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Published: 12 July 2022

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It has been a method of selling a home that has been around for a long time, yet it is not widely spoken of and has been kind of a secret, but there has been a rise on off-market sales in recent years. The widely known way of selling your home has been to instruct an estate agent who will then market your property, which will include producing photographs, floor plans and possibly videos, all of which will be available online to attract potential buyers. If you strip all of this away from the public eye, and there is no for sale board or any evidence that the house is on the market, this is what is known as off-market sales.

Why sell off-market

There are many reasons you may wish to sell in a more discreet way: one of the main reasons we find is that the seller wishes to avoid all the hassle usually involved in selling a home. Busy lives could mean they don’t want a large number of viewings, while others may be concerned for their health post pandemic. They want to ensure that any buyer that comes through their door is serious and in a position to proceed. Privacy is another concern for some sellers – they don’t wish for people to know they are wanting or, maybe, needing to move home, therefore the idea of selling in this way is more appealing.

Does it work?

Off-market sales have been popular in the high-end market for many years, but now this type of sale accounts for one in ten sales overall.  Firstly, you need an agent who is experienced in this field, who understands the market, and has strong relationships with buyers like Deakin-White. To achieve off-market sales, you need to have waiting list of strong buyers, but also know exactly what each of those buyers is looking for in a property and what kind of home will suit their needs. The more the agent understands their buyers the easier it is to ensure that the property will sell discreetly, because they are, in essence, able to bring the property and the buyer together without any publicity.

With demand for properties high, it is the buyers, too, who are keen to put in the work to build these relationships with the agents that do end up benefitting from being informed of off-market properties. Many buyers have missed out on properties due to not being one of the first to view, and by the time they do, an offer has been accepted and their viewing has been cancelled. This is why the off-market approach for buyers is one that has also been successful in securing a new home. According to recent research “Buyers have been willing to pay a premium to secure their home off-market, and prevent sellers from marketing the property openly.”

Let’s look at the stats

Research has found that:

• In the first quarter of this year, over 37,000 homes were sold off-market, up from almost 21,000 over the same period in 2019.
• As of May 2022, more than one in ten homes has sold off-market.
• The average off-market home sold achieved 99.5% of its asking price in 2022, this surpassed the 98% record set in 2014 in a strong prime central London market.
• Properties that were marketed online and to a wider audience achieved 99.1% of their initial asking price so far this year, also a record.

Finding the dream

Not all off-market sales are as a result of a seller approaching an estate agent to sell their home – sometimes the buyer is the focus. Occasionally, we will be approached by a buyer looking for a particular kind of home; we may know of such a property, but we also know that there isn’t one on the market. As agents, we have two choices: we can do nothing and let the buyers wait until a property does become available, or we can get to work and see if we can make something happen.

By approaching homeowners who have not expressed a desire to sell, demonstrating the strong desire for their or a similar property, we can often turn a waiting game into a sale. There may sometimes be a reluctance to sell due to the stress of finding a buyer. Having this ‘stress’ taken away from them and an eager buyer handed to them can be just what a seller needs to make the decision to move. And even more of a pull is that all this can happen behind closed doors.

It's not for everyone

Off-market sales do come with their own challenges, which is why this method is not suitable for everyone. It is always advisable to chat through all options with your estate agent before you make a decision, and do your research: does your agent have success in selling discreetly? If you are thinking about selling your home and would like to understand the market and the options open to you and your property, contact our team.

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Published: 27 May 2022

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The viewing is where the magic happens, the time where potential buyers, who have bottled up their hopes and dreams, get to experience the reality of your home. No doubt, they will have devoured the photographs, been addicted to the video and scrutinised the floor plan, which is why your property has made their cut of possibles. Therefore, you don’t want to dampen their enthusiasm at the first hurdle, which is why we have put together our top tips on how to prepare your home for a viewing.

Change your outlook

Hopefully, you will have already done the work to prepare your home for sale, so now it is just about checking everything is ready and adding those finishing touches.  It is often the little things that buyers notice on a viewing, and it is these things that you can easily miss as a seller. Our eyes can play tricks on us because everything is familiar and comfortable, so this is why you need to change your outlook. Instead of looking at your house as a home, you need to walk around from room to room, and round the exterior from front to back with prying eyes, just as a buyer would. You are not looking to make any major changes at this stage, just those quick fixes that add that final touch of pizzazz to your already beautiful home.

