Thinking of selling your home? Here are some simple tips to make the most of your space
When selling a property, you want to gain as much interest as possible. It is often thought that the only way of doing this is spending a small fortune on extensions and conversions. This is not always the case. Adding some simple touches, and making the most of the space you've got with well-thought-out interior design and some effortless DIY, will attract prospective buyers and improve your property’s value. Whether your budget is tight or not, we at CPS Homes have some handy tips and hints for you to sell your property and help get those buyers through the door.
First impressions count
It's been said that a buyer will make a decision in the first 30 seconds, so first impressions count. Make sure your house has curb appeal; a run-down front door could be all it takes to put off potential buyers from seeing your beautiful home. Buyers often drive past properties pre-viewing to check that they like what they see.
The same goes for that overgrown jungle out the back! Cut down any overgrown trees and hedges to make the garden look presentable. You would dress a bed to make a bedroom look personable, so why not dress your garden too? Bistro sets are a relatively inexpensive way of allowing buyers to see the potential of your garden or balcony by helping them envisage sunny alfresco eating.
You may love your vases, DVD collection and your kids' 'home art projects', but don't let buyers be distracted by your personal effects. Pare down what you have on display and remove the clutter! Unnecessary furniture, ornaments and books need to be stored away out of sight.
You may know that the bedroom full of boxes will fit a queen-size bed comfortably, but if the buyer can’t see that, they won’t believe it. If you’re advertising a three-bedroom house, make sure prospective home buyers see all three bedrooms as bedrooms. If necessary, put large items in storage, at a friend’s, or in the garage. Showcase what you’re advertising. Go back to basics, allowing a room’s millwork, architecture, and distinctive details to shine.
We don’t want to cheat the client, but we do have a few tricks up our sleeve that will make those small rooms feel bigger.
Adding mirrors
The bigger the better! If you have a dark room, with or without natural light, a wall-mounted mirror will lend itself nicely and make the space appear bigger by bouncing what light you have around the room.
Why not make your mirror into a feature to attract some attention? Gather a few mirrors of different shapes and sizes, and arrange them on the wall. If you’re lacking space, this will get the results you want by making the room look enlarged and stylish. This might not to be to everyone’s taste, but it will help by creating something memorable that will be a talking point after the viewing. You want to keep your house fresh in the buyer’s mind.
Keeping it neutral
A simple way of avoiding the room looking too cramped or undersized is to choose lighter colours for the larger items in the room. Choose a pale or pastel-coloured sofa, and a neutral colour for the flooring. Creating a neutral space will help the prospective buyers visualise themselves living there.
Feeling brave?
If you wanted to add a splash of colour to introduce texture and interest, the inexpensive way to do it is with accessories; but keep it minimal, you don’t want to scare the buyer away!
Lighting
Lighting is key not only to making a room look bigger, but to making a space feel homely, enticing and cosy. A floor lamp will accentuate the vertical in a small space and bring light into the dark corners of the room.
If you have a low ceiling, making the room feel small, then stay clear of large dramatic pendant lights – while this may look fantastic in a large room with high ceilings, it will overwhelm a small space. Instead, choose track lighting or spot lights, to keep the room well-lit and make it appear larger.
When decorating a small room, the bottom line is to keep it simple – less is more.
Whatever you decide to do, rule number one is to make sure you finish it! Unfinished jobs will give the buyer the impression that you don’t care about your house, which is ultimately their potential new home.
If you are struggling to sell your home or would like some advice on how to improve your house ready for sale, call us on 02920 668585 or email sian@cpshomes.co.uk. You can also contact us in one of Cardiff branches. Good luck!
