08.07.10
Styling to sell……. A marketing tool
Helen Silver of The Property Styling Company, is an award winning property stylist and her panache and sense of style ensures that your home captures the attention of potential buyers.
Whatever your reason for selling, any property you place on the market should be ready to capture the attention of prospective buyers.
As a nation we tend to be quite obsessed with property. Endless TV shows from how to DIY and complete restoration, homes to buy abroad and in the country, sell for more and advice for landlords etc…all follow the highs and lows of the property market. So why when it comes to selling our own homes, do the majority of us decide, almost on the spur of the moment, to ‘stick it on the market and see what happens’?
Above right dining room with simple changes, fresh flowers and better lighting.
Dining room before transformation by Helen, right. Dimly lit and uninteresting - see above for the magic transformation.
For most, our homes are our biggest asset. An investment that should under the right circumstances provide a good return.
The ‘see what happens’ attitude seems at odds with our interest in making money from property, especially when few would sell a car without giving it a quick wash and vacuum first!
Preparing your home for sale is an effective marketing tool. Similar to launching any product, careful planning and knowing what action to take, can result in a faster and more profitable sale. Encouraging someone to connect with your product (home), getting them to imagine how it will suit their family and benefit their lifestyle is not just a simple case of luck; it’s about creating the irresistible urge to buy!
At the very least, styling a property to sell means giving it a thorough clean and tidy and if you can manage that, why would you need to engage the services of a professional Property Stylist?
Some of your rooms may have ‘lost’ their original purpose because it suits your circumstances to use 2 of the 3 bedrooms as offices or, the conservatory as a playroom. It’s often very difficult to view your own home through the eyes of a critical buyer.
Buyers don’t want to be confronted by your personality, but neither do they want to view an empty and unwelcoming home – striking the balance is an art and one that a professional can easily help you accomplish. If buyers start to think ‘oh I could never live with that’ …. in their heads they’re already reducing their offer price.
When people are looking for a new home, they’re usually searching for their ideal, a show home or aspirational space but when they are selling, they seem to forget they need to offer the same thing!
 
See above for a teenager's bedroom before and after.The after picture shows you a light, friendly and inviting room.
A professional stylist can help by establishing your target market and preparing your property to appeal to the widest possible audience. There’s no point in making a family home so strikingly perfect that anyone with kids couldn’t imagine themselves living there but equally, if it’s a fine period home with outstanding features and beautiful finishes, ensuring the interior matches up to expectations will quickly attract the right sort of buyer.
If you can be proactive from the start, disassociate yourself from your ‘home’ and try to become more commercially minded then however the market’s performing you will have the advantage. Why wait until your property has been listed for 6-8 weeks to spruce the place up? By this time the property is becoming ‘stale’ and a drop in price is usually suggested by the agent. Market correctly at the beginning and reap the rewards.
The good news is that styling a property for sale needn’t cost thousands; in fact research shows that spending just £100 on styling your home is more effective than reducing the price by £1000! The key is to know when and where to spend your money.
This rarely means planning a whole refurbishment but by making the most of what you already have, tidying up areas that may have been neglected and making some simple enhancements, your property could blow your competition out of the water!
Styling your home won’t guarantee you’ll reach the full asking price, but what it will do, is help you achieve a faster sale at a better price, with less likely hood of price reductions. And the quicker a property sells, the better chances of you getting more money for it.
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