Expert Selling Advice

Some tips from the local experts

Instant smell! Instant sell! Everyone knows that trick. Brew up a pot of real coffee just before that door bell rings — and make sure the aroma of freshly ground coffee beans wafts through the hall and smacks likely buyers in the face — just as they walk through the door. That’s one. But probably not the best one. Consider these:

• A freshly painted front door is a good place to start. You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.
• A confident buyer sweeps into a room. An unconvinced buyer has had to sweep through litter, pizza menus, junk mail and last year’s autumn leaves in the hall just to get in. Keep things tidy.
• In winter, have lights on during the day time. They can add enchantment. Or disenchantment, if light bulbs are missing.
• Now there’s a big difference between getting a feel of a place and having to feel our way around. Which is why lighting in a room is important. In summer, natural light can liven a place up and give a feeling of freshness and cleanliness. So draw back those curtains — and open those windows. If you don’t have curtains and it’s still dark, check your windows. They may need urgent cleaning. There’s always a first time.
• Air in– damp smells out. Make use of ‘plug-ins’ or scented candles.
• In vacant properties, always leave some furniture behind to give the place a lived in feeling.
• They say that if a buyer sits down in a property, they’re at ease with the place — and is possibly thinking of putting in an offer. For this reason, make sure there’s space round sofas and armchairs so viewers don’t have to step over coffee tables and magazines to get to them.
• Peeling paint on a window — or a garden gate hanging off its hinges — suggests that work needs to be done on the property. This could be used to re-negotiate the price.
• If you have a garden, check outside the house is as neat and tidy as the inside.
• In winter, if you have a fireplace, have a fire blazing. Hearths can move hearts.
• To a nervous first-time buyer, a damp stain caused by a minor past leakage suggests an impending flood.