Jan 2
Our blog has a new home!
Thanks to everyone who supported, read, commented and followed us here. We’ve had some amazing traffic and really kind comments from readers.
We’ve moved the blog. You can still check out our useful selling tips at https://www.jdg.co.uk/blog.html
Thanks
Michelle 🙂
Last month I met a lovely couple and their young child. They had decided to move. Like many other families of their age, they needed more space. However they had made the fatal mistake of house hunting first which had resulted in them finding a home they loved. They needed a quick sale. However they also needed a top price in order to be able to afford their dream property.
Does this situation sound familiar? If so this weeks top tips are just for you. This is what we did. It worked. Their home is sold……
Begin by making your rooms look more spacious. Remove any excess furniture and minimise wherever you can. In your living areas this may mean tidying shelves, hiding things away in cupboards. In kitchens it may mean clearing work surfaces. In bedrooms neaten your bedsides and hide away shoes and clothes in cupboards. De-cluttering really does work.
Look objectively at your home. Now is the time to really give it a thorough clean. Make it sparkle and shine. Touch up any paint work. If you want a great price your decor needs to be fresh and tidy. If you find it difficult cutting in, its worth calling a professional in or asking a family member for help!
Accessories are an estate agents best friend. It works for the show houses so it will work for you. Think like a hotel and dress your bed. Invest in statement light fittings for your main living areas. Plump up cushions in your lounge. Make sure your home co-ordinates and flows. It all helps to impress those buyers
Make sure your property photos are worth showing off. Great photos attract buyers to come look. Poor photos can put them off. Make sure they are bright and show off the room. They also need to be honest too, so on viewing days it’s really important your home looks like the photos taken. Keep them handy for a quick reference point.
Add in a full marketing package and an experienced sales team and your home will also sell quickly for a premium price. We agreed 34 new sales in September. Can we help you move? Call now for your free home move consultation. At JDG we are here to help!
My name is Michelle Gallagher. If you are considering moving, please give us a call. At JDG we are here to help. Our advice is free. Call me on 01524 843322 04 01524 409100
Have you seen any of the new reg cars out yet? I’ve spied 5 so far this month. All nice and gleaming, their bodywork still shiny. The owners driving them look so as pleased as punch, excited about their new vehicle.
It’s strange but I always know when my husband ( aka Mr JDG ) is thinking of changing his car. The car not only gets washed and polished, but the inside is cleaned and the dashboard polished until it shines. It gleams. He takes it very seriously. If you get chance, ask him about the time he polished it with a tin of pledge! Apparently he’s not alone ( except the pledge polish bit ).
According to my friend who works in car sales, many people do this when they are considering a part exchange. They hope that by doing this, they’ll get a much better deal. People often have their chips in the alloy wheels fixed and little dents fixed!
It got me thinking. If we do all of this as standard when it comes to selling our car, why don’t we apply the same principles when it comes to selling our home?
Here are 4 great ideas for the car industry that we can learn
When we decide to sell our car, we give it a full valet. Why should we treat a house differently? Your home is your biggest tax-free asset. Make sure it is spic and span. If necessary, steam clean the carpets and wash those windows inside and out. Polish your fittings ( including your door handles and bathroom taps ) so they shine! Cleaner houses attract higher offers!
From a dripping tap, through to a door that won’t close properly, it’s alway worth fixing those small jobs that you never quite got around too. Little things like this can make a huge difference to the pice someone will offer on your home. You’d do it for a car sale to get a few hundred pounds more. It could add thousands to your house sale!
New cars always smell great. Apparently you can now buy new car air freshener! I’ve never tried it, however I am tempted! People like the smell of a clean fresh car, whether they are buying new or 2nd hand. Now apply the same principle to your home. I’ve written about this before. The smell of vanilla for example is associated with luxury. Citrus is fresh whilst Lavender is so relaxing!
One of things the car industry is really great at is making sure their paperwork is order. Would you buy a car with no MOT or a missing service history? How about one with no log book? By getting your paperwork in order for your home, you can often sell it quicker and for a better price. You can demonstrate it’s value. Buyers also feel reassured and more trusting. Make sure you have any guarantees and certificates for work to hand.
Can we help you move? Call us for a free home consultation. At JDG we are here to help. My name is Michelle Gallagher. Call us on 01524 843322 or 409100
Address Windermere Road, Freehold
Price £170,000
Sold for £172,000
Time On The Market 4 days
Number of Viewings 6
Reason for sale Downsizing
Not everybody moves because they want to. For some it down to circumstance as was the story of our client from Windermere Road. Our job is to get the best price. Everybody wants the best price. Sometimes thought it’s really needed to help people move on with their life. Hence when we value properties we choose not to be swayed by the price they paid but ultimately, by what they have done to the home and how it compares in today’s market.
