Helping Innovate Property (HIP) – Blog, Housing Market News and Articles

You’ve cleaned the windows, weeded the garden, touched up the paintwork and swept the drive, and still nobody wants to buy your well priced and presentable house. The scenario is familiar to all who have gone through the rigmarole of selling a property, but all is not lost; within an affordable budget there are a few things you can do that will most certainly add to the desirability of your house.

I imagine a number have been put off already by the word ‘budget’, but read on and you’ll see that a major impact can be made for relatively little outlay.

Paint the walls

The first step is to look at the walls. If you have heavily patterned wallpaper it can be off-putting for some buyers, as many will look at the décor and decide that it is not ‘for them’ as much as the last house they viewed.

The trick is to present a blank canvas. Read the rest of this entry »

I think it’s fair to say that we’ve all been hit by the credit crunch in some way or other, if you haven’t, lucky you. What seems to have taken the biggest loss is the value of our humble abodes; the press would have us believe that property prices are falling at a staggering rate, so where does that leave the home owners that are still desperate to sell. Its dog eat dog, so how do we add value and make our homes more appealing without it costing us the earth.

First impressions are of paramount importance so if the front of your house is looking a little worse for wear it’s maybe time to update and refresh. Start with the front door, if it needs a lick of paint get the brush out, if not, hot soapy water and some elbow grease should do the trick. Pull out any unsightly weeds, sweep the path, mow the lawn, check the security light works and if the pocket can stretch get some planters to brighten the place up.

Read the rest of this entry »