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Staging Your House for a Viewing
In the real estate business, there is no such thing as the perfect house without hard work. Every house that looks like it came off a page of a magazine has had a small army of people working on it to look a certain way. Those of you who have been house hunting or investment property hunting would definitely have come across that house which was perfectly laid out and invited you to consider it again. Houses such as these, as opposed to the houses where you had to think really hard to imagine yourself living there, have definitely been staged to look that way. This is a trick used by many sellers to entice their potential buyers to buy the particular property. First time sellers maybe unfamiliar with the concept of staging. Well, for those of you who have no idea of this concept, it is the act of arranging the house in such a way that it helps the potential buyer to imagine himself living in that house. Many of you may wonder how this can be done and from where you can get tips from. Not to worry. We have consulted the top buyers agents Melbourne and compiled the list of tips below.
Increase the curb value
The curb value is a good measure by which potential customers make decisions about your house. The term curb value means the value which a potential buyer may assign to a house based on the things that he can see from the curb only. Those houses that rank high on curb value tend to move faster than those that get a lower curb value. To assess the curb value of your house, actually take a walk to the curb and check out things such as the paint, trim, windows, number plate and the deck. If any of these are not in their optimal condition, you curb value is going to suffer.
Play up the garden
Many people completely forget their gardens when they have potential buyers over for a viewing. Some of them even forget to at least mow their lawns. The garden is one of the first things that a potential buyer sees. It is true that the garden can be customized by the buyer depending on his preferences. It always helps to see a nice and tidy garden in that first viewing. Roll up your sleeves and attend to your garden or contract a landscaping company to do it for you.
Declutter
Just because you have a thousand and one things at your home, it does not mean that you should show all of them off to a potential buyer. You don’t have to. Remember, the rule of thumb here is ‘less is more’. By showing fewer number of things, you are going to achieve more attraction to your property from potential buyers. Take a day and get together with your family to start the decluttering process. Get rid of things that you don’t need and those that haven’t been used in the past year. You would even find this process surprisingly cleansing.
Clean up
Now that you have decluttered your space, you may be able to actually see surfaces that you weren’t able to before. That bit of floor which was covered by that ugly chest of drawers or that part of the wall which was covered by that curtain can add volumes of space. These new spaces can also accentuate the fact that some parts of the house maybe cleaner than the others. To avoid this, get your cleaning supplies and make sure that every surface is spotlessly clean.
Add homely touches
Finally, a few homely touches is just what you need to entice those potential buyers. What are these homely touches? Well, definitely not having your children’s toys strewn all over the place or leaving a full dustbin in the kitchen. Many think that keeping it real is the key to winning over potential buyers, whereas it actually isn’t. Why not try to make the place more homely by leaving a few flower arrangements at the dining table, mantle and the foyer? A few, definitely not all, family photographs in the living room, a hammock in the backyard or a handmade quilt in the bedroom can go a long way in making your guests feel at home without being too obtrusive.
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