A memorable welcome

It starts at the very beginning: decisions and opinions are formed from the moment they arrive at your property.  If you don’t have off-road parking, are you able to keep a space for them to be able to park? Check if any litter has blown into your garden and give your front door a quick wipe so it is looking its absolute best. As the front door opens, what are your buyers met with? How can you make that more appealing? Adding a plant and a lamp will add warmth if you feel this is missing.

Remember it is a home

Where some sellers go wrong when preparing a property for a viewing is that they tidy it to within an inch of its life and by doing so can rip out the heart of what makes it a home. Of course it needs to be clean and tidy, but it also needs to feel the warmth and affection, as it is this emotional connection that buyers will fall in love with. So make sure you think about how you dress your home, little vignettes will provide an insight into what it would be like to live there. A couple of place settings and a bottle of wine on your dining table, a throw and book on a garden bench, flowers, candles and cushions all add to the ambiance.

Make it light

One resource your home has that you must take advantage of is its natural light; it is a powerful asset to any room, making it feel brighter and more spacious. Ensure all your curtains and blinds are fully open and add lighting in rooms that could do with an extra lift. Even in the summer months, arriving at a dark, ill-lit home can be extremely unwelcoming, and we know that is certainly not the impression you want potential buyers to leave with. Open some windows too if the weather is mild, as it will fill your house with a natural freshness.

Keep it simple

In your kitchen and bathroom it is about keeping it simple, sleek and sexy. Keep surfaces clear and ensure that your cupboards are organised and looking lovely. Buyers tend to open cupboard doors to look at space, and you don’t want them to see a disaster zone behind the sleek façade. Add finishing touches that add freshness, such as a vase or glass bowl of lemons in the kitchen and a plant or two in the bathroom, and always make sure the seat is down!

Share the love

You have loved this property, and even if your feelings have dwindled, you know what it has meant to you over the years. When you are preparing your home for a viewing, share this love in each area of your home through your final staging and it will be hard for buyers not to lose their heart to it as they view.  For more advice on how to prepare your home for a viewing, contact our team today.

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Published: 11 May 2022

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Key info

• Having a complete understanding of the ecology of your land as you create your rewilding plan is the key to your success.
• The UK government has no specific legislation on rewilding. However, you’ll want to research legislation on the specific actions you plan on taking on your project. For example, checking the Wildlife and Country Act 1981 if you plan on repopulating a species.
• Rewilding is a game of patience and empathy with your land. Good practice of rewilding maintains an open ended perspective on the outcome of the project.

Whether you’re looking to fight the Climate Emergency, or create a natural utopia for your loved ones to admire, rewilding is a crucial part of conservation biology and essential to managing human influence over the planet.

In this guide, we’ll help you to understand the key principles for rewilding effectively.

What do I need to begin rewilding?

The great part about the practice of rewilding is that the only thing you need to get started is... land! The land is designed to do the natural regeneration "heavy-lifting" whilst your job is to manage the land with as little human intervention as possible, in order to restore lost ecological processes and biodiversity to the area.

Most land is eligible for rewilding. What’s more important is having a deep understanding of the land you’re working on and a vision of how it would’ve looked before human intervention.  This may mean letting the land sit unmanaged for a season to understand its dynamic behaviour. Depending on your project, some factors of interest to you may be your land’s soil type, flood potential, and its geological/hydrological features.

Attitudes towards rewilding vary on the initial plot choice. You may prefer choosing a more degraded landscape so that you're maximising the ecological restoration of your project. On the other hand, well stewarded land may allow you to monitor the natural regeneration of your land and therefore help you achieve your aims of rewilding.

When choosing your land, make sure to be wary of protected areas and SSSIs (Sites of Special Scientific Interest), as the legislation in these areas may limit the freedom you have with your rewilding project. 

Deakin-White can produce a Land Report which will allow you to check if your land is protected or a SSSI, as well as research many more of your land's intricate features to empower your decision-making.

Legal considerations for rewilding

Whilst rewilding itself has no specific UK policy, there are many relating policies that you’ll need to be aware of in order to manage your land within UK law.

