Lancaster & Morecambe 01524 843322
Posted on Sunday, July 15, 2018
Whenever you choose to sell your home, it’s likely there will be competition, more so in the new year and spring when lots of people decide to move. What you need to do, with your agent, is work out how you compare. Let’s assume the houses you are competing against are all in your area and have the same number of bedrooms. They are true direct competition. What can you do to stand out from the crowd?
The first thing you need to do is create a list. I would do this listing the properties in price order. The most expensive to the least expensive. Now make 5 further columns and check the following. (This is what your prospective buyers will mentally be doing).
Look at the decor. Look at what has been done. Are the properties fully double glazed? Are they gas central heated? What type of boiler do they have? Does the house look well maintained? How old is the roof? How old is yours?
Who has the biggest room sizes? Do you have two double bedrooms whilst another has one double and single? Lots of older terraces do vastly differ inside and you can’t just judge it to be the same size. Compare the floor plans if they have one ( our properties do )
What is your outside space like? Is there space to sit out and dine in the summer? Do you have a garden? Consider which aspect a house faces. This can be important to many buyers especially if they are sun lovers! Also, does anybody offer off street parking or a garage? It’s all important.
Many buyers focus on kitchen and bathrooms so check these areas carefully. Who has the best kitchen? The most modern bathroom? If you find yourself losing out here, think about how can compete. Low-cost ways could be to update your taps. Invest in new towels. Re-grout the tiling. Update the kitchen work surface and handles. It all helps.
Finally, check for any special extra’s. These are items such as fitted wardrobes. Original features. Open fires and wood burning stoves. Look at the photos at the home staging. Which house is most visibly appealing? Hopefully, it will be yours!
Once you have done this, ask your yourself honestly how does your home compare? Where do you see it fitting in the price order list? Can you justify your price by illustrating that you have more? Or does your home not have something that another property has? Be honest with yourself. It’s important that you are!
Your home will have some great useful selling points. This might be a south-facing courtyard with space to sit it out. It could be that your roof is new or that you have a larger lounge than the competition. In my client's instance, we have two double bedrooms ( 6 of the competing homes have single bedrooms). We have a beautiful kitchen with space to dine and the lounge features a superb wood burning stove. We have done some work decluttering and we have done some simple home staging jobs such as crisp white bedding and new matching towels in the bathroom. We’ve checked our pricing and we are confident with our package. We can make our home stand out.
I’ve written this blog to help you sell. My name is Michelle. I am a director at JDG Estate Agents in Lancaster and Morecambe. If you’d like further help in working out who your competition is or indeed a free personal home consultation, please give me call on 01524 843322. You can also reach me by email at michelle@jdg.co.uk
