Do your photographs give too much away?

Spring is such a lovely time of year.  Many of the houses we work with at HomeTruths are rural or village homes, surrounded by fields and woodland, and look absolutely beautiful at this time of year.  I love how the flowers count down the weeks until summer too, starting with the snowdrops, then the daffodils, and of course the beautiful bluebells.

Lots of our clients are really pleased when their photographs and brochure feature their beautiful gardens, complete with seasonal flowers.  However, I have to explain that whilst it’s true that they do look so pretty, they unfortunately date the photography, and therefore the date the house first came to market, for their buyers to see.  I can look at property photography and date it within about 4 weeks, and that may be information you don’t want to share with your buyers.

There are some weeks between spring and autumn when it’s reasonably safe to photograph a garden without giving too much away.  A good property photographer will exclude any tell-tale flowers if he possibly can, and give you the best chance of achieving an attractive brochure that doesn’t date.

So – no daffodils please; and if your photographs can be ‘dated’, it’s time to give your agent a call and ask him to arrange for new ones.  Tell him Sam said so.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

What to read next: 7 Reasons You Need Professional Photography to Sell Your House

What to do next: Sign up to my Selling Secrets http://www.home-truths.co.uk/selling-secrets

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Do your photographs give too much away?

Spring is such a lovely time of year.  Many of the houses we work with at HomeTruths are rural or village homes, surrounded by fields and woodland, and look absolutely beautiful at this time of year.  I love how the flowers count down the weeks until summer too, starting with the snowdrops, then the daffodils, and of course the beautiful bluebells.

Lots of our clients are really pleased when their photographs and brochure feature their beautiful gardens, complete with seasonal flowers.  However, I have to explain that whilst it’s true that they do look so pretty, they unfortunately date the photography, and therefore the date the house first came to market, for their buyers to see.  I can look at property photography and date it within about 4 weeks, and that may be information you don’t want to share with your buyers.

There are some weeks between spring and autumn when it’s reasonably safe to photograph a garden without giving too much away.  A good property photographer will exclude any tell-tale flowers if he possibly can, and give you the best chance of achieving an attractive brochure that doesn’t date.

So – no daffodils please; and if your photographs can be ‘dated’, it’s time to give your agent a call and ask him to arrange for new ones.  Tell him Sam said so.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

What to read next: 7 Reasons You Need Professional Photography to Sell Your House

What to do next: Sign up to my Selling Secrets http://www.home-truths.co.uk/selling-secrets

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How to make a rental house a home: Five top tips Nottingham Estate Agents

When renting a home it can sometimes seem difficult to make it your own. Here OnTheMarket.com suggests five ways you can personalise your rental property. Sky-high asking prices are making it harder than ever to get a foothold on the property ladder. According to the government’s latest Housing White Paper, home ownership rates for younger […]

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My daughter is buying me out of a house – must she pay stamp duty?

She hasn’t had a mortgage before, but I’m told she will need to pay stamp duty on a mortgage

Q My two daughters and I are the joint owners of a property for which we paid cash (so there is no mortgage involved). One of my daughters lives in the house and is now in the process – with her husband – of taking out a £120,000 mortgage so that she can buy her sister and me out (the house is valued at £180,000). On the strength of the £60,000 that she will get from her sister for her share of the house, my other daughter is also thinking of taking out a mortgage to buy her first home. Although neither of my daughters has had a mortgage before – and so in my view are first-time buyers – we have been told that they will both need to pay stamp duty on their mortgages. Is this correct?
JC

A No, it is not correct that your daughters will have to pay stamp duty land tax (SDLT) on their mortgages because SDLT is not charged on mortgages but on what is called “consideration given” for a property which usually means what was paid for a property (or a share of a property). It is also incorrect to think that your daughters should be eligible for first-time-buyer relief from SDLT – which lets first-time buyers off SDLT on the first £300,000 of properties costing up to £500,000 – because, strictly speaking, they are not first-time buyers because they have previously owned property. In the words of HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC): “In order to count as a first-time buyer, a purchaser must not, either alone or with others, have previously acquired a major interest in a dwelling situated anywhere in the world.”

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How to make it easy for a buyer to buy your home

So, you’ve de-cluttered, tidied, finished off those niggling maintenance jobs, and repainted the kitchen. You’re ready to sell!

But what if there are external drawbacks that may deter a sale? The interior of your home aside, external factors are often forgotten about because they aren’t part of ‘the home’, but there are some your buyers may be thinking about. One of the best ways to see through your rose-tinted spectacles is to think like a buyer, and see what might be challenging them…

Surrounding properties – If similar properties are for sale in your area, it is very important to keep an eye on what is going on with these homes. If a buyer is already sold on the area, they’ll be closely studying the photos on Rightmove. How does your front door compare to that of your neighbours’? If yours is looking a bit sorry for itself, and the neighbour’s door has just had a Fired Earth refresh, they’ll be getting the first visit. Keeping up appearances is essential when the competition is so close.

Pricing – While your price may have been perfect when it was put on the market, what if the market has changed? If your house was put on a year ago and hasn’t shifted, prices could have changed. Any of your neighbours’ properties that are newly listed could be much cheaper than yours, making you look oddly expensive. Compare your price with your neighbours’ similar properties, and talk to your estate agent about altering the price to reflect market changes.

