June 2016

The principle that one person’s junk is another’s treasure is true in many situations in life, but selling your home is not one of them.

Apart from the fact that everything is brand new, the rooms featured in decorating magazines look so spacious and elegant because they are minimalist in design and under furnished by comparison with most homes.

If the average family were to live in those artfully staged rooms, no doubt they’ would soon end up resembling something more like the busy, cluttered rooms we see in 'real' homes.

Decluttering is an important process that acts as a precursor to home staging, which we will return to in future articles.

Effectively presenting your home for sale requires adopting the viewpoint of a prospective buyer, who may be from another generation, of a different cultural heritage, or have family values that are unlike yours.

Without you or them realising, elements of your lifestyle may make others feel uncomfortable.

In the course of our extensive experience, we have found three things that can limit a property’s appeal.

When the time comes to put your home on the market you may be tempted to seek out real estate agents who offer no-fee or low-fee services.

As it does so often in life, the maxim holds true — you really do get what you pay for!

Agents operating on shoestring budgets can charge lower fees than those who conduct themselves on a more professional basis, but they do this at the expense of their ability to provide a high-quality service.

Let me explain.