The main policies to consider are the Environmental Land Management schemes, rewarding local landscape and nature recovery. From there, the policies you’ll need to consider will depend on the type of rewilding you’re doing. The government body DEFRA deal with most legal issues in the UK regarding land and rural development, and are worth contacting if you’re unsure on the regulations regarding the type of rewilding you’re doing.

If you’re planning on having your rewilding project feature any animals or rare plants then there’s a few factors to consider. You may need a license if you plan on keeping wild animals in captivity. In addition, if you plan on repopulating your land with a rare species, they may be protected under the Wildlife and Country Act 1981 and so you’ll be responsible for maintaining their protection.   

You may want to think about the legal hidden costs your land may have as you start the rewilding process. For example, woodland at the border of your land may grow over public property such as roads, and therefore will have to be managed.

It’s also worth considering the legal implications on your rewilding project when initially buying the land.

How to start your rewilding project

Human intervention has caused many ecological interactions to simply disappear. For example, the mass extinction of large herbivores and predators has significantly reduced grazing and predation, affecting the rate at which many other animal species are able to feed and reproduce. In order to excel at rewilding, and reverse biodiversity loss effectively, it's best to audit the natural processes that would’ve occurred before human intervention and construct a plan from there. If you’re unsure about your land’s natural processes, a trained ecologist will be able to help you.

It’s important to consider your neighbours when forging your plan. Land aims to connect itself, and so something as simple as blocking a ditch could have a negative impact on the neighbouring plot. In addition, neighbours may be able to help your project. For example, you may be able to mimic the behaviour of lost keystone species for free by allowing farmers’ animals to graze on your land.

Once you have an idea of the ecological processes you want to bring back to your landscape, you’re ready to begin restoring them. Patience is key here, as there may be seasonal requirements for certain species, and natural processes can take much longer than artificial systems. However, slowly restoring the crucial ecological processes to your landscape will naturally lead to the return of some animal and plant species. Some you may not have even expected! The longer you work on your land, the more you will be able to learn and understand about it.

The main concept of rewilding is allowing the land to restore itself, and so “listening” to the land and having an open mind about the outcome of your rewilding project is crucial. Some processes that may seem damaging at first can lead to the recovery of rich ecosystems. For example, whilst landowners normally aim to clean up and remove dead and uprooted trees from the land, this could have unintended consequences for the recovery of ecosystems specific to your land. Under those trees could form whole new insect cultures, cascading into the recovery of entire food chains as certain insect-feeding animal species are able to repopulate.

This highlights the importance of scale in rewilding, as having more land allows for a greater level of ecological connectivity. However, don’t fret if your land isn’t going to be one of the next National Parks. It will form its own unique ecosystem over time, and your understanding and vision can only become clearer as you get to know your land better.

One venture you may wish to take in your rewilding journey is the repopulation of key species to your land. 

To maximise the effect of your repopulation effort, it's worth getting to understand trophic rewilding. This is the concept of restoring the food chain top-down, leading to a positive cascading effect as complex ecosystems begin to form over time. Ecosystem restoration can often rely on these megafauna to dictate the landscape on a macroscopic level, and so when choosing an animal to repopulate, consider the effect they will have on large-scale ecological processes such as grazing and predation. Again, be careful of scale here, as certain species need a large amount of space to hunt and survive. You may experience significant overgrazing/overhunting issues if the species you decide to reintroduce doesn’t have enough land to feed off.

Once you’ve completed the initial hard work, you’ll be able to relax and admire your land as your very own cluster of nature begins to take care of itself within its own unique ecosystem, not only acting as a key conservation effort but also helping to fight the climate crisis.

Deakin-White makes it easy to find, research, buy or sell land. 

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Published: 05 July 2022

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Summer is here and you may be enjoying the warmer weather, festivals and even travelling to exotic shores, so the last thing you may be considering is moving home. Summer has notably not been the favoured season for buying or selling property: sales would often pause until normality returned, but these days technology means everything can keep following along quite nicely. No matter when you decide to sell, it is also good to understand what is happening in the property market and how that affects the value of your home.  You can find out what the market is like for your home today by clicking this link: https://dwrealestate.research.homesearch.co.uk/property-results

Higher, Higher

When Covid hit and the country headed into lockdown, instead of the market stalling there was a frenzy as people reassessed their home and lifestyle, and priorities changed.  House prices have continued to rise with the property market seeing its fifth price record this year, according to Rightmove’s June House Price Index.  Demand for each available property still remains very strong at the moment, in fact it is more than double the pre-pandemic May average; this is despite the challenges we all face with the increasing cost of living.

