House Doctoring - A Common Sense Approach To Selling Property (House Doctors)

Member Name: splodgethecat

Product:	House Doctors
Date:	21/08/01 (180 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Sell quicker, Sell for more money, Very cheap to improve

Disadvantages: You have to put in some work!

I am quite into this house doctoring concept as I saw my daughter literally add thousands to the value of her house last year when she did an ‘Ann Maurice’ (the TV house doctor) on her property. I am a great advocate of home ‘staging’ as it is sometimes called because to me, it all seems like down to earth common sense. I can’t understand how some people, who would gladly if they were selling a car, say, touch up the paintwork, valet it, add new tyres and so on, yet not do the same to their property.

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Having read some of the other opinions here, all of which contain great ideas and sound advice, I would like to offer a slightly different slant on the subject. It would be little use me repeating all the spiel about neutralising, de-cluttering and de-personalising when there are other ops all about this. Here is my own take on house doctoring as a concept and what I would do if I were putting my property on the market. OK, so here goes.

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When people look at houses, they are often not buying a property so much as they are buying into a *lifestyle*. Home buying is *aspirational*. Therefore I feel that when you have viewers round to your property, what you are looking to do is to create a memorable and favourable *emotional* reaction in them in regards to your property. You need to make them want to return, to be there, and to live there. If you know anything about house doctoring, you will have probably attended to the physical environment of your house, now you have to concentrate on reaching the *psychological* needs of your potential buyers. You are going to do this by appealing to every one of their senses, by making them literally fall in love with your property. Some of the suggestions here might seem a little over the top, but to me, it depends whether you want a sale within a fortnight or whether you want your house to languish on the market for months.

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So, how do
you make people fall in love with your property? Well, here are a number of suggestions in a nutshell, to give you the feel of what I am trying to purvey, more detail comes later;

Welcome rug at the doorway

Vase of flowers on the hall table

Brand new, fluffy, towels in the bathroom

The table set with napkins and placemats

A nice hanging basket at the front porch

Shiny new door furniture

And so on.

I’m talking first (and lasting) impressions here. You should be trying to create a lifestyle scenario for viewers. These little finishing touches will certainly help towards that important sale. I believe some house doctors call this process dynamizing. Enabling you to provide viewers with a sense of beauty, harmony and comfort when they visit your home. It makes them aspire to your way of life, basically.

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Even though the externals might look great by now, I feel it is very useful to attend to things that can’t be seen immediately, too, for example, you don’t want closets stuffed to the brim with crumpled laundry, a hotchpotch of accessories in the kitchen, all manner of bits and bobs under the bed gathering dust or a house that is in any sort of disarray. Therefore, you are tyring by now to bring everything together to make the final big impression, if you like. So, what are your inside cabinets, wardrobes or airing cupboards like? You are probably feeling puzzled by now. Why is it necessary to clean and tidy the *insides* of places that probably won’t be seen by viewers?

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Well actually, a large number of people *do* open drawers, cupboards and doors as they view a property. What sort of impression does it give if a spotless bedroom has in reality got a pile of junk stuffed under the bed, or a pristine kitchen has cupboards, whose insides are sticky with food drips and are simply a jungle of jars, tins and bottles? If someone opens a
door and sees a picture like this the whole *illusion* is ruined. On the other hand, if they see ordered, well-organised interiors, it will help them imagine *themselves* being organised too - in your house! Remember, I’m trying to concentrate on an aspirational picture here.

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So, in wardrobes, clothes should hang in one direction, colour coded if possible. Shoes should be placed neatly and ties, belts, scarves etc should be hung on hangers designed for the task. Alternatively, put any small accessories such as these in coordinated boxes stacked neatly in the bottom of the wardrobe. In your airing or linen cupboard, fold all towels, sheets etc and stack them neatly. Chests of drawers, again, should have their contents folded instead of stuffed in any old how.

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In the kitchen, turn all your jars, bottles and tins round with their labels to the front. I know this might seem rather extreme, but look at how goods are stacked in supermarkets - not all higgledy-piggledy for sure. Labels are all facing forward, very regimentally. Buy a new set of accessories for your kitchen in an ‘accent’ colour, e.g. matching dish cloths, place mats, coasters etc. Place a cookbook on a stand as if you have just been baking your favourite cake recipe. This paints a mental picture of happy baking days in viewers’ eyes. A bowl of fruit always looks very appealing, or why not have a chunky breadboard out on the work surface with a delicious looking ciabatta placed upon, just waiting to be eaten?

