At Campbells, we believe that every property has its perfect buyer – it is just a case of finding them.
However, it is also fair to say that sellers have to be proactive in the process of selling and present their property to the best of their ability to assure that the best price is achieved – this is why our property experts are here to make sure that your property stands out, as Clare mentions below, ‘Presentation can quite literally make you or lose you thousands of pounds.’
Today we are looking at living rooms and how would an ideal living room look like to a potential buyer…
There is no space for clutter
Clutter is never good, especially in the busiest room in the house. Allow the space to look bigger and brighter by removing all the unnecessary things such as children’s toys for example or pieces of furniture that don’t really have a function but take up quite a bit of space, or even books and gadgets laying around – anything that looks out of place really. It might not affect you, but when the potential buyers walk in they want to have the space to think and imagine how your property would look like as their future home and they certainly can’t do that if they are surrounded by unnecessary stuff.
Making it welcoming and cosy
Now, I could talk forever about this as I genuinely love looking at all the properties that we have available on the market and highlighting the unique features that make them appealing to potential buyers.
We say it many times – small changes make a big difference.
Flowers and plants – you will not believe how much of a difference some colourful flowers or fresh looking plants can make. They genuinely make the house look more ‘alive’. Yes, we know some people are allergic to flowers but that’s not the point, 99% of the time the potential buyers will appreciate the effort.
Fine Art? – at Campbells, we really care and it is our goal to work with local retailers in order to make you and your property special. Quite a few of our sellers have had the benefit of having their home fully decorated with fine art offered by The Paul James Gallery. We can guarantee that that makes the selling journey much more pleasant and your property definitely stands out to all the potential buyers coming through the door.
At Campbells, we have our bespoke scent called ‘HOME’. Carrie, our lovely scent specialist created these soya candles that are hand-poured so that our sellers and buyers enjoy their current or future home even more.
Carrie has a passion for fragrance, homeware and gifts that are affordable and specially designed for families, just like her own. For more information, click here – www.twiningshomefragrance.com
Let the light come in
Inevitably, we all enjoy bright and airy spaces, so why not make sure that the blinds are open and you’ve got some nice ‘daylight’ bulbs in your living room just to add that extra ‘love’ into it? Bear in mind, viewings take place at different times of the day and we want the property to look stunning regardless of where the sun chooses to be during your viewing.
Keep it nice and simple
Although bright colours are beautiful, our tastes don’t always match so although you might love green walls it is not guaranteed that your potential buyer will have the same preference – this is why we advise our sellers to keep it neutral where possible. However, if you have gone down the coloured route, please don’t worry as that is fine too! Just follow the other points and the right buyer will come along…
How about a fresh perspective?
Have you ever thought of moving some pieces of furniture around and just taking a look at the room from a different angle? Very often, we get used to our living space without even realising that we could do so much more with it!
Clare, one of our Property Experts, is very attentive when it comes to the minor styling details and she definitely knows how to make small tweaks within a property that don’t take much effort and time but make a massive difference.
Clare Bonwick – Associate
The presentation of your home has never been more important than it is in today’s market. It can quite literally make you, or lose you thousands of pounds.
But the good news is, in most cases only simple changes might be necessary to give an up to date look, which in turn will add that extra appeal to your home and therefore value.
For example, in a living room, some new soft furnishings in contemporary styles and colours, such as cushions or throws added to an existing sofa, can update the look of a room both simply and inexpensively.
These changes can make a ‘nod’ to a more contemporary trend without having to go the expense of restyling the whole room. Taking it a step further, one might paper or repaint a feature wall, or even add some interesting artwork.
This process is not designed to cost a lot of money – quite the opposite to be honest.
In fact, the most productive tasks of decluttering and maybe rearranging furniture to a better layout will cost nothing at all.
To demonstrate this point, I can think of an example in Rugby recently where two identical 4 years old houses, were both on the market with the same agent at £255,000 but they sold for very different figures.
One house was furnished to a more old fashioned style. It also had quite dark furniture and carpets. This sold for £244,000. The other was styled with much more contemporary furniture and a modern colour palette with complimentary soft furnishings. This sold for £257,000.
A difference of £13,000, purely due to aesthetics!
So, as you see, it’s definitely worth putting in a little effort before your property appears on Rightmove, because you never get a 2nd change to make a first impression!
