Preparing your home for viewers, or “staging” as it’s called, is important. It will not only ensure your property is sold faster but can potentially add thousands of pounds to its value.

De-clutter – but don’t depersonalise
 Get rid of all the excess stuff that has accumulated in every nook and cranny. Put it in storage or give it to a friend
 People need to be able to envisage what the property would look like if they were living there. People often find this difficult, so make it easy for them to see all the fantastic living space you’re offering them
 Don’t make it look like a generic hotel; leave some personality. Apart from anything else it gives unimaginative buyers suggestions as to what they might do
 People are often buying into a lifestyle as much as a property. Show them the attractive side of your lifestyle
 Consider removing any bulky furniture that makes the room feel small and replacing it with smaller furniture

A fresh lick of paint
 Giving your walls a fresh lick of paint, neutral paint will make your home seem lighter and bigger
 It will enable the viewers to more easily imagine how they would adapt the rooms to their needs
 It will be easier for the buyers to move in and use the rooms immediately than if the walls were still bright purple or lime green
 Create a good first impression – give the front door a new coat of brightly coloured paint

Fix and clean
 Make any minor repairs necessary – holes in walls, broken door knobs, cracked tiles, torn or threadbare carpets. Many buyers want to move in without making changes, so allow for this
 Clean everything until it sparkles. Get rid of limescale, clean and repair tile grout, wax wooden floors, get rid of all odours, hang up fresh towels. This will make the place more appealing and allow viewers to imagine living there
 Tidy up the garden: cut bushes back, clean the patio and furniture of lichen and dirt, and cut the grass. While this doesn’t add much value to your home it makes it more likely to sell as people visualize themselves using the garden

Update the kitchen

The kitchen is the most valuable room in a house. It is worth the most per square foot and can make the difference when buyers are unsure
 Consider refacing your kitchen cabinetry. This is much cheaper than installing new cabinetry and often as effective
 Upgrading kitchen counter tops is expensive, but can add serious value
 De-clutter the surfaces and just leave a bowl of fruit out. Take out any bulky appliances
 Consider upgrading the plumbing fixtures and white goods, but keep in mind that while that could make your property sell faster, you will be unlikely to recoup their full value

Light and airy
 Wall mirrors make a room look much bigger and lighter. Consider putting some up, especially in smaller rooms or hallways
 Clean windows inside and out and replace any broken light bulbs. Making the place feel light and airy makes rooms feel bigger and the property more attractive
 Ensure that you have lamps on in any dark corners
 Putting a soft light bulb in the bathroom can create a warm glow

Light a fire
 If it’s a cold evening, or even chilly day, light your fire. Consider burning some pinecones for the delicious smell. This will make your home feel warm and inviting. If you don’t have a fire then ensure the fireplace is clean

Make it look pretty
 Make sure the windows are properly dressed with blinds or curtains as naked windows make a place feel impersonal and run down. Buy some cheap ones if necessary.
 Plants and flowers bring colour, life and light to a room and they also smell delicious. So does that fruit bowl on your kitchen counter.

Get the right smells
 Bad smells are the single biggest turn off for prospective buyers. Don’t just cover them up, fix the source of the smell. Clear drains, wash bins, open windows, air the kitchen from old cooking smells, get rid of furniture that is embedded with cigarette smoke, and wash any grimy bed sheets
 If you are a smoker, place bowls of vinegar around the house and leave out for three days. Though the vinegar will smell when you open the windows it will disappear quickly taking a most of the stale cigarette smell out with it.
 Conversely, good smells can make a property feel like an alluring home. While it might be impractical to bake fresh bread, cakes or brownies for every viewer that visits your home, you could perhaps brew some fresh coffee

Obvious conversions
 If there are any obvious conversions – adapting the garage into extra rooms or going up into the loft – and you have some spare cash, why not take advantage of this cash cow rather than letting the new owners make easy money out of improvements. You should usually recoup your money
 If you don’t have enough spare cash to make the conversion, consider getting planning permission anyway.