More choice

One thing all buyers want when looking for a new home is to have a wealth of options. There is nothing more frustrating than to search for months and months and not find exactly what you are looking for. Buyers at the moment can rejoice that the number of properties coming onto the market was up by 7% in May compared to the same time last year. Even though there is more choice, buyers are still having to move quickly and with conviction to secure their ideal home.

The backlog means you need to act

One thing the lockdown did cause was a backlog when it came to the conveyancing part of the process. Instead of the 100 days it took on average to complete a purchase after agreeing a sale in 2019, it is currently taking 150 days. According to Rightmove there are ‘more than 500,000 homes that are currently sold subject to contract, a massive figure which is 44% higher than it was at this time in 2019, and 39% higher than the pre-pandemic five-year average.’

There are obviously variations on this, but it does stress the importance of finding the right conveyancer for your sale and your purchase, to ensure excessive delays will not impact on your sale. Delays in the sales process can make both sellers and buyers anxious, and even have doubts, and when doubts start to set in, that’s when we start to see sales falling through.

Summer selling

How the property market is performing may influence your decision on whether to move home or not, but if you would like an honest discussion about when is the right time for you and your family then please give our Deakin-White team a call or you can find out what the market is like for your home today by clicking this link: https://dwrealestate.research.homesearch.co.uk/property-results

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Published: 20 May 2022

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Everyday we experience things that trigger our senses and make us aware of what is around us. There is no doubt the smell of fresh bread when you pass a bakery will make you think twice about taking a detour. Our five senses (sight, sound, taste, touch, smell) impact our buying decisions on many things, including buying a home. At Deakin-White, we know that understanding the role our senses play in our home-buying choices will help you to make the right decision when buying a home.

Sight seduction

First impression are so important. It is very easy when viewing a home to be seduced by what we see. You want a house that gives you those butterflies, one that offers you the space and style that you seek. But are your eyes playing tricks, seducing you by the fixtures and furnishings rather than you actually taking notice of what the house offers? You need to learn to edit what you see, to, of course, enjoy each space, but try to visualise it without all those beautiful things – will it still give you the same feelings?

Just as beautiful things can win you over, clutter and dated décor can also turn you off, and, again, you need to see the space as it could be and not how it is. There is no doubt this can be a tricky thing to do, but instead of rushing through the chaos spend time to take the room in. Focus on things you can’t change: how much natural light is pouring in, are there any features, and does it offer you the space you need?  Colours have feelings and emotions attached to them, and this can also affect your mood when you enter a room; just remember colours can always be changed.

Naughty noses

There is nothing like a particular scent to evoke a memory and a bit of nostalgia, another powerful emotional buying influencer. Although pleasant smells can bring a smile, a strong or bad odour can give you a really negative response to the home you are viewing. Not all sellers will think about the impact all smells can have on a buyer, which is why you need to decide if it is something you can ignore. Some smells could require further investigation and highlight bigger issues with the property, such as damp and drains, whereas strong artificial scents such as plugins, or even the aroma of food, are temporary and can easily be eliminated.

Serene sounds

When it comes to your home, as you relax at the end of a busy day, you will be seeking a bit of peace and calm. As buyers, we know that you will be turned off by lots of noise and rowdy neighbours. Research has found that loud noise can impair our creativity, thoughts and perceptions, which is why we know excessive sound is something you can’t ignore. It could be worth a visit to the property at different times of the day to experience how the environment sounds as it could vary; also, is there a change in noise between the front and back of the property?

Tantalising touch

Just like a child who cannot resist touching everything they see, when you enter a property you are hoping to buy, of course you are going to want to reach out and touch things. Don’t be afraid to get intimate with the home, look behind doors, check out the space in cupboards and feel the texture of the walls. Reaching out beyond what you can initially see may bring you some unexpected surprises within the property which could influence your decision.

