Does your agent believe in brochures? Are you sure?

For those of you that have been reading my blog for a while, you’ll know that the subject of property brochures is close to my heart, and one that I really feel passionate about.  I believe wholeheartedly that a beautiful brochure with expert photography and well-written and enthusiastic descriptions can add thousands, and even tens of thousands, of pounds to a house.

However, some agents (in fact most of them) don’t believe in brochures, or so they say.  They tell me “but it’s the 21st century”, “no one wants hard copy brochures any more” and even “we’re trying to be eco-friendly”.  Without going into my opinions on these particular objections (and believe me, I have a long list of answers) in this post, I am only going to ask you to consider one question: is he telling the truth?

Think back to when he first came round to give you his expert market appraisal.  I’m sure he showed you some comparable properties, explained his commission rate, and talked you through the contract.  Did he also leave you behind some company information? Perhaps in the form of a glossy folder or brochure?  Aha!  Not so 21st century eco-friendly after all then.  Thought not.

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.

The post Does your agent believe in brochures? Are you sure? appeared first on Home Truths.

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Google it in advance; local area knowledge for your buyers

When buyers are house hunting, sometimes they’ll be perusing in an area that’s new to them. It might be because of a new job, or they simply fancy a change of scene. They therefore won’t be as informed about the area as perhaps they’d like, and might have a visual check list that they need to cover in order to make sure your house and its location are ideal for their requirements.

What sort of things might they be looking for? In a new area, house hunters will be looking for not only places of convenience, but amenities: good schools for their children, the local hospital, a shop for small items, distance to public transport links and parks, or a local service that can deliver milk to them. You or your estate agent may be able to answer a few prospective buyers’ questions, but if you don’t have children or never use the local bus, a few questions might leave you stumped.

To be prepared for questions out of the blue, do your research beforehand. Google Maps is an invaluable tool. Enter in your postcode, and then use the ‘Search nearby’ tool. By entering in any keywords – school, hospital and so on – it will instantly show you what is the nearest to you.

Make a list of anything you might think is important, and jot it down. It doesn’t hurt to leave your laptop open while the viewers are around; a quick search on the spot will answer their questions straight away, and give your house a few more plus points. Give them a copy of the list as they’re leaving; it’ll make your home and their visit extra memorable, especially if their entire check list was ticked.

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: Community Spirit! Using your local community to help sell your home

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

The post Google it in advance; local area knowledge for your buyers appeared first on Home Truths.

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Show your front door some love!

When you’re selling your home, first impressions are imperative. Research suggests it takes only seconds to decide if we like a house, and at least five of them are spent by buyers waiting at the front door for it to be opened. Aside from your lawn and general kerb appeal, people look at the front door before they look at any other aspect of the property. It reflects what you think about the house, and could actually sell your home.

You may spend several hours making your home perfect on the inside, but an unattractive door could ruin all your efforts. It is often overlooked, the tendency being to consider it only for practical purposes of serving as an entry and exit. While it is operational, its appearance is crucial. Its colour, texture, maintenance and style will all have an impact on the buyer’s impressions. If it’s scratched at the base from the cat begging to come inside and the colour has chipped, buyers will see it. They’ll notice that it needs a fresh lick of paint. They’ll see that the handle is rusty.

So what can you do? If a new door isn’t in your budget, a little love can go a long way. Give it a fresh coat of paint, and choose your colours wisely. While you may like dark pink, chances are most of your buyers won’t. Choose a colour that says home, welcome, come in… Popular colours include dark blue and black, and stained glass panels are also a winner. Dark colours exude sophistication too, a colour that has been utilised by Number 10 Downing Street for over 300 years! It was painted dark green once for Prime Minister Herbert Asquite, and quickly repainted when he fell out of favour in 1916.

Consider replacing a plain door knob with something more attractive. Door knobs and letterboxes should be in keeping with one another, and represent the general look of the door. Try to ensure the door – whether new or not – is in keeping with the style of the house too. If it stands out too much, it may make the rest of the house look dreary. Place a few well maintained plant pots on the porch step, and ensure that any surrounding windows and ledges are cleaned and polished.

A few hours on a weekend spent overhauling your front door, can work wonders for your sale. In doing so, you are creating a portal to the house that people can see themselves using as the door to their home.

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: Let Buyers See Your Front Door

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

­

The post Show your front door some love! appeared first on Home Truths.

from Home Truths http://bit.ly/2J0rxQR
via IFTTT

Does your agent believe in brochures? Are you sure?

For those of you that have been reading my blog for a while, you’ll know that the subject of property brochures is close to my heart, and one that I really feel passionate about.  I believe wholeheartedly that a beautiful brochure with expert photography and well-written and enthusiastic descriptions can add thousands, and even tens of thousands, of pounds to a house.

However, some agents (in fact most of them) don’t believe in brochures, or so they say.  They tell me “but it’s the 21st century”, “no one wants hard copy brochures any more” and even “we’re trying to be eco-friendly”.  Without going into my opinions on these particular objections (and believe me, I have a long list of answers) in this post, I am only going to ask you to consider one question: is he telling the truth?

