Preparing Your Property in 2022

Selling your home in Summer prioritises cool, comfortable indoor living retreats, entertaining and maximising the garden and outdoor spaces, including the balcony regardless of size or facing.

As you may imagine, a home is all about lifestyle, so emotion is the priority when it comes to achieving the ultimate sales price. When preparing your property for a summer sale; mood, comfort, entertaining, downtime, flow and weekend family time and/ or breathing space matter most.

A home is our respite after a workday, a quiet space for a home office, a retreat to escape to, a weekend paradise and (hopefully) a place of pride you want all family, friends and neighbours to visit.

Before making any major renovations or landscaping, give me a call or consult an expert landscaper, builder, or property agent about where best to invest and value add. If you don’t have one, I would be very happy to introduce you.

1. ?Tweaking for Peace of Mind

When we look at our property from an objective opinion, as if we were guiding with a business mindset; we See, Think, Speak and Feel from a considerate perspective which focuses on the outcome ie: a great result, rather than a “She’ll be right” or “Good enough” mentality. Our property need not be ‘perfect’, however presentation attracts the right audience for the right reasons and most importantly, the right price. You need only ask yourself, how much does this outcome matter to you ?

Begin from the front gate and work your way around the property in a natural walking progression. This emulates what a prospective buyer would do, what they would see, how they would feel, why they might make the decisions they do ie: asking more or less questions.

2. ?First Impressions Last

Focus points always remain the same: “First impressions last”

• Garden space engages relaxation and ambience
• Improve this space through a central feature, bordering, splashes of colour and direction, “lead the eyes”
• Garage space inspires security and storage
• Improve this area by clear separation of spaces, organisation and cleanliness
• (the) Property entrance captures the attention and draws the visitor through a property to explore, anticipate and appreciate the rest of the home
• Use colour to contrast on the front-door, use statement pieces and texture: these provide conversation pieces and motivate stepping into a new ‘World’
• Bedrooms allow for peace, a feeling of retreat & relaxation, independence, comfort and connection
• Once again, texture, colour, contrast, cleanliness, minimalism and comfort (cooling/ heating) are paramount
• Tight budgets allow for soft walls, floor to ceiling curtains & rails, mirrors to enlarge small spaces, a single (live) plant for colour
• Kitchen, dining, living spaces connect through flow and freedom of movement or act as individual purpose-built centres, or appear disconnected, lost and without appeal
• Improve this with clean lines, decluttering, soft colours (whites) or contrasting colours (charcoals/ blues/ yellows/ whites)
• Outdoor spaces (balcony, patio, rear-yard) encourage visualising entertaining and relaxation

3. ?Curb’s Count

What we see before we step onto someone’s property makes all the difference, we are either inspired to see what’s next or we hold our breath, hope and calculate “what will this cost to renovate”. Potential buyers will ‘drive past’ before an inspection. If they can visualise themselves driving in, sitting outside, or welcoming visitors, friends, family, then they will want to know more and will measure what they can afford against what your home might be advertised for. Curb appeal is your first port of call.

Consider these simple steps.

• Waterblast the driveways and entrance pathway
• Style, prune and maintain the garden. Much like a room, decluttering, cleaning (weeding/ mowing) and organising makes for greater presentation. Use clear borders to separate grass from garden. Use height, colour, grasses, natives to capture attention.
• Paint any fences, straighten where falling and tighten any latches. Consider a dramatic feature in a bright colour eg. front door, letterbox or side-fence.
• If you are selling an apartment, use statement piece single pots with a large plant to direct attention to the best feature, and/ or window boxes with perfumed flowers, herbs or lavender to make it feel more welcoming. A simple 2-seat outdoor café setting always adds charm.

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4. ?Decking & Courtyard Spaces

Outdoor decking, balcony and patio spaces are rooms, which also need their own appeal and styling.

High pressure water-blasting removes any grime and can bring life to a tired, uninviting space. Close any gaps, hammer flush any raised nails, replace broken or termite damaged boards (make sure your pest & building report is up to date).

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Much like any outdoor space, optimising what works and removing what doesn’t accentuates an area and connects a home (or apartment) inside to out. As with balcony spaces, strong feature or statement pieces work wonders, plants soften and café style table & chairs make it inviting. A courtyard is a great opportunity to create space, ambience and escape.

5. ?Entrances Win Attention

If your home entrance is looking boring, cluttered or old; remove everything, start again. Sand, repaint, add colour, ensure clear border trims and add an inviting welcome mat, together with any medium height plants either side (and halfway up the door height) where space allows. Depending on the property, consider a gloss paint on the door face with matt bordering. Use architectural plant styling and symmetry.

6. ?An Inviting Home is Cool & Light

Summer can be HOT and MUGGY ! The ultimate gesture is that when a prospective buyer steps inside, they are welcomed to a cool, light-filled property they immediately feel ‘at home’ in. The idea is for the buyer to want to sit down, picture themselves in a future position, imagine them going about their daily chores and visualising ‘ownership’ as difficult as they may be given your current guardianship of the property. Remember, the goal is the highest price on a timeline that works for your forward plans and aligns to what is important and matters to you and your goals.

Where you have a dark home, use ambient light from mirrors, plants (green adds great contrast in dark spaces), tall floor-lamps and side-lamps, for light and air conditioning for a comfortable, cooling temperature, or open windows (with fly-screens) for cross ventilation breezes. Again, plants naturally cool down indoor spaces.

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7. ?The Benefits of Styling

Whilst styling may appear to be an ‘extra cost’, the purpose is to present your home in a decluttered, soft, appealing and design oriented way within your budget, with a view to achieving the best possible outcome in a timely manner. Well, we don’t your home ‘Open for Inspection’ for months and months afterall…

Where summer allows you to accentuate the outdoor features of your home, styling the whole property (interiors plus light landscaping) is essential to a successful sale. To help you get ready for your upcoming sale, reach-out anytime and I would be more than happy to assist. Of course,?a local agent?is the best person to talk to regarding suggestions to help maximise value to your property.?Book a free property appraisal?now for obligation free ideas and advice on how to achieve the best possible price for your home and plan for where you would like to be next and why.

Selling a home can be a comfortable experience or difficult, the key is planning, direction, inclusion and clear communication. I understand. Your home is an extension of yourself and the life you lived and wish to live moving forward. It is therefore a gesture of gratitude and one of opportunity. Selling a home, particularly in todays market shall always be successful, however the difference is, to what end, how much more could be achieved and what will that cost in the short term.

Real Estate Agents can sometimes be quick to suggest or convince you of over-accentuated prices in order to capture your attention (persuasion), however the reality is the right buyer will be compelled to purchase because they appreciate your home as you have and wish to enjoy it for their own purposes; family, friends, loved ones. If we didn’t do this, then renovations would never occur…value adding afterall is entirely about maximising a space so it can be enjoyed even more.

How may I help. Where are you right now in your property journey. Where would you like to be and what will that allow you to do ?

Call or reachout anytime. I look forward to speaking then