Testing taste

What taste does the property leave you with? You will know in your gut whether this home is a contender.  Your buying decisions will be influenced by your senses, but, as we have suggested, there may be times you take note and times where you may wish to ignore. When buying a property, you want to make the right choice rather than being left with a bitter taste. If you would like more advice on buying a home, contact our team.

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Published: 06 May 2022

Hits: 731

You have so many emotions wrapped up in changing address: there could be feelings of sadness saying goodbye, combined with the excitement of your new home. Moving home is full of highs and lows and just when you think you are coming to the end, you have one of the most of the stressful stages to come, the big move!  There are ways that you can minimise the mayhem, add some calm and take some of the aghhh out of moving day.  Here is our advice on how to cope with the stressful stages of moving home.

Pre-sale stage

Most home movers don’t think about packing until they have an offer accepted and they are well within the sales process.  It is normal to think you have all the time in the world, but what tends to happen is that as time starts ticking by, the more procrastinating we do. It is that overwhelming feeling of looking at ‘all that stuff’ in your home and wondering where and how to start that adds stress onto an already stressful situation.

This is why we would always advise that you think about starting your preparation for moving home before you sell your house. 

Yes, that early! 

Whilst you are starting to declutter and organise your home to present it for sale, there is nothing to stop you from starting to pack a few bits and pieces along the way.  There will be plenty of things that you won’t need before you move, so instead of them taking up space in your home, why not pack them away. This will give help to make your home feel more spacious due to being less packed with things, but it also gives you a head start.

Panic packing

Completion date is on the horizon and that moment of panic that can hit where you look around your home and scream , ‘Where do I start?’ One thing we always say at this stage is purge – you need to get rid of those non-essential items. Not only will this feel cathartic but may even reduce the cost of your move.

You also should measure pieces of furniture you are planning to take before your move, to make sure they will fit in your new home. There is no point taking things that are not going to fit; can you imagine how frustrating that will feel to arrive and find your sofa won’t even fit through the door?  Moving day will be stressful enough without adding the drama of furniture not fitting as well.

Labelling is also essential. This is another major stress when moving, not being able to find things because you’ve not put them in the right box or the box isn’t labelled.  If you are using a removal company, it is also important to talk to them before you start packing, they may have a system they may wish you to use as well as certain sizes of boxes.

Day of reckoning

It is the night before the big day and we know there will be so many things rushing through your mind.  In all the haste to pack everything for your home, have you managed to pack a bag for yourself?   Make sure you have important paperwork and ID, such as your passport – you just never know what you may need. Chargers for all those important electronics, essential medicine, your daily toiletries and also a change of clothes.  Remember there can be delays and so bear in mind that if you have everything labelled and organised, no matter what you need you will be able to find it.

And breathe

The day has arrived and things will no doubt take a lot longer than you envisaged. To lower your stress levels, giving your children and pets a day off is the best way to start. Do not put extra pressure on yourself, there is no rule book to say you have to unpack everything in a day; in fact, who cares if it takes you weeks or even if you have boxes in the garage months later!

If you have everything labelled, you will know what to unpack first and which boxes you can place to one side until another day. Being in a new home and trying to fit your old house into it can be disorienting, it will take time for you to fuse the old and new together to create the home you have been dreaming of.

If you would like more advice on moving home, contact our team at Deakin-White.

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Published: 29 June 2022

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On average, we stay in our homes for around 12 years yet Covid saw a surge in people wishing to make that change sooner, although this is slowing a little today. The decision to sell your home can be for a variety of reasons: it could be something that you have been considering for some time, a snap decision or one you have come to due to a change in circumstances. Often there can be financial and emotional factors behind such a move yet you may still be unsure whether to take the leap. How do you know if the time is right? Here are five common signs that it’s time to sell your home.

1. The current market

Before you make the decision on whether it is time to say goodbye to the home you love, it is  always good to understand the current market, especially if you’re thinking of a move due to finances.  According to the latest House Price Index from Rightmove, the average price of a property coming onto the market has risen by 0.3%, reaching another new record high for a fifth consecutive month.

