Moving house?

There is something indefinable about spring. Whether it is the scent of new flowers wafting across the land or the first touch of the sun’s rays warning our bones, we respond to some primeval instinct calling us to migrate to new pastures. As the last traces of woolly mammoth died out in Britain some 14,000 years ago we can no longer follow the herds freely across the landscape, so we do the next best thing and decide to move house.

It is true that more houses and flats are put on the market in the UK in spring than at any other time of year. Forecasts for this spring are mixed with some commentators expecting a boom following the stamp duty extension in the recent budget whilst others are expecting little movement until after the election. Either way, there will be a fair number of houses placed on the market and hopeful vendors looking for a quick sale so that they can move in the summer holidays.

Some houses sell themselves by virtue of their location but others need a small helping hand to attract that buyer. Our top tip is that first impressions count. Walk along the road to your home and look at the outside as if you were seeing it for the first time. Could the garden do with a quick tidy up, is the paint around the windows chipped and could the windows do with a clean? A quick rush round with lawnmower, a lick of paint and a good window clean will leave the front of your house looking clean and inviting.

Now let’s step in the front door. What do we smell? The standard advice of putting a pot of coffee on and baking bread when expecting viewers has been around for over a quarter of a century and is a trick that most people know. However, you don’t want to greet your viewers with wafts of last night’s cabbage water, cigarettes or uncleaned cat litter trays. A simple trick is to start by deep cleaning your carpets and steam cleaning your curtains. That will get rid of ancient odours. Follow this up with placing small vases of flowers in key rooms. Make sure the flowers are fresh and don’t use very strongly scented ones such as lilies as some people are allergic to their scent and others will wonder what smell you have to hide.

Tip number three is not to go overboard on decorating. Your buyers will want to stamp their own style on the home and spending money on new kitchen or bathroom units will not add value. If skirting boards and doors look scuffed then clean them down, or freshen them up with a quick lick of paint. If you do need to redecorate, use simple neutral colours that give the rooms a light and airy feel.

Our final tip is to tidy up and keep the house clean. The less there is in a room, the bigger it feels so start your house move early by boxing up clutter and storing it out of sight. Then keep the house clean and you should be rewarded by a quick sale. Lastly, don’t forget to book your removal firm as soon as you have a date. Others are also on the move, responding to the call of the spring and the good removal firms get booked up fast. Happy house hunting.