Guide to Successful Property Viewing

Estimated reading time 3 minutes

How long your property remains on the property ladder depends on several factors. A large factor which affects a slow sale is the overall impression, potential buyers received when they initially viewed the property. So, for a quick house sale, you obviously want to make the best impression possible. To do that, follow the five simple tricks below to ensure your property is desirable to onlookers!

Clean and declutter your property

In addition to being more appealing and inviting, clean and decluttered homes also tend to look bigger. What is more, they give the impression that they have been taken good care of, so make sure that everything is clean and tidy. Mop the floor, scrub the bathroom, wash the windows, make your bed, etc. Also, don’t forget about the outdoors, especially the entrance.

Make your home smell as inviting as its looks

Whether prospective buyers will like your property or not, doesn’t only depend on what they see, but what they smell as well. Needless to say, any unpleasant odours can be a serious turn-off. You are therefore recommended to eliminate all potential sources of bad odours: cigarette smoke, rubbish bin, pets, mould, cooking, etc before knowing a viewing is booked. You may also use an air freshener or/and home fragrances, however, avoid strong scents because they can be just as unpleasant as bad odours. Also, be sure to ventilate the property by opening the windows before the arrival of the potential buyers.

Fix the essentials

It’s not worth investing too much time or money for home improvement when selling a property. But it’s a good idea to get rid of worn out carpets, replace damaged blinds, repair leaky taps and take care of other fixtures, fittings and details that may create an impression that the property wasn’t properly maintained. A leaky tap for instance raises the question, what else needs to be repaired? Likewise, any obvious damage can give a signal that there might be more problems that are potentially very costly to repair.

Be friendly but not too friendly. And don’t try to sell too hard

Be friendly when taking the viewers around your property but don’t be too friendly because it may create the opposite effect from that intended. Stay close to be able to answer their questions but keep some distance, both literally and figuratively. And most importantly, don’t try to sell too hard. In addition to being annoying, persuading the viewers how perfect the property is and how happy they are going to be here may create the impression that you’re in a hurry to sell.

Prepare for a lot of tricky questions

Put yourself in the buyers’ shoes. You would want to know if there are any problems with the property, neighbours, neighbourhood, etc. as well. So expect a lot of questions, including potentially tricky ones that may attempt to lower your asking price. Examples include how long the property has been on the market, what are neighbours like, has anyone died in the house, what are the crime levels in the neighbourhood, is there a lot of noise from the traffic and the likes. Always tell the truth but whenever possible, try to turn the negative into positive.