Hurdles – A buyer may have fallen in love with your home and be ready to sign on the dotted line, but a massive barrier could stand in their way. As an example, what if your home isn’t going to be ready to move in to on the date that they are requesting? In these instances, be prepared to negotiate. Suggest local temporary housing and storage options to them, which can make an otherwise impossible move highly achievable. Especially useful if your buyers are moving a great distance.

Neighbourhood – Local facilities are often very important to buyers. If your neighbourhood is quite similar to another in your town, buyers might draw a comparison between the two. Why not do the research for them? Look for amenities that buyers will be looking for such as good schools, playgrounds, restaurants and sports grounds. List the locality of these local benefits on your property listing. Why not put together a few brochures about these places too, and leave them in your home for people to look at?

Thinking like buyer can really help you to take account of any external factors that people are considering when looking at your home, and trying to imagine themselves living there. You can then pre-empt, or at least mitigate, and be prepared for any negative feedback you may get from your agent and buyers.

Sam

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How to make it easy for a buyer to buy your home

So, you’ve de-cluttered, tidied, finished off those niggling maintenance jobs, and repainted the kitchen. You’re ready to sell!

But what if there are external drawbacks that may deter a sale? The interior of your home aside, external factors are often forgotten about because they aren’t part of ‘the home’, but there are some your buyers may be thinking about. One of the best ways to see through your rose-tinted spectacles is to think like a buyer, and see what might be challenging them…

Surrounding properties – If similar properties are for sale in your area, it is very important to keep an eye on what is going on with these homes. If a buyer is already sold on the area, they’ll be closely studying the photos on Rightmove. How does your front door compare to that of your neighbours’? If yours is looking a bit sorry for itself, and the neighbour’s door has just had a Fired Earth refresh, they’ll be getting the first visit. Keeping up appearances is essential when the competition is so close.

Pricing – While your price may have been perfect when it was put on the market, what if the market has changed? If your house was put on a year ago and hasn’t shifted, prices could have changed. Any of your neighbours’ properties that are newly listed could be much cheaper than yours, making you look oddly expensive. Compare your price with your neighbours’ similar properties, and talk to your estate agent about altering the price to reflect market changes.

Hurdles – A buyer may have fallen in love with your home and be ready to sign on the dotted line, but a massive barrier could stand in their way. As an example, what if your home isn’t going to be ready to move in to on the date that they are requesting? In these instances, be prepared to negotiate. Suggest local temporary housing and storage options to them, which can make an otherwise impossible move highly achievable. Especially useful if your buyers are moving a great distance.

Neighbourhood – Local facilities are often very important to buyers. If your neighbourhood is quite similar to another in your town, buyers might draw a comparison between the two. Why not do the research for them? Look for amenities that buyers will be looking for such as good schools, playgrounds, restaurants and sports grounds. List the locality of these local benefits on your property listing. Why not put together a few brochures about these places too, and leave them in your home for people to look at?

Thinking like buyer can really help you to take account of any external factors that people are considering when looking at your home, and trying to imagine themselves living there. You can then pre-empt, or at least mitigate, and be prepared for any negative feedback you may get from your agent and buyers.

Sam

The post How to make it easy for a buyer to buy your home appeared first on Home Truths.

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How to make it easy for a buyer to buy your home

So, you’ve de-cluttered, tidied, finished off those niggling maintenance jobs, and repainted the kitchen. You’re ready to sell!

But what if there are external drawbacks that may deter a sale? The interior of your home aside, external factors are often forgotten about because they aren’t part of ‘the home’, but there are some your buyers may be thinking about. One of the best ways to see through your rose-tinted spectacles is to think like a buyer, and see what might be challenging them…

Surrounding properties – If similar properties are for sale in your area, it is very important to keep an eye on what is going on with these homes. If a buyer is already sold on the area, they’ll be closely studying the photos on Rightmove. How does your front door compare to that of your neighbours’? If yours is looking a bit sorry for itself, and the neighbour’s door has just had a Fired Earth refresh, they’ll be getting the first visit. Keeping up appearances is essential when the competition is so close.

Pricing – While your price may have been perfect when it was put on the market, what if the market has changed? If your house was put on a year ago and hasn’t shifted, prices could have changed. Any of your neighbours’ properties that are newly listed could be much cheaper than yours, making you look oddly expensive. Compare your price with your neighbours’ similar properties, and talk to your estate agent about altering the price to reflect market changes.

Hurdles – A buyer may have fallen in love with your home and be ready to sign on the dotted line, but a massive barrier could stand in their way. As an example, what if your home isn’t going to be ready to move in to on the date that they are requesting? In these instances, be prepared to negotiate. Suggest local temporary housing and storage options to them, which can make an otherwise impossible move highly achievable. Especially useful if your buyers are moving a great distance.

Neighbourhood – Local facilities are often very important to buyers. If your neighbourhood is quite similar to another in your town, buyers might draw a comparison between the two. Why not do the research for them? Look for amenities that buyers will be looking for such as good schools, playgrounds, restaurants and sports grounds. List the locality of these local benefits on your property listing. Why not put together a few brochures about these places too, and leave them in your home for people to look at?

Thinking like buyer can really help you to take account of any external factors that people are considering when looking at your home, and trying to imagine themselves living there. You can then pre-empt, or at least mitigate, and be prepared for any negative feedback you may get from your agent and buyers.

Sam

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