Think back to when he first came round to give you his expert market appraisal.  I’m sure he showed you some comparable properties, explained his commission rate, and talked you through the contract.  Did he also leave you behind some company information? Perhaps in the form of a glossy folder or brochure?  Aha!  Not so 21st century eco-friendly after all then.  Thought not.

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.

The post Does your agent believe in brochures? Are you sure? appeared first on Home Truths.

from Home Truths http://bit.ly/2Jr7mLx
via IFTTT

Google it in advance; local area knowledge for your buyers

When buyers are house hunting, sometimes they’ll be perusing in an area that’s new to them. It might be because of a new job, or they simply fancy a change of scene. They therefore won’t be as informed about the area as perhaps they’d like, and might have a visual check list that they need to cover in order to make sure your house and its location are ideal for their requirements.

What sort of things might they be looking for? In a new area, house hunters will be looking for not only places of convenience, but amenities: good schools for their children, the local hospital, a shop for small items, distance to public transport links and parks, or a local service that can deliver milk to them. You or your estate agent may be able to answer a few prospective buyers’ questions, but if you don’t have children or never use the local bus, a few questions might leave you stumped.

To be prepared for questions out of the blue, do your research beforehand. Google Maps is an invaluable tool. Enter in your postcode, and then use the ‘Search nearby’ tool. By entering in any keywords – school, hospital and so on – it will instantly show you what is the nearest to you.

Make a list of anything you might think is important, and jot it down. It doesn’t hurt to leave your laptop open while the viewers are around; a quick search on the spot will answer their questions straight away, and give your house a few more plus points. Give them a copy of the list as they’re leaving; it’ll make your home and their visit extra memorable, especially if their entire check list was ticked.

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: Community Spirit! Using your local community to help sell your home

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

The post Google it in advance; local area knowledge for your buyers appeared first on Home Truths.

from Home Truths http://bit.ly/2V3MNXl
via IFTTT

Show your front door some love!

When you’re selling your home, first impressions are imperative. Research suggests it takes only seconds to decide if we like a house, and at least five of them are spent by buyers waiting at the front door for it to be opened. Aside from your lawn and general kerb appeal, people look at the front door before they look at any other aspect of the property. It reflects what you think about the house, and could actually sell your home.

You may spend several hours making your home perfect on the inside, but an unattractive door could ruin all your efforts. It is often overlooked, the tendency being to consider it only for practical purposes of serving as an entry and exit. While it is operational, its appearance is crucial. Its colour, texture, maintenance and style will all have an impact on the buyer’s impressions. If it’s scratched at the base from the cat begging to come inside and the colour has chipped, buyers will see it. They’ll notice that it needs a fresh lick of paint. They’ll see that the handle is rusty.

So what can you do? If a new door isn’t in your budget, a little love can go a long way. Give it a fresh coat of paint, and choose your colours wisely. While you may like dark pink, chances are most of your buyers won’t. Choose a colour that says home, welcome, come in… Popular colours include dark blue and black, and stained glass panels are also a winner. Dark colours exude sophistication too, a colour that has been utilised by Number 10 Downing Street for over 300 years! It was painted dark green once for Prime Minister Herbert Asquite, and quickly repainted when he fell out of favour in 1916.

Consider replacing a plain door knob with something more attractive. Door knobs and letterboxes should be in keeping with one another, and represent the general look of the door. Try to ensure the door – whether new or not – is in keeping with the style of the house too. If it stands out too much, it may make the rest of the house look dreary. Place a few well maintained plant pots on the porch step, and ensure that any surrounding windows and ledges are cleaned and polished.

A few hours on a weekend spent overhauling your front door, can work wonders for your sale. In doing so, you are creating a portal to the house that people can see themselves using as the door to their home.

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: Let Buyers See Your Front Door

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

­

The post Show your front door some love! appeared first on Home Truths.

from Home Truths http://bit.ly/2J0rxQR
via IFTTT

Does your agent believe in brochures? Are you sure?

For those of you that have been reading my blog for a while, you’ll know that the subject of property brochures is close to my heart, and one that I really feel passionate about.  I believe wholeheartedly that a beautiful brochure with expert photography and well-written and enthusiastic descriptions can add thousands, and even tens of thousands, of pounds to a house.

However, some agents (in fact most of them) don’t believe in brochures, or so they say.  They tell me “but it’s the 21st century”, “no one wants hard copy brochures any more” and even “we’re trying to be eco-friendly”.  Without going into my opinions on these particular objections (and believe me, I have a long list of answers) in this post, I am only going to ask you to consider one question: is he telling the truth?

Think back to when he first came round to give you his expert market appraisal.  I’m sure he showed you some comparable properties, explained his commission rate, and talked you through the contract.  Did he also leave you behind some company information? Perhaps in the form of a glossy folder or brochure?  Aha!  Not so 21st century eco-friendly after all then.  Thought not.

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.

The post Does your agent believe in brochures? Are you sure? appeared first on Home Truths.

from Home Truths http://bit.ly/2Jr7mLx
via IFTTT