Tips on showing your house?

Tink_04

Hi

I'm looking for OS tips on showing our house? We have just put it up for sale and I'm hoping to get some viewings.

We both work and have 2 young children so I'm trying to keep it clean and tidy but I'm trying to find some tips for when I'm showing people round to make it look, smell and feel nice

Any tips would be great as this is the first time we have sold and ill be doing the showings on my own.

Thanks

cat4772

I'll be following this with interest as we have just put our house up for sale and have the first viewing on Monday.

Freshly made coffee and cooking bread were my sister's tips. only thing is i cant stand the smell of coffee. But Sunday night we will knead bread and let it prove until Monday teatime before it is baked for a homely smell!

good luck with your sale.

Cat.x

Linda32

Tidy up inside any built in cupboards and leave doors open. Tidy up in every room and leave them be to wander around. Don't hover around, just tell them to look around themselves.

pathtofreedom

I agree about don't hover. I did some viewings recently and the ones with the estate agent only, and no one in the house, were a lot better as I felt I could talk freely with my friends about the place and what I'd need to change.

If you don't have an estate agent maybe you could just have a quick chat to explain your good features and the area, then go wait in the garden or something and just say to come talk to you if they have any questions. They can have a proper snoop about then without you in ear shot. That way they might find it easier to talk about changes, and what they think without worrying about upsetting you. I'm sure your house is lovely but everybody is different and they might not feel comftable talking about changes with you in ear shot, so find it harder to imagine living there then.

Tink_04

In was planning on walking them through then leaving them to wander them selves as I hate looking at houses where people hover round you. I don't want to be baking bread or have loads of air freshners but looking for something with a nice smell?

Nicki

When we were selling ours (6 years ago now) I used to fold some nice towels hotel style in the bathroom and leave out only 2 bottles of really nice toiletries which never got used (the rest was all stored away in a cupboard). In the kitchen, I left a copy of a nice cookery book (usually Nigella I think )out on the shelf as though I was just about to cook a really nice meal, and in the living room a glossy mag on the coffee table. Everything else was tidied away and the house was spotless, with windows all opened for about an hour before anyone arrived so it also smelt really nice and fresh but no artificial smells. We had 2 young kids at the time but no pets, and this worked for us, as although we had a couple of sales fall through, we always managed to get an offer very quickly and ended up selling for quite a bit over the original asking price.

Mojisola

cat4772 wrote: »

Freshly made coffee and cooking bread were my sister's tips. only thing is i cant stand the smell of coffee. But Sunday night we will knead bread and let it prove until Monday teatime before it is baked for a homely smell!

This is so cliched that I wouldn't do it.

I would think you're trying to cover up something worse.

Bitsy_Beans

Tidy, tidy, tidy. You wouldn't believe the number of houses I saw where people had made no effort to clean up!!! It's a major pain in the butt but keeping it showroom tidy does show it off to its best (bloomin' hard work I know).

I always burnt Lily Flame scented candle, had one called Winter Warmer which always garnered a nice response. Failing that let in as much fresh air as you can.

I ended up doing the viewings as the estate agents didn't really know anytning about the house....who better to explain where the sun hits the garden, what neighbours are like etc. I showed them round the house and then let them have a wander around on their own.

Good luck with your house sale.

Callie22

Get a good friend to come round and honestly tell you if there are any issues with smells or muck in your house. We bought a house last year and I was honestly horrified at the state and smell of so many of the houses that we looked at - some people put waaaaay too much faith in the power of a scented candle! The worst smells were stale, greasy cooking and kid's bedrooms that stank of wee - I know it's all cleanable but both put me off a bit as I was mentally budgeting for redecorating/replacement carpets as soon as we moved in. Also, don't run round madly with the febreeze just before people view, it just smells like you're trying to hide something.

I'd also check for things like mould around windows and doors, and mould/grot in the bathrooms. I was amazed at how many houses had this and it was a real turn-off for me, as again it's something that suggests that I'm going to have to spend loads of money as soon as I move in.

Prinzessilein

Declutter!...If a thing can be stored away then do it!


Prospective buyers will want to be able to imagine what THEY might be able to do with the place.


Don't try too hard...and don't 'over-sell' the place! (it can make buyers suspicious!) If you are giving a guided walk around the place then just point out one or two of the best features in each room.


You might like to have a small leaflet of information for prospective buyers...include the measurements of the main rooms...and also any 'extra' information....local schools within walking distance...location of nearest bus-stop....where the local shops are...any special places of interest swimming pool nearby?/children's play park nearby?....anything that will sell the location helps to sell the house..give this to prospective buyers and offer them a pen too so they can jot down any bits they want.


(And one final tip...if you do happen to own a large dog, then air the place extra well and do NOT let him use the lounge as his indoor loo whilst buyers are looking round! (...and yes, this happened at one place we looked at some years ago!))

vulpix

I had a viewing yesterday which the Estate Agent did.She,said the house was so welcoming and looked fantastic.No sale this time but she is hopeful.This is what I did:-

1.Declutter.get rid of that pile of anything that is hanging about.

2.Clean like a demon.Do not spare the bleach,clean the windows.

3.Had all windows open from 9am,viewing was at 2pm I closed them at 1pm.

4.Have the heating on low.E.A said it was lovely to come into a warm house on a cold day when they had been to another viewing which was freezing.

5.Fresh flowers and a special viewing hand towel in the bathroom!

Previously when selling I have had pets.They went elsewhere during the viewing as did their bowls and bed.same with kids;)

We are viewing houses too at the moment.I can see through the cobwebs and full ashtrays!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but it would make me put in a lower offer.