prep House to Sell in UK (Any hints, tips please!)
 

Hi GG,

Thanks for reply, hope you are ok, not long for you now chuck!
I will send you a pm.




Hi Worzel,

Wow thanks for this. I was thinking of fresh flowers but had forgotten about the 'smells' bit. You have given me an idea. I have seen those scented candles which smell of fresh coffee or baking or bread, etc. Gives the house a nice homely feel. (Better than fabreeze!)

Another thing I was gonna do was to set the table with my best dinner service, its painstaking as I will have to keep putting it away but it looks effective and presents the room well. Good thinking to ask someone round for honest opinions.

Good luck with the visas. :)
Lovely to here from you,

Karen





Thanks kg,
I will do this. Offers invited sounds a good option. Did it take long to sell your house?

Cheers,
Karen

Re: Prep House to Sell in UK (Any hints, tips please!)
 

If you do get rid of your stuff you can rent stuff to fill it until you go. Just something we saw on the wifes favourite program House Doctor on UK Style
If you've got Sky this program will help a lot!

Re: Prep House to Sell in UK (Any hints, tips please!)
 

Just add my two penneth on this particular post!

Houses aren't slowing down nationwide, so it very much depends on your prperty. Don't be held for ransom. We have a new (2 yr old) property which went up after an identical house to ours was put up over a year ago. He still hasn't sold and we've got our asking price within 5 days of going on the market (and the asking price is £3,000 more than the other guy!) - explain that away!?

Searches are being done in the next couple of days and we have a moving date of mid Feb.

By the sounds of it, you are going to make it sound like the perfect house to walk into, so I'd stand by a realistic figure and see how you go for a few months.

Good luck,

Rob

Re: Prep House to Sell in UK (Any hints, tips please!)
 

Hello
Turn all the lights on, take down any nets or voils from windows & pull curtains back an extra inch. It was on TV the other day - bright rooms sell homes.

Good luck,

Re: Prep House to Sell in UK (Any hints, tips please!)
 

Hi Karen,

We felt the same when we put ours on the market.When i walked into the estate agent to ask them to proceed with the sale i felt sick i,m not joking i love our house so i know what you mean.

That was about 3 months ago since then we,ve only had two viewers and one of them had already bought a house we found out later.

Now the emotional attatchment has gone and both sam and myself want it sold.The problem is i,ve just done a list this evening of all the houses for sale in our area in roughly our price range.Oh dear i thought when the list was approx 25 and i may have missed some.That may be an idea for you just to see what your up against and help you decide your price.

good luck dave :)

Re: Prep House to Sell in UK (Any hints, tips please!)
 

This is popular in Sydney I believe, my sister in law when she went to view the house she lives in now at Clareville on the Northern Beaches, it looked like a show home with some of the most stunning furniture and accessories.

When she looked under the house on the same day, she noticed it was packed to the rafters with the owners "usual" stuff.

I thought that was a fab idea if you have the cash to do it.

Best of luck
Merlot :)

Re: Prep House to Sell in UK (Any hints, tips please!)
 

House Doctor says, make sure your toilet seats are all down, and don't declutter too much, also green plants (as opposed to the blue ones! :o ), Ikea's good for cheapies!

Lots of light and nice smells and absolutely NO animal hair!

It's a right bloody pain in the a**e!

Good luck, have the wine chilling in the fridge for the aftermath..

bob...

Re: Prep House to Sell in UK (Any hints, tips please!)
 

Hi Karen,
Try not to de-personalise your home too much. We did in June, the only room that now feels like home is my office. I sometimes wonder whether this is the cause of us not getting any viewings. House looks bare on pics and as lovely as the house looks, magnolia and white everywhere seems almost clinical. The stupid thing is that we decorated it this way when we renovated it 2 years ago, he loves it and I don't but it fits the house. Perhaps you could leave some colour in bathrooms/bedrooms and just have main living areas neutral.
Although I'm trying to be helpful, take what I say with a pinch of salt, lol (hysterically). We must be doing something wrong as we have now knocked off 10k since June. Good luck.
Sarah

Re: Prep House to Sell in UK (Any hints, tips please!)
 

Wow, thanks everyone for the response. :) Very helpful and has given me lots to consider.

Another idea I read about (so its not too neutral) is to introduce a splash of colour with accessories, ie towels, pics, cushions, (depending which room of course!) I have quite a few family photos about the house so Ill leave one or two up then it doesnt look too de-personalised. Omg its gonna look more like a show house by the time Ive finished!!

Chippy Dave, Ill research the area to get a feel for whats out there and whats on offer. (I was just going to go off the estate agents valuation.)

Now I just need some good selling tips!! Im guessing focus on the positive aspects of the house and think up and prepare how to describe each room and its attributes. Also to be ready for any likely questions and have good answers! This seems more stressful than the visa app!!

Thanks for all the comments and good luck to all those selling.
Karen :)
xx

Re: Prep House to Sell in UK (Any hints, tips please!)
 

When we looked at houses some time ago, a lot of people were doing this kind of thing, and honestly, it makes one wonder what they're hiding. Also, if it's not a 'secret' anymore, then most people know that sellers are doing it to try entice buyers, and know what the story is. Obviously the house does have to look nice, neat, presentable, uncluttered etc.

I'd say simple is better. Putting the dinner service out - well, I don't know anyone who usually has their table set, so it might look a bit overstaged or contrived maybe? Not sure, will depend on your house, so think about it. Maybe nicer to put a fruit bowl on your dining room table, with a table runner, or a display bowl of some sort? I'd also go with the fresh flowers rather. One place we looked at the sellers had put candles on everywhere, and it really gave us the impression of 'what smells are they trying to cover up?', but I do know lots of people who regularly have fresh flowers in their homes & it doesn't seem unusual. So don't go overboard ;)

Good luck with the sale! :)

Re: Prep House to Sell in UK (Any hints, tips please!)
 

Perfumy smells would put me right off. Make everywhere sparkling clean so it looks like you have taken good care of the place. Lots of light. Good luck.

Lesley