The Perfect Viewing – 6 top tips!
Viewings are one of the most important parts of the buying process, it allows a prospective buyer to find out more about the property and the area and ultimately it will help them decide if it’s really the place for them to call home. If you are doing viewings yourself, here are some worthwhile tips to keep in mind!
As the seller, you want your property to give off the very best impression and ultimately find someone who thinks it feels like home to them. These 5 tips might just help you along the way to preparing for, and hosting the perfect viewing.
1.First impressions really do count!
Viewings are always arranged for a mutually appropriate time, so if you then are unable to make it at the last minute or are browsing the aisles of your local supermarket whilst someone waits on your doorstep, you might as well rule that viewing out. Make sure you’ve spent some time cleaning and making a fresh and welcoming environment, whilst you want the property to be respectable, remember it isn’t a show home and showing it’s lived in can help to make people a little more comfortable. Some bright seasonal flowers and lots of nice natural light always make a property seem more welcoming.
2.Kerb Appeal
Whilst, it’s important to have the inside of the property looking spot on, how does your property look from the road? If you’ve got an overgrown front garden trim it back and make it presentable so that when the potential buyers pull up outside, they can see a nice clear view of the property. If it looks like it’s poorly maintained, you could get off on the wrong foot and they may enter the property with a negative impression.
3.Make it feel like home
It’s your home and the prospective buyers will be quite aware of this – you know it best so showing off the best features of the property and even telling little quirky anecdotes of the time your kids turned the under-stairs cupboard into their den will help them to picture their family calling it home.
4.Don’t be pushy
You’re not there to push someone in to buying your home, you’re there to show them around the property and learn how fantastic it is. Sometimes it takes a buyer a little bit of time to decide if a property is right for them, making good impressions and answering any questions that they may have will always help them to make a decision of their own.
5.Keep the best for last
Have something up your sleeve that the buyers aren’t expecting. Whilst you should start with a nice feature like your fantastic new kitchen, when you’re coming to the end of the viewing slip in another feature that will really impress, show off your mature, landscaped garden or the stunning views from your loft-room – adding these in last will make your home stick in their mind and will add a talking point when they begin to shortlist further.
6. Smell and Warmth
Open windows to air the property before viewings. Switch on the heating to keep it warm and welcoming and make sure all the lights are working. No lingering cooking odours but the smell of fresh bread and coffee really do work!
These, sometimes small, improvements can help you increase the sale price of your house as well as make it more appealing to prospective buyers.