They say that moving house is a stressful and disruptive as other major life events, such as bereavement, major surgery or the birth of a child.
I remain firmly convinced the truth is that the prolonged and unforgiving nature of the English conveyancing process is more akin to the vicissitudes of organising a wedding or being a victim trapped in a horror movie.
I have at times felt manipulated, stressed, heartbroken, enraged, frustrated and abused all interspersed with short periods of confidence and satisfaction.
The problem with the English system is that actually getting the transaction (and thats all it really is) over the line is very difficult.
The early stages are easy:- Pick an estate agent, Get some pictures taken and get the text written then post online to the main property sites Right Move, Zoople and On the market.
These all work like dating sites and so the photographs are extremely important. Potential buyers will consign your carefully worded description of your property into the digital trash bin based on looking at your pictures on their mobile phones. No second chances, no appeals simply dumped due to poorly composed picture taken on a rainy day. Seriously, dress the house as if it is going on a date.
Tips for getting the best photographs.
- Remove Clutter. Wide angle lenses show the whole room but make everything look closer together so take as much out of the room as you possibly can. Don't worry about returning some after the picture is taken remember if the room looks bare to your eyes it will also look bare to anyone viewing.
- Think carefully about lighting. You can't do much about the weather (though if you look carefully you will see exactly the same pattern of clouds in the sky over different houses on the main sites). Lighting a room will change the way the picture looks. Stark flash photography is a definite no-no as is low wattage incandescent lights, both will significantly change the colour balance of the images and look wrong.
- Look at good quality 'house and home' type magazines. They try to sell the lifestyle not just snap pictures. Fresh flowers in a vase, a carefully arranged coffee pot with cup and a quality magazine on the coffee table or even simply removing all the coats and shoes from the porch and hanging a single smart jacket and pair of classic shoes can make a huge difference.
- As far as outside is concerned simple measures make a huge difference. Sweeping the path to the front door, hiding the bins and looking carefully at each window to check the view through them is tidy. After all people will subconsciously drop the value if a house looks uncared for.
Tips for writing a good description.
- Google Map satellite view your house and street view it if possible. Look at when the images were taken and make sure you description includes or clarifies any changes made since google last imaged the area. We have had a barn conversion completed next door over the last two years but on Google street view is still looks like a ruin, as a result we made certain that some of the finished barn conversion was included in our pictures and we described the area as up and coming as a result of recently completed nearby building works.
- Whist you may know that there is a good takeaway only five minutes away and that you are in a catchment area for a good school your potential buyers may not, so spell out the local features.
- Transport links and commenting times to nearby towns / cities is well worth listing as potential buyers may search by town name and search engines will find the name in your description.
- Talk about each room in turn, but be careful about your names for rooms, buyers may not realise that the downstairs bedroom might also work well as an additional reception room or vice versa. Certain potential buyers may be put off by a "dungeon play room" whereas they could be attracted by "useful cellar adaptable to a range of functions".
Once you have attracted a potential buyer then they will want to view, again it is essential that you have a plan for a viewing (even if it going to be conducted by your estate agent). Plan the route, dress the house to emphasise its strengths, write a list of key features and important points and allow the potential buyers time. The first viewing is all about impressions, specific details will be sought later in the process.
I will write more on this later.
