How best to present your house when putting it up for sale

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by: bythesea
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Word Count: 477
Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2011 Time: 4:36 PM
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There's a lot of competition out there when it comes to selling a property so it's important that you do everything you can to help your house stand out from the crowd. It may well be a cliché but it's true that first impressions last, so make the effort to give your house the ‘wow' factor from the off.

The first thing that viewers will be seeing is the exterior of your house, so make a special effort to make that initial impression one that will live in the memory. If you have a front garden, it's worth putting in some time to ensure that it gives a good impression; make sure the lawn is well maintained and that any borders are full of freshness. If you don't have a front garden as such, consider placing potted flowers at the front of the house to add a touch of warmth.

Once the viewers are through the front door then more often than not they'll be looking for a light and airy interior so ensure that your windows are spotless in order to allow as much light in as possible. Also consider painting your interior walls white if they aren't already as this will help in a couple of ways: firstly, it will give the impression of more space in the relevant rooms, while it will also suggest to a prospective buyer that the interior walls are essentially blank canvasses ready to be decorated to their particular tastes.

Also ensure that any clutter is either tidied away in the house itself or, even better, put into temporary storage. Viewers want to feel that they're looking at a house that is easy to maintain, so a messy room or two may well make them think that the property lacks storage or is just generally hard to keep clean.

Put careful thought into who is the right person to present your property during viewings. If you're an outgoing person who can talk up the benefits of the house without being overly pushy then it's often best to take the viewings yourself - that way you can answer any questions the prospective buyers may have directly, rather than have to go back and forth via the estate agent.

Think of some positive points about the house that other sellers might not have thought to have mentioned - even if they are small points like the associated costs of owning a house such as utility bills or the home insurance premium being low for your property.

That said, if you're not confident presenting to strangers then there's no shame in taking a back seat and allowing an employee from the estate agent to handle the viewings. They will obviously be well versed in presenting a house in the best possible light, so if you're in any doubt whatsoever let them handle it.

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