Going On Holiday? 5 Tips To Keep Your Home ‘Viewing Ready’ While You Are Away
Selling your home can be stressful, so it isn’t surprising that you can’t wait to get away for a while. However, you don’t want to miss out on a potential sale while you’re enjoying a well deserved break. Read below our top tips.
Don’t Miss Out On A Sale While You’re Enjoying A Break!
Selling your home can be stressful, so it isn’t surprising that you can’t wait to get away for a while. However, you don’t want to miss out on a potential sale while you’re enjoying a well deserved break. With this in mind, the team at Perry Bishop has developed five tips to ensure your home is viewing-ready, even when you’re not at home.
1. Keep The Air Fresh
Although fresh flowers smell and look wonderful, it’s unlikely that they’ll survive until you return from holiday. If you’re going away for longer than a few days, it’s best to forgo the flowers and opt for other ways of keeping the air fresh for your prospective buyers instead.
Keep the windows locked in the ventilation position so that natural airflow can come through every day, and strategically place a couple of reed diffusers to exude a floral fragrance into your rooms. Ensure that the fridge, fruit bowl, and vegetable rack have all been cleared and cleaned before you set off on your holiday and don’t forget to put out the rubbish before you leave. Buyers will always remember how a property smells, so give them positive memories with delightfully fragranced air!
2. Sort Out Your Keys And Locks
One of the best things about using a trusted estate agent is that we will show prospective buyers around your home even if you’re away, so you won’t miss out on a potential offer. However, to do this, we need a full set of keys for the front door, access instructions to allow us to get into any sheds, garages, cabins, and the garden and instructions to set and deactivate the alarm.
3. First Impressions Count
Although you’re away from home, your viewers want to feel as if they’re being warmly welcomed to your property, so creating the right first impression couldn’t be more important. Keep the blinds, internal doors, and curtains open to ensure that light can flow through the rooms, and ask your estate agent to pick any post up when they visit the property and put it in a pre-arranged location so it won’t pile up in between viewings.
If you have window boxes, hanging baskets, or potted plants, arrange for somebody to water them while you’re away so that they remain in bloom, and if you have small pets at home such as a cat, rabbits, even a goldfish, share the cleaning and feeding times with the estate agent so there won’t be any clashes with viewings.
4. Make Sure Everything Is Tidy Before You Leave
It may sound obvious to ensure everything is tidy before you leave home, but if you’re in a rush, it can be easy to overlook the mess. Plan ahead to ensure your home looks viewing-ready before setting off.
Leave your bathroom and kitchen clean with essentials like toothpaste, dishcloths, toilet brushes and washing-up liquid hidden out of view. Plump up the cushions and sofas, vacuum the floors, and clear any surfaces. Ensure beds are made and that nightstands and dressing tables are tidy. Make sure that any laundry is hidden in a basket and put children’s toys away in crates or a cupboard so that the floor spaces are clear. If you have garden furniture, keep it set up, but make sure that any non-waterproof seat covers and cushions are stored away.
A bonus of setting your home up for viewings before going on holiday is that, not only will you impress your prospective buyers, but you’ll also be returning to a beautiful, clean and tidy house!
5. Keep The Channels Of Communication Open
Although we won’t bother you unnecessarily while you’re on holiday, it’s still important that we can reach you if we have offers to submit or questions to ask. Let us know the best ways of contacting you, whether by email, WhatsApp, phone, or text, and make sure we know the time zone that you’ll be in so we’ll know when to call, and when to expect an answer.
As experts in the property market, our experieced team are always here to help you secure a sale, even if you aren’t in the country! So get in touch with us today.