WHAT CONVEYANCING SOLICITORS SHOULD DO FOR A SELLER

In a nutshell, they ensure they successfully transfer legal ownership of residential property (freehold or leasehold, registered or unregistered) from you to your buyer.

The skill and efficiency of your conveyancing solicitor can mean the difference between a smooth or stressful process. Conveyancing quality can range wildly by those who offer their services in the market place.

Please remember – It is your conveyancer’s job to get you to an exchange of contracts as efficiently and ideally as promptly as possible.

Whoever you select as your conveyancer, to ensure you know that you are receiving actual quality, you should expect the following, as a minimum:

• If your deeds are registered at the Land Registry your conveyancer can instantly obtain a copy and dispatch contract papers to your buyers the very same day you instruct them.
• You can be given your copy of the contract to sign. As a result you are signed up and potentially ready to exchange as soon as your buyers’ solicitor is ready to do so.
• Early on, your conveyancer obtains a record of the balance owing on your mortgage (if any) and they prepare a statement of the net proceeds owing to you. This avoids any nasty surprises later on, in case you overlooked a deduction (e.g. estate agent’s bill, a second mortgage, early mortgage repayment penalty).
• Your Buyers will review the contract papers, and if they wish to raise any questions, your conveyancer should attempt to deal with them, but if they require your input then should ideally email or telephone them through to you and request your answers – to keep up the pace of your house move. Post is a slow approach.
• Once the buyer is happy with the contract papers and replies to their questions, (and your related purchase is ready if applicable), a specific move date is set, and the buyer’s finances are in place, it should be possible to proceed to exchange contracts.

NOTE: Exchange of Contracts is simply a telephone call between the buyers’ and sellers’ conveyancing solicitors to confirm that each party will not back out (as either party can until exchange), and will move (i.e. complete) at a fixed date shortly in the future. This then allows house clearance, carpet ordering (etc) and property removals to be booked without fear of cancellation and lost deposit.

Once Contracts have been exchanged the deal is legally binding. You and the buyer are fully committed to the transaction and cannot withdraw without facing substantial damages and penalties. Exchange of Contracts can be a lengthy and often frustrating process depending on the number of parties in the chain. Your conveyance should aim to shield you from this though the process can only move forward as quickly as the slowest person in the chain.

• Your moving date, or more commonly ‘completion date’, is normally a week or two after Exchange of Contracts. Your conveyancer will prepare by requesting a final mortgage repayment amount calculated to the specific move date. They will also telephone/email you a day or two before completion just to check you are ready.
• On the date of completion they receive the remaining sale price from the buyer’s solicitor. On receipt they will authorise the release of keys through the Estate Agents (where there is one). The Buyer collects the keys from the Agents. Any spare keys can be put through your letterbox.
• They pay your Estate Agents, re-pay your mortgage provider and deduct their legal fees before sending you the net proceeds (or carrying them over to any related purchase).

Source : Trethowans

So which local, Cannock estate agents give the best value? Which Cannock estate agent has an office and also the perfect online solution to market your home? Well, Openhouse Cannock estate agents have everything that in comparison to all others is exceptional value.

Of course, we would say that, to help you decide if what we are saying makes sense, we have created our Openhouse Cannock information brochure which includes tips on how to get a property ready for sale and also a detailed guide to the legal process for buyers and sellers.

We have printed copies in the office, come in and ask for one while you are in and around Stafford town centre, or download it from the bottom of every page on our website, including the bottom of this blog page. Go on scroll down and click, or if you would like a copy of the glossy brochure itself, please do not hesitate to pop into our office at 113 Wolverhampton Road Stafford.

Helping you make the right decision, for you.

See you soon, on the website, in our office or at your home.
The Openhouse Cannock & Stafford team

Download Our Brochure – CLICK HERE