The importance of making your house sell-able

If your home has just been listed, chances are good that there are already many other homes in the same price range competing with it.

As a seller it is very important to make your home as attractive as possible and to do whatever is necessary to differentiate it from other homes so that buyers will pay attention to it.

Here are five things that you can do to give your home that competitive edge and to make it stand out from the rest, according to Gerhard van der Linde, Seeff’s MD in Pretoria East.

There is only one way to ensure a quick sale on your property and that is to price it correctly and realistically from the get-go.

Marketing a property for too long may cause purchasers to lose interest or even convince them that the property has some serious flaws or irreparable problems and this could then eventually result in it being sold at a price far below the market value.

It is becoming increasingly important for sellers to understand the absorption rate in their area.

Absorption rate can be explained as the total number of property sales in a defined market segment as well as the rate at which those homes will be sold within a certain period of time.

A property will naturally take longer to sell when there are more properties competing with it and it is therefore critically important not to place a property on the market at an unrealistic value.

While correct pricing is of the utmost importance, it is equally significant to present your property in the most attractive possible way.

Although not yet a major trend in South Africa, people are increasingly aware of the value of a presentable home and as a result of this more sellers are interested in and enquiring about professional home staging services.

While staging your home is expensive, the professionals know exactly what to do to make it completely irresistible and this is something you should consider especially when you are selling a super luxurious home and when you can afford to.

When two similar properties that are similarly priced are on the market at the same time, and one is better presented than the other, there is no doubt that the better presented one would sell first.

Many buyers start their home search online, so it makes sense that sellers focus on first impressions. Well-shot, well-thought out photographs will make all the difference.

The best advice to sellers is to get a professional photographer to take pictures of your home. Photographers have a lot of experience and taking this avenue is the surest way to end up with an attractive portfolio presenting your property in the most beautiful and professional manner.

It is very important that you offer potential buyers the opportunity to view your home in real life (and not only by means of a virtual tour).

On a show day your home should be attractive, cosy and neat and you can accomplish this by decluttering, mowing the lawn, brewing a fresh pot of coffee and arranging a pretty bunch of flowers in a central point of your home.

Also remember to remove fixtures you don’t want included in the sale before the show days commences so that this won’t cause misunderstandings with the buyer later.

Repair things like roof tiles, leaking taps and gutters and replace bulbs in light fixtures and vanities. Also clean your carpets regularly, especially if you allow pets in your home.

By undertaking regular maintenance you will be on top of things and tackle a problem before it could create the perception that there are serious and expensive problems with the home.

Check the following items especially: Peeling paint, roof leaks, cracked tiles, cracks in plaster, damp, leaking toilets, broken cupboard latches, leaking gutters and broken fascia boards, silicone around baths and showers, light bulbs and cracked windows.