Interestingly this lady had 3 valuations. The price variation between the estate agents was over £20,000 difference, a considerable amount of money to anybody!
The first thing did was listen. Everybody has a moving story, a reason as to why we are there. Next we had to justify our valuation. We were considerably higher than what she had paid for the property however our client had done considerable work to it since purchase, not all of which was obvious to the naked eye!
Upon instruction, we prepared a great set of details with some fantastic photos highlighting the key selling features. The weather may have been warm, but we still insisted the wood burning stove was lit. We had the stable door open for the kitchen shot and captured the greenery that surrounded the home.
The next job was to contact the registered buyers we knew would be interested. We still of course launched it online, just to make sure we got the best price for our client.
Viewings were quickly booked. Multiple offers were made. Best and final offers were made. We agreed the sale £2000 above the asking price, such was the demand for this home. Even better, we were able to help our client find a fabulous new house, one which she was really happy with, and one which she could call home!
Are you thinking of moving? Can we help you? If so please get in touch. It’s free to chat. At JDG we are here to help! Call us on 01524 843322.
Address – Charlbury Grove
Price £125,000
Time on Market – 30 days till offer accepted
Number of viewings 3
Reason for sale – Upsizing
The seller came to us as he had been on the market with another agent for 95 days and had not sold his property. He had noticed we had sold 2 properties within close proximity to him and the asking prices of these properties were both £7000 higher than his asking price but his still had not sold. He really couldn’t understand why.
It’s not often we put an asking price up on a property. This was home which was in great condition. To be fair his photos were excellent, possibly too good with the fancy photography used.
We began by recommending that we increased the asking price by to £125,000. At his current asking price, the owner had no flexibility in his price and we were concerned that buyers still may try to make an offer. We prepared an in-depth brochure showing the key selling points of the property. Our photos were bright but honest. We wanted buyers too have a true picture of the home.
The property was well advertised on both Rightmove and Zoopla, in the local newspaper and provided a display in our high street office as well as showcasing the property on social media. Once the property was live, we telephoned buyers registered on our system to create interest in the property.
The seller had an offer on the property within 4 days and, after further viewings and negotiations, the vendor accepted an offer on the property within 30 days. The offer was within 96% of the asking price and £2000 higher than the asking price with previous agent. Everybody was happy!
If your home is struggling to sell and you’d like a 2nd opinion, please give our Morecambe team a call on 01524 409100.
How much do you rely on the internet? What do you really use it for? Research? Communication? Playing games? How much internet shopping do you actually really do?
I’m a researcher. Trust me, I have tried it for shopping. I even tried online supermarket shopping last week. It was convenient. To be fair it arrived on time. However all my fresh items have such a short shelf life date on them, I simply won’t get chance to eat them. I also tried ordering from Next online last month. They promise following day delivery. However after paying, I discovered that my item wasn’t due in stock for another 3 weeks. It has just arrived and it doesn’t fit. And please don’t get me started on trying to book a holiday. I’m now communicating by telephone with a travel agent. The only thing I seem to be able to successfully order are products where I know exactly what I am getting – in my instance, Bobbi Brown make up! Interesting many of my friends have had the same experiences. So how does this tie in with the property market? Are we really all internet shoppers?
September is here and the kids are back at school. The summer holidays are over and normal family routines resume. People are back at work and the whole city feels busier as the students return. It’s a different time of year.
People attentions move back to moving home, the thoughts being they can be moved by Christmas. If you’ve been trying to sell for a while, don’t despair. September could be your month. Just make sure you follow our back to school selling basics….
If June was all about Brexit. July was the Euros’ Football and August has all been about the Olympics. Team GB have had some amazing results, they have done Britain proud. It got us thinking, if selling houses was an Olympic sport, could we being going for Gold? August has been a fabulous month with over 30 sales agreed so far. 15 of these were in just one week, the same week the British Hockey team took gold on penalties and our best week of the year!
Address – Canterbury Close
Price – £115,000
Time on Market – 12 days
Number of viewings booked – 2
Reason for sale – Moving out of the area
Did you know? The word “selfie” is now in the Oxford dictionary. It is was chosen as the word of the year in 2013. At first it was thought selfie taking was a craze, however as I write from holiday, it seems to be a craze which is not destined to go away!
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