March 30, 2008

Eco Spring Clean

Filed under: Home Staging — khealey @ 11:24 am

What’s the first thing you should do before putting your house on the market?

Easy….

Spring Clean!

My first advice is always to clean your house like its never been cleaned before!

Now you have an extra decision to make, the choice of ‘regular’ cleaning products, or with increasing concern over the environment and allergies ‘eco’ cleaning products are an increasingly popular option.

Certainly if your family (or pets) have a tendency to allergies, it would be worth seriously considering a more ‘eco’ spring clean, before you cover your house top-to-bottom in chemicals!

There are is a growing number of eco-friendly, non-toxic, environmentally friendly, fair trade cleaning products on the market these days; and most of them are equally as effective as their chemical equivalents.

As well as cleaning, remember you can be ‘planet friendly’ by

  • Recycling your rubbish when you de-clutter
  • Re-use anything you can - use old newspapers and old clothes as packing materials
  • Take anything that could be useful to the charity shop

Happy Cleaning!

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March 7, 2008

Not just the Interior

Filed under: Home Staging, Feng Shui — khealey @ 3:49 pm

When homeowners are preparing their house for sale, many forget one crucial area. The outside.

Curb appeal can never be under-estimated! We all know that first impressions are vital to get a buyer interested in your house.

But new research has brought to light how important the colour of the front door is!  

A study has revealed that 35 per cent of house hunters would actually refuse to buy a property which had a pink door.

The most popular colour was plain white.

But consider the character of your property. Period properties often look ‘classy’ with regency green, dar red or dark blue front doors.

Also you may wish to consider the Feng Shui of your front door: the colour of the door should reflect the compass direction it faces

  • South (Fire) = Reds, pink, burgundy.
  • Southwest (Earth) = Yellows or browns.
  • West (Metal) = White, silver, copper or gold.
  • Northwest (Metal) = White, silver, copper or gold.
  • North (Water) = Blacks or blues.
  • Northeast (Earth) = Yellows or browns.
  • East (Wood) = Greens.
  • Southeast (Wood) = Greens.

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January 13, 2008

A busy year for Home Staging

Filed under: Home Staging — khealey @ 11:32 am

Looks like 2008 could be the busiest year yet for home stagers.

With the property market slowing down, and quick sales struggling, home sellers, Estate Agents, property developers and private investors are going to need home stagers more than ever.

Estate agents may recommend the services of a home stager to their clients. So now is an excellent time for home stagers to start building good relationships with local agents.

Many estate agents and home sellers still get home staging confused with interior design; and assume that home staging will come with a hefty price tag. 

To make it easier for Estate agents to refer for to home stagers to reassure them about costs. Display your costs clearly on your website or brochure, many home sellers assume that ‘if you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it’, but don’t realise that a simple home visit may cost as little as £175.

They really are worried that home stagers will suggest high cost renovation work rather than low cost cosmetic upgrades; home staging is about accentuating the positive, reducing the negative and getting the job done quickly in order to sell the house quickly.

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December 21, 2007

Home Staging is more important than ever

Filed under: Home Staging — khealey @ 10:27 am

With the property market slowing… and the effects of the ‘credit crunch’ starting to take effect….. home owners who need to sell their homes are going to have to work harder.

Its no longer a sellers market, where all that was necessary was to put the ‘For Sale’ sign up in the front garden.

To sell your house quickly and at the full market value, you’re going to need to do some work.

As a seller its your responsibility to:

  • make sure your estate agents are marketing your house fully. Does your house look attractive in their photos? Is your house being advertised in the local press? Is your house on their website? Ring your estate agent after every viewing to get buyers feedback - the feedback could be invaluable plus it keeps the estate agent on their toes! Its a good idea to get a mystery shopper involved in this to find out the real truth!
  • Prepare your house for market. You may be able to do this yourself, but its often a time to call in a professional home stager to get your house ready to sell.

 

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November 11, 2007

Does Home Staging Really Sell Homes?

Filed under: Home Staging — khealey @ 6:56 pm

All statistics show that homes that are well prepared for the market sell at a higher rate and at a higher price than homes that are not show ready.

Potential buyers remember the home that is staged well as it will totally appeal to the buyers needs.

Staging a home for the real estate market takes special skill and basically is designing the home to appeal to wide array of buyers.

Some people are able to do this themselves, while others call in the professional services of a Home Stager.

The advantage of hiring a Home Stager is that they will know exactly which improvements need to be made to get the best possible price, which could actually mean saving money.

For more information on home staging, visit http://www.homereporter.co.uk/

 

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October 5, 2007

House buyers have no imagination!

Filed under: Home Staging — khealey @ 3:06 pm

Did you know that only 5% of home buyers can truly visualize how beautiful a home can be or see past the clutter, grime and shabby appearance? 

It’s true. 

Once you realise the importance of that statistic, you will immediately realise the importance of home staging!

Don’t let your home be the one that sits on the market for months. Home staging techniques are easy to implement and a skilled home stager will work with your existing decor and furniture - always with an eye to keeping costs down.

