[DBMarcos99]

Just read an article about a new firm that offers this service in Catalunya. So far as I can see it’s doing a make-over on a property (similar to house styling in House Doctor) that makes it far more likely to sell, and at a greater price.
Has anyone used such a service? We may have to do so if our Midlands house continues to languish on the market..

http://www.expansion.com/2013/05/13/emprendedores-empleo/emprendimiento/1368457161.html

[angie]

You can’t beat home-staging and lots of people can’t seem to do it themselves, I’m sure many more homes anywhere whether in UK or Spain would sell quicker, or for better money if properly presented. One woman we know managed to sell her smaller than her neighbours’ homes in Murcia even though she didn’t have a pool as her neighbours did, but she sold for slightly more than they were on the market after taking advice on de-cluttering and sprucing up. To Scandinavians.

When we sell in the UK, we now try and present properly, so in our last 3 homes people have asked if pictures, lights, rugs even furniture etc could be included, they sometimes seem to look more at things we’ve got rather than the house itself. Also, two homes were sold to first and only viewers taken off the market almost immediately once offer was in. However, location and view is still very important 🙄

[DBMarcos99]

Good points Angie, and yes many of us don’t know the tricks… Someone also recommended me this article. http://www.neverpaintagain.co.uk/blog/five-top-tips-to-sell-your-house-quickly/

[angie]

It’s also a fact that a really well kept garden with plenty of flowering plants/shrubs, well tended borders, regular mowing, can add as much as £50k to a fairly average home’s valuation in the UK. Again, with new homes, we go out and buy maybe only £3-£500 of plants as soon as we move in, keep watering/fertilising them, and in year 2 our gardens are so much more advanced than neighbours, it really does work to get viewers in 😉

A woman in Fulham used to move every 18 months or so, she had a whole interior set of furniture and effects that she moved from apartment/house to apartment/house, once she’d decorated had a new kitchen/bathrooms fitted, she could make as much as £160k profit which is not bad for 18 months work. Lots of savvy people now do this, quite legal, too, and free of CGT in the UK 😛

[Anonymous]

They should contact the estate Agents/idealista, who seem to be very keen on having photos of the toilet, very popular are the avacado bidets.

Parking areas, House cluttered with everything under the sun, not advising the M2, floor level.

[katy]

Shakeel, you are correct 😆 One house we viewed had the previous nights cooking and mess all over. Plus 2 teenagers still in bed at 1pm. She told us we could”peep” around the door. At that stage I said we wouldn’t bother as it wasn’t what we were looking for 🙁

Presentation and taste is everything. I can see past the tat for potential but lots can’t. One of the reasons we bought this house was that it had just had 2 state of the art bathrooms installed and Kitchen, we didn’t want the bother of a lot of work.

We haven’t had problems selling. Sold 1 house in Spain and the buyer said “will you include the lounge curtains if we offer he full asking price”…€300 euro well spent. 😆 A Spaniard at out golf club invested in a plot at Zagaleta, built a lovely house to sell. His taste was so bad inside, choice of tiles, fittings etc I don’t think he will ever sell it!

Beware of the never paint again. There were a few operators on the CDS years ago as franchisees, with disastrous results. Spanish houses needs paint that breathes. Cost some a fortune to have it taken off when it all started to peel. Seen a lot complaining of forums too.

[angie]

katy, there’s plenty of painted render which soon deteriorates in Spain and elsewhere even in the UK as you know, apartment blocks have to be re-painted it seems every 4-6 years, however in the UK we’ve found a good thermal render called Weber which is sprayed on to wire mesh fixed to walls.

We chose this for our new UK house 2 years ago, I think it’s German or Belgian, so far it’s been brilliant, it’s available in different life-long shades, expensive, but a long guarantee saying the colour chosen is within the render for life. Only 2 years I know, but no sign of cracking (I believe it flexes) no sign of marks on it, and if so, for example bird poo, we’re told, power wash it off. I don’t work for them, but so far we are very pleased with it.

I can’t see apartment blocks using it as would be too expensive, but individual homes, yes, it looks good on ground floors with a hung tile top elevation. 😉

[Anonymous]

Home staging is a good investment for vendors, in my opinion. Pictures of most resale properties (not to mention bank repos) can be quite off-putting without it.

There is another thread on this topic, with pics:
viewtopic.php?style=5&f=2&t=6186&start=15

[Anonymous]

@Katy. The old saying ” there is no accounting for taste “. While I do not consider myself as the Guru on taste. I would be struggling to decorate a place in La Zagletta.

[Author]

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