A Quick Sale Presentation Tip #1

Clear the clutter!

To create a calm well-ordered room, start with a good clear out.

Pack away everything that is unessential to the function of a living room such as:

• Magazines
• Children's toys
• Collections
• Trophies
• Souvenirs
• Family photos

A Quick Sale Presentation Tip #2

Neutralise the walls!

Heavily patterned wallpaper and bold colours tend to make rooms feel smaller than they really are.

If you redecorate in a trusted neutral tone, you'll immediately improve your properties saleability.

A Quick Sale Presentation Tip #3

Take a good look at the floor!

To sell property fast everything needs to be look and smell fresh. If you smoke or own pets, your carpet will carry odours that buyers find off-putting. To remedy this you can either:

1. Shampoo the carpet yourself.
2. Call in professional cleaners.

The living room carpet takes a real beating. If yours has worn patches, replace it. Good choices of flooring are:

• Natural hardwearing sea grass, coir or sisal.
• Laminated wood flooring.

But before you spend money, lift your carpet and take a look.

You never know what lies beneath. You may get lucky and find decent floorboard.

If you do, don't hesitate to sand, stain and put them on show.

A Quick Sale Presentation Tip #4

The wrong furniture can devalue your property!

Your choice of furniture will influence buyers' impressions of you and your property.

The right furniture tells buyers that your property is loved and therefore desirable!

Most living room furniture suffers from 1 of 3 problems:

1. There's too much of it.
2. It's knackered and old.
3. It's out of scale with the room (comfortable but out of scale).

Step 1 - If your living room feels cramped, make it bigger -Take out some furniture!

All you need in average sized living rooms (120 - 160sqft) is:

• 2 x 2/3 person sofa
• 2 x side tables
• 1 x coffee table

Any more than this is just taking up valuable space so be ruthless and take out as much as possible.

Free standing shelves, large cabinets & extra chairs - They can all go!

Step 2 - If your upholstered furniture looks as if it's seen better days there are 4 things you can try:

1. Have it professionally steam cleaned.
2. Cover with a neutral coloured throw.
3. Make slipcovers (not easy unless you're a dab hand with a sewing machine).
4. Get rid of it and hire some new pieces.

Step 3 - Replace any "over-sized" pieces of furniture.

Big furniture is comfortable but makes a room feel smaller than it should.

Space is more important than comfort and hiring slimmer furniture while you sell is a good move if you're short on space.

If your furniture is outdated, hiring is also a cost-effective way to get a look that appeals to buyers. It will increase you chances of a quick sale.

A Quick Sale Presentation Tip #5

Don't let your curtains let you down!

Curtains can let down the presentation of a room in a couple of ways:

1. Heavy, dark curtains dominate a room making it feel smaller and darker that it need to.
2. Curtains that don't compliment the colour scheme of a room ruin the feeling of harmony buyers are looking for.

To maximize the feeling of space, light & harmony, change heavy curtains for either:

• Modern slatted blinds
• Roman blinds
• Neutral coloured curtains made from a light material.

A Quick Sale Presentation Tip #6

Create a focal point (just don't let it be your TV)!

Buyers prefer living rooms that aren't dominated by the television set.

If all your seating faces toward a TV, a simple change around will make a big improvement.

Rearrange your sofas so they face each other (across a coffee table if you have one). This gives the impression that conversation is the main activity in your living room.

If there isn't enough space for the "face to face" arrangement, an "L-shape" is also good.

Your TV can then go discreetly into a corner.

Now turn your attention to giving the room a focal point that will help your sale.

As you enter your living room (thinking about it, this goes for every room in your house) ask yourself:

• What's the first thing you notice?
• What are your eyes drawn to?
• What's the "main attraction" of the room?

These are the focal points!

They need to be attractive to make a "positive impact" on buyers.

Anything catching your eye that's not attractive - REMOVE IT!

Positive focal points can be architectural such as:

• Open fireplaces in period properties.
• A view onto gardens.

Just let these things speak for themselves. Don't close the curtains on a great view. Don't clutter-up the mantelpiece over a handsome fireplace.

If there isn't anything architecturally special going on in your room, it's what you add to the room that's important.

The following make excellent focal points for a living room:

• A smart piece of furniture
• Fresh flowers in an elegant vase
• An engaging piece of artwork
• A well-placed mirror
• A stylish arrangement of interesting objects

A Quick Sale Presentation Tip #7

Adding final touches!

If you've followed the advice so far you should now have a room that's:

• Clean
• Neutral in colour
• Clutter-free
• Spacious

And encourages:

• Conversation
• Reading
• Relaxation

All that's left now is to add some accessories to give the room a little personality. Start with:

• A mirror over the mantle (candles or a vase filled with fresh flowers are also good).
• Replace outdated lampshades with lighter, more contemporary ones.

Then add accent colour to the room with:

• Cushions
• Throws
• A rug
• Vases
• Prints or art work (hung sparingly)

Finally add some mood lighting. If you only have a pendant light in your living room consider:

• Wall-mounted or freestanding up lighters to balance the light from the ceiling.
• Table lamps for a softer mood.
• Spots to highlight and accent objects or artwork.
• Creating a reading corner by placing directional task lighting next to a chair.

A Quick Sale Presentation - Conclusions

With lifestyle rooms you're trying to show buyers something aspirational.

You're setting a stage for them to project their own image of a "better life" onto.

If buyers think you live a good life in your house, they'll think a good life awaits them there too! This is key if you are to achieve a quick sale.

If you need further guidance (over and above the information you'll find on this website), the following books are the best available:

Design Books:

There are of course tons of books out there to gain added inspiration from. Most are a bit of a let down.

They may have beautiful photos but tend to lack any really useful instruction. There are two exceptions:

If you need "design inspiration" you'll find heaps of it in either or these.

They are immediately useful - basically being instruction manuals on how to get more pleasure from your home. The information and ideas they contain will certainly help to sell your house quickly.

DIY Instruction Manual:

Collins, Readers Digest, Harry Greene - these are all solid DIY books but none come close to:

Home Staging:

In terms of specific books on home staging, the best we've ever come across is written (unfortunately) for the American market.

Thankfully the information is just as effective over here:

This is the latest book by Barb Schwartz (the undisputed queen of home staging for over 35 years). It is pretty much the bible of home staging techniques.

The only UK based book worth anything is:

It's not as detailed as Barb Schwartz's book but it still shows you many ways to increase your chances of achieving a quick sale, for maximum profit.

Quality Boxes Used By the Removals Industry:

Clearing & de-cluttering you house becomes so much easier when you have the right tools.

Trying to find sturdy cardboard boxes that stack & keep your valuable belonging safe is harder than you may first think.

www.helpineedboxes.co.uk is an award winning company started by Ex-Removals professionals.. they just sell boxes.

Property Staging Consultants

Most of us cannot see the imperfections in our own home and may not be sure which changes will meet market expectations.

To get the answers it’s possible to employ the services of a professional home staging expert who will give objective and impartial advice on changes to add wow factor and improve buyer appeal.

It’s this wow factor, mainly created by low cost cosmetic changes, which gives property its best chance of enticing buyers and achieving the ceiling price.

That is, the maximum selling price – which can be many thousands of pounds different from the price a buyer is willing to pay due to their perceived value.

House Wow Ltd offer UK wide Property Staging services with options for a written report after viewing property images, hands on support to declutter, clean and present the property for maximum selling price and a faster sale.

www.housewow.co.uk the best house staging consultants in the business.