2. Local influence

Locally buyers’ demand still remains high and the quality of those buyers is strong. Today’s buyers know they will need to make quick decisions should they find their ideal home and, therefore, they have to be in a robust position to proceed.

If you’re thinking of selling, you may have been following what is happening in the local market, which of your neighbours’ properties have sold, and, of course, making note of their asking prices.  This is always a good starting point, but if you truly wish to understand how your property will perform, you should always request an appraisal from an estate agent.

3. Feeling the pinch

There is no doubt that we are all feeling the pinch right now as the cost of living crisis continues to affect our household finances. Hopefully you are still able to make ends meet, but we have started to see several buyers who have made the decision to move to ease the burden. We know this will not be a decision you make lightly, but it is worth investigating if you want to reduce your mortgage and any other associated costs. Deciding to sell for this reason, we know, will be an extremely difficult one filled with a wealth of emotions, but we can reassure you at Deakin-White we will support you each and every step of the way.

4. The size isn’t right

As we move through life our family can grow, spread their wings, and come back together. Your needs for your home change as your home and work life continue to evolve. There may be times in your life when your home feels too big and others where you are crying out for more space. One of the main deciding factors for many homeowners looking to sell their home is when they know the size isn’t right. Therefore if you are looking to upsize, downsize or, what has now become increasingly popular, find a home that can bring generations together, if there is a lack or an overabundance of space, it may be time to find a better fit.

5. Too much work

Every home has its needs; you may have fallen in love with a property due to its extensive garden, been swept away by its period features, or been excited by the potential that is hidden within its walls. You may or may not have been aware of how much work you were taking on, but what once was a dream is slowing turning into a nightmare, as the reality of living in and maintaining or renovating such a home hits you.  Keeping hold of a property you have fallen out of love with can be a drain, emotionally as well as financially, as decisions can be rushed rather than thought through properly. Should your feelings start to change about your property, it may be wise to move before how you feel starts to show in the presentation of your home.

What does your gut say
There are never any guarantees when selling your home, but whatever the reason for your move you should always consider all aspects rather than making a hasty decision. If you would like an honest appraisal of your home and the opportunity to discuss the reality of selling in today’s {, give our team a call.

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Published: 13 May 2022

Hits: 870

Summer is quickly approaching, and we long for those fine days where we can enjoy spending time outdoors and enjoying our gardens again. Gardens have a huge role to play when selling your home. The space you have at the front of your home is responsible for that all important first impression. Your main garden is basically another room in your home: it is a place where you can relax, entertain and have fun. It, too, like many rooms in your house, has the potential to make or break a sale and can even add value. Therefore, as we start to spend more time in our outdoor spaces, how can your garden add value and help sell your home?

Adding value

Your garden should be considered as one of your home’s biggest assets and, therefore, needs to be loved and cared for, just like your kitchen or bathroom. In fact, a good garden can increase the value of your home by up to 77% according to research by The Greenhouse People. You don’t need a designer budget or luxurious finishes – there are a number of cost-effective changes you can make that will always benefit the sale of your home, and make buyers extremely happy.

Often it is the small changes that can have the biggest impact. Mowing the lawn so it is looking neat and tidy is a great place to start, unless you are taking part in No Mow May. Launched by the nature charity Plantlife, No Mow May seeks to keep gardens wild, allowing wild plants to thrive and helping to provide nectar for insects. If the rest of your garden is looking pristine, it can be easy to explain why your lawn may be looking more unkept without it deflecting from what your garden has to offer.

When you are looking to decorate a room, you may have thoughtfully considered colours, textures, and zoning of furniture. The same principles should be used when you are looking to design your garden: have distinct areas, use different materials to add texture, and think about your planting for adding colour. Don’t forget those finishing touches such as cushions, lanterns and throws to bring your outside ‘room’ to life.

Like all rooms, you need to have some kind of storage, whether you add a shed in a tucked-away part of the garden, or you use a garage or some other outbuilding. You want somewhere you can place all your gardening tools as well as things like BBQ, summer furniture, bikes, outdoor cushions and other bits and pieces.

Another priority for your garden, and something which is often high on the list of priorities for buyers, is privacy as well as security. There are always things you can do to minimise your garden being overlooked, whether that is through clever planting, bamboo screens or trellis with climbers. Security is also a concern; therefore ensure your fencing and gates are in great condition, and you have lights where needed too.