Your house needs to make a good first impression. When you put your house on the market go through it with a critical eye - what are your buyers going to see?

  • Clean. Spring clean your house to within an inch of its life!
  • Tidy. Remove any unwanted clutter.
  • Fix. Finish off any DIY projects. Mend anything that’s broken.

Your house will always be in competition with ‘the house round the corner’ - give your house the selling ‘edge’ with home staging. Make your house the best it can be, for the 95% without imagination!

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August 11, 2007

Manchester Earthquake

Filed under: South Manchester — khealey @ 6:35 am

At about midday yesterday - 10th August 2007 - a small earthquake hit Manchester!

The earthquake measured 2.5 on the richter scale and lasted two seconds - a ‘baby’ quake!

Its been reported that Manchester city centre, Stockport and Didsbury felt the earthquake, but I live in Chorlton and definitely felt the earth move too!

The earthquake felt like a large, silent thud. As if something had crashed into the house… but without the crash! There was no tremor or shaking.

There are no reports of anybody being injured or and damage to property.

My questions-

  • is Manchester on a fault line?
  • can we expect more earthquakes?
  • can we expect stronger earthquakes?
  • how will this affect my buildings insurance?
  • how will this affect the price of my house?

I’d be very interested to know where the earthquake was felt..

And I’d be very interested if you’re buying/selling, are surveyors asking for earthquake reports? Are mortgage lenders still happy to lend?

Leave me a message!

 

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July 22, 2007

De-Cluttering, Cleaning and Home Staging

Filed under: Home Staging — khealey @ 8:55 am
As buyers become more and more choosy about the homes that they view and purchase, its becoming more and more important to prepare your home for sale 

Home staging, the process improving the visual impact of a home has become more important than ever.

The first principle of preparing your home for sale is de-cluttering and cleaning which can be done easily by the home owner without the expense of a professional home stager.

Cleaning is self-explanatory. Clean your home from top to bottom, every room, every corner, every closet. Surfaces should shine like they never have before. Try to think about your home being featured in a home magazine, how would you want it to look? That is essentially what is going to happen, the only difference being is that your home will be appearing online where it is available to seen by far more than the average readership of any magazine.

Clutter is the number one enemy of good home shows. Buyers do not want to see piles of your stuff lying around. This kind of thing gets in the way of buyers getting a feel for the home. Your home should be an entity unto itself without the encumbrance of your personal clutter getting in the way.

Each room in your home likely has a few things that could get in the way of a proper showing. When preparing your home for viewing it is good to pursue a minimalist concept but not to the point of making the rooms look sparse or cold. It is a delicate balance that can be difficult to achieve but don’t let that get in the way of taking the project on yourself

For more information visit http://www.homereporter.co.uk/

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July 1, 2007

Remember The Presentation

Filed under: Home Staging — khealey @ 7:31 am
You’ve put your house on the market and you’re now sitting around waiting for a buyer to  turn up.

Hopefully, you’ve chosen a good estate agent who is actively promoting your house. (If you’re unsure, you may need a mystery visit.)

But there are plenty of things you can do yourself, without costing a fortune. Sometimes the simple things are the best things and this is true when selling a home.

Think about things this way; most people when buying a home tend to think of things in two different ways. What they like, and what they will change. You can hear this kind of thing in any house viewing anywhere. People will walk through and mentally and verbally make changes to the home. No matter what you do as the owner, buyers will want to change things so the best thing you can do is give them a clean slate to work with.

Don’t panic. You do not need to remove everything from the home! What you might consider though, is the strategic removal of clutter and extra furniture. This will clear away distractions that could interfere with buyers being able to imagine themselves in the home and the changes that they might make.

Sometimes referred to as staging, this process is basically just making the home ready for a quick sale. It takes a keen eye to do this properly however. The problem is that your home is how you like it. It has your furniture, your art, your memories so it can be difficult to remove these things as they have sentimental value.

Try to think about the kind of thing that your average buyer will be looking for. They will be looking for things that are going to cost them large amounts of money - like structural repairs or a new kitchen. Or simple ‘finishing off’ projects and the biggest ’spring clean’ your house has ever had!

If you take the time to ensure that your home presents an impressive package then you should sell your house quickly at the full market price.

For more information, visit http://www.homereporter.co.uk

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June 20, 2007

Speeding Up Property Sales

Filed under: estate agent — khealey @ 5:40 am

The traditional strategy of hiring an estate agent from the high street is still far-and-away the most popular method of selling up, with around 85 per cent of homes being sold this way.

However, a study from Alliance & Leicester suggests that selling time could be cut by up to a month if alternative strategies are employed.

Many homeowners are successfully speeding up the sale of their property by turning to the internet and other alternative methods.

Sellers who use property websites and their own DIY ‘for sale’ signs succeed in shifting their property in an average of two months, while estate agents are slower with an average three-month time period.

With the popularity of the internet increasing, more then 70% home seekers now search for property online. Thosands of private sellers and landlords advertising their houses and flats privately ranging from mobile homes to stately manors.

Advertise your house privately by placing your advert on Houseladder from Free,

Sell or let your house privately

 

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