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Neaten rows of videos, records, CDs, books etc as they look so much better if the impression is given that a lot of time and effort is put into keeping the interior of your house lovely. These sorts of touches create an impression of a house being looked after and well loved. Tidy all bottles and jars in the bathroom, and again, turn all labels to the front. Bathrooms can be made to look aspirational by adding
gorgeous hand made glycerine soaps in a bowl on the windowsill. Nice to look at and certainly nice smelling too. Try to match towels to shower curtains and blinds to coordinate. Many bathrooms are quite small, but this can be overlooked if the impression given off is a positive one.

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Bedrooms can be dynamized with the addition of pretty lamps, vases of flowers or attractive bed treatments, including matching throws, cushions and rugs etc. These kinds of touches can be carried out all around the home. If you have a separate dining room, make sure your dining table is set out nicely with lovely tableware when you have viewers due. If you have a conservatory, don’t use it as a laundry drying room - create a lifestyle picture by having well placed wicker furniture and lovely plants.

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Remember, people who are buying property are looking to move *up*, to a better lifestyle; they will be aspiring to the way you live. Therefore, if they come round and they feel they are moving *down* a rung, they simply won’t be interested in your house, no matter how good it is. They must be able to see themselves living a certain lifestyle, an *improved* lifestyle, in *your* property, hopefully.

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Outside you might want to shine up your door furniture or buy a completely new set. What about adding a name plaque to your house, to create a bit of extra prestige. Take a note of the very first impression you get when you walk in through the front door. Is your hallway quite dark? If so, you *must* remember when you have viewers round to turn the hall light on *before* they enter the house. Try not to let any negative feelings creep into your viewers’ minds about your property, especially as soon as they walk in the door. You are using every trick in the book here to show your property off in it’s very best light. Alternatively, you place a small lamp on your hall table, which would brighten up a dark
hall.

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By the time you get to showing your viewers round, hopefully you will have made an incredible improvement to your home. However, I feel there are still things you can do to make your property appealing and certain ways to show people round your house in order to get the most favourable reaction.

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On the day of the viewing (s), tidy up, dust and wipe ledges and skirting. If possible, get rid of pets (and all their accoutrements) for the day. See if a neighbour will have them. This applies to kids too! Let fresh air blow through the house for half an hour to blow away any stale smells. Always smile when meeting new viewers for the first time. If you feel comfortable, introduce yourself with your first name. Don’t expect your viewers to reciprocate though. Turn on any lights in rooms that need brightening up before letting folks in, it looks suspicious if you do it afterwards. Offer refreshments, but don’t be pushy if they are refused.

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Always offer information when asked, but never offer negative information un-asked. For example, don’t mention that the nearest school is 5 miles away or the factory in the next town emits a foul smell when the wind is in a certain direction. On the other hand, you can offer positive information unasked for. For example, that the neighbours are excellent or you are on a direct bus route to town. If the viewers are a young family, point out things, which might appeal to their particular lifestyle. For example, that there are plenty of other children to play with in the street, or that there is a nursery school only a five minute walk away. If they are older, point out how your location is very quiet. You are not lying when you are being selective like this - you are simply offering good points about your property that are directed at the type of people viewing.

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Always turn the TV off when showing people round. There is nothi
ng so distracting as someone’s favourite program. You want people to see the house, not get involved in the latest soap storyline. If you have a poor view out of the back of your house, don’t mention it at all. If you have a lovely view, point it out!

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If you live in an area where there is some disruption during the day, say a lot of school traffic or people parking in front of your property when they visit the chip shop, don’t book viewers for that time of day. Likewise, if you live on a main road, never have people round during rush hour, they might be put off by the volume of traffic.

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Let people walk into the rooms before you. This way the rooms will be empty when they enter, making them appear larger. If you like, you could prepare a feature sheet for when viewers come round. Hand one out each time so they will remember your property afterwards. On it you could list what is included in the sale, where the nearest shops are, or any other benefits attached to buying your particular property.

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Just a quick word about *after* you get your offer. Keep your property as nice as you have made it over the last few weeks. Hopefully the exchange and completion will go through without hitches, but sometimes property deals fall through and you find yourself right back to square one. Therefore, if this eventuality does happen, you will have to do minimal work to get the property viewable again.

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As I said in my introduction, it really is possible to increase the value of a house by spending minimal cash and a few cosmetic changes. It is, of course, possible to sell houses that are in a poor state of repair or decor, but it will take longer and if a property is one that will appeal to first time buyers, it has to be considered that they will probably be right up to their budget in the first place. They simply will not have money to spend on a property once purchased. T
herefore, if you want to sell quickly and make more money, a little investment and a lot of elbow grease will work wonders.

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