Be careful you don’t devalue

No matter how much you care for your garden, there could be an enemy within that will not only cause damage but could risk devaluing your home by around 15% according to surveyor experts at Stokemont.com. The most common ‘damaging’ plants to your home’s value include Japanese knotweed. This invasive plant is known for its devasting ability to cause damage wherever it spreads. Did you know its roots can even reach 20 metres underground, making it extraordinarily difficult to get rid of. This is why Japanese knotweed is listed as a defect to the property by RICS Homebuyer Reports. 

Other invasive and damaging plants include giant hogweed and English ivy, due to their fast-growing root systems which can spread out to 40 metres, popular trees such as willow and oak can be dangerous if grown close to property.

Make your garden work for you

There is no doubt, summer buyers will have a strong focus on the outside space your home provides, so don’t miss the opportunity to make your garden work for you. It provides an extra room to your house, as well as having the potential to add value. If you are curious how much your garden upgrades have added value to your home, contact our team at Deakin-White.

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Published: 29 April 2022

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Home staging is a powerful tool when it comes to selling your home; the right staging can work miracles in most cases. Simply put, home staging is the term which describes preparing your home or ‘setting the stage’ for a potential buyer. This involves decluttering, organising, redecorating, cleaning, rearranging furniture and other strategies to make your home as appealing as possible.  Staging is not designed to hide issues with your home, instead you should resolve these before you place your home on the market. With this in mind, here are some problems that home staging can’t solve when selling your home.

The big two

Adding some carefully positioned plants and flowers can not hide the obvious when it comes to outdated or tired kitchens and bathrooms. These are two rooms that can make or break a sale and, therefore, you need to ensure that you have done what is required to bring them up to standard. Broken doors or shelves withing kitchen cabinets are not only a turn-off but can ring alarms about the condition of the rest of the property. New grouting and a fresh lick of paint can make a huge difference, and should your kitchen doors need some love, could painting or re-spraying be a solution?  One thing is for sure, you need to work harder in these rooms to make other areas of your home shine.

Outdated and odd features

All homes, especially older ones, can charm buyers with their character and quirkiness, but should this uniqueness be odd or outdated it will have the opposite affect.  Home staging won’t distract buyers from the weird and wonderful, in fact it will focus their attention completely and away from the property as a whole and could also impact the potential value of your home as well. Therefore, if you have neglected to update or remove such features we would certainly recommend that you consider undertaking the work before you take the step of inviting estate agents round to value your home.

Rushed makeover

You may have been working hard to get your home ready for sale but decided that you don’t need to decorate. Adding the most stylish and exquisite pieces to a room won’t disguise a tired paint job, and buyers will notice. But in the haste to get your property on the market your paint job may not be to a professional standard, and this will stand out a mile. If you are not up to the task then investing in a decorator will take away the stress and also leave your home looking like Britain’s Next Top Show Home.

Damaged flooring

Rugs are often used in home staging to define spaces within a room; what they are not designed for is to hide damage or other floor issues. Some flooring problems can be felt underfoot when walking across the area, and hiding them with a rug will look deceitful, which is the last thing that you want when selling your home. Take a look at your carpets as well – have they seen better days? If so, it could be worthwhile replacing them or at least having them steam cleaned so they are looking the best they can be for potential buyers.

No hiding smells

Your home could look immaculate, be beautifully staged and be the dream that buyers are seeking, but if there are unwanted odours, the image that you have created will be shattered into pieces. If you are a smoker or have pets, having rugs, carpets and furniture cleaned will help to remove those lingering smells which potential buyers will notice immediately. Also, be wary of using plug-ins, air fresheners or scented candles – these can have very strong and dominant fragrances which can overpower a room. Using such strong scents can also start buyers wondering if you are trying to hide other smells which are lurking underneath.

Do the work

If you wish to get the best price for your property, you need to put in the work before you look to place your house on the market. Home staging is there to enhance your home’s natural beauty, not to be used as a tool to hide its issues. It is important that you look at your home through critical eyes, only then can you see its flaws just as a potential buyer will do on a viewing.

If you would like advice on how best to approach getting your home ready for sale, call our sales team.