Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa July 2013 | Page 28

MANAGING

BY JOHN ROBERTS

Wooing
the Market
With your home

T

HERE can be few people who doubt the
residential property market currently
favours buyers and that sellers, faced
with extensive competition from alternative
options, must do everything possible to present
their homes in the most appealing fashion.

A sound way of determining if your house
is market-ready is to ask yourself: would you
buy your own home? It is a question requiring
honesty, best answered through an objective
analysis of its best and worst features.
If being objective is difficult, get input from
someone else who will be honest, since honesty
is how to determine a realistic selling date and
achievable price. Sellers generally do not see
their homes with the same eyes as prospective
buyers - broken windows, peeling paintwork,
missing roof tiles, sagging gates and mould in
the shower tend to become common place.
Yet, they are detractors that will stand out
a mile to buyers who will either be put off the
property completely or use those issues to justify
a low offer.
Property professionals constantly see sellers
repeating mistakes, directly impacting on the
pricing they achieve or even reaching the point
in the negotiations where an offer can be placed
on the table.
What then would be some pointers for
achieving the ideal show house and thus
bringing potential buyers to the door?
Gary Player famously stated you only get one
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July 2013 SA Real Estate Investor

chance to make a first impression. The curb, as
the property’s sense of arrival, is essential in
shaping visitors’ perspectives - and that means
show house ready includes ensuring the garden
or landscaping is tidy, manicured and inviting.
If the gates sag, the driveway is broken and
the unkempt garden full of weeds, schedule
some maintenance before putting it on the
market. Remove obstacles and repair or replace
anything that could be distracting - broken roof
tiles, loose gutters, cracked paving tiles and
poorly maintained garage doors or driveways
can be distracting.
It is now that a repaint should be considered.
Painting is one of the most effective ways of
sprucing up a property, but, while your favourite
colour may be purple, choose a neutral shade to
broaden the appeal.
Internally, neutral colours provide buyers with
a blank canvas on which to place their signature.
Cluttered rooms have a negative impact on
potential home buyers, so another critical part
of show house preparation is removing excess
furniture, cleaning out garages, neatening
studies and cleaning out cupboards.
People also love light, meaning bright
interiors sell homes. Typically older homes
have heavy curtaining, so attempt to bring in
as much light as possible. If natural sunlight is
limited, ensure the lighting is new and bright.
For viewings ensure every light is turned on
and make sure the bathrooms are well lit and
bedside lamps actually work.

Invest time and effort into analysing every
room and undertaking those repairs you have
been ignoring for months or years. Door and
window handles, garden gates, balustrading,
built-in cupboards, tiles and air-conditioners all
require regular maintenance and repairs, so get
it done before putting the house on the market.
Replace worn items with new ones.
Pay attention to detail by reviewing your
home from a buyer’s perspective. Worn light
switches can easily be replaced; bathrooms need
to be spotless; old silicone strips and fresh white
beads are essential to selling. Shower floor and
doors need to be immaculate and glass hobs and
extractor fans should be as good as new.
Avoid anything that could provide strong
odours including items that relate to cooking or
pets in the home. Animal smells are extremely
off-putting and while you may be oblivious to
doggy odours emanating from your carpets,
buyers will not be.
This is exactly the type of problem an honest
friend should share to allow you to do the
requisite cleaning to make your home marketready. Remember that smell is a powerful sense
so use it to your advantage by including fragrant
scents in the rooms and cupboards.
However, it is also critical to remember that
buyers prepared to upgrade or renovate properties
are in the vast minority and are unwilling to
pay a premium for a property for fear of overcapitalising. It is thus imperative that sellers ask
themselves what they would expect to get for their
money and then, if their home offers this.
W hile shor tcomings like location are
unchangeable, there are budget-friendly
improvements that significant