House prices have dropped for the last three months in a row in the UK as continued economic turmoil affects sales activity.
As autumn sets in there is traditionally less house buying and selling and more attention focused on refurbishing or redecorating before Christmas.
Whatever the economic climate and the time of year, however, there are often still reasons why people have to move and need to sell their existing home.
Whether the object is to smarten up the house before the winter sets in or because an owner wants to maximise its sales potential there are a number of tips the experts regularly give for improving the look of a house.
In a depressed market sellers need to do everything they can to maximise their home's potential.
The experts have a number of different tips for how to do it. The tips include making sure the outside is clean, well maintained and welcoming so that a potential buyer gets a good first impression.
If you have mixed feelings about selling a place you have been happy in the process of preparing it for sale will help to look at your house as a commodity for sale, to manage the emotional bond with your house and to focus on the new life you'll create when you move.
The first key to smartening up the inside of a house is to do a thorough clean from toop to bottom then do your utmost to keep it that way. It may seem intrusive, but, serious buyers will not hesitate to look into cupboards.
So, following a thorough clean, check all cupboards and other storage areas. If they are crammed full consider trimming back on the contents. Ideally storage areas and cupboards should not be more than 75% full. If it looks as if there is not enough storage for you, they'll assume there isn't enough for them.
Next on the list is to complete any routine maintenance and unfinished DIY jobs so that the house looks well cared for. It might be worth using a professional to put a final touch to any jobs to make sure they are done properly.
A declutter is also a must if you are hoping for a quick sale. Experienced agents say the less clutter and family possessions to be seen the more likely a buyer is to be able to imagine themselves living there.
They advise putting all family photos, holiday souvenirs, trophies & certificates, collectible items and children's artwork into storage.
Differences in personal taste, particularly with colour, can affect a sale. It is fairly cheap to paint walls a neutral colour, or even to change the colour of only those walls that are a strong shade that other people may not like.
Whether the purpose of all this activity is to sell the house or just make it more livable and welcoming to friends and family a self-storage facility will help. Just organising the clutter and packing it away somewhere safe, and perhaps putting the furniture in store for a short time while decorating, will help give you a fresh perspective and room to move.
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WriterAli Withers discovers that there are plenty of tips for making a house more appealing to sell, including moving clutter out into self-storage, even at a time of year like autumn in the UK when activity in the housing market tends to die down.
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