How To .....PREPARE YOUR HOME FOR SALE

Even before you invite the estate agents into your home, you should consider the following points to prepare your property for sale.

A better presented home

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great photos

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improved marketing material

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increased buyer interest

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greater opportunity to sell.

Follow these top tips now to help you achieve a quick sale at the best possible market price:

1. Know your buyer

As Ann Maurice, presenter of House Doctor on Channel 5, was reported to say "buyers buy with their emotions, not with their heads".

In the current buyer's market, your buyer not only wants the 5 bedrooms with en-suite plus off-street parking, but they also want your lifestyle to live up to their expectations. They’re buying the dream.

The more information you have about your potential buyer, the more able you are to
style your property to match their criteria.

For example:
a retired couple in a property whose buyers are young professionals will have decorated the property in a style and taste that is not of the same generation and, therefore, less appealing to the buyer no matter how clean and tidy it is. In this situation, quite often, just a lick of paint is required to neutralise a room's backdrop.


2. Give each room a clear identity

A buyer is often confused by poor use of space, ie: when it is unclear to them what the
purpose is for a particular room.

Each room needs a strong identity that shows, through furniture placement and accessories, what the purpose is for that space.

We all have that junk room or dumping ground but when you’re selling your home this needs to be turned into a useful space such as an office or children’s bedroom.


3. Keep it real

Style any accessories, such as cushions and bedding, in a way that suits the property.

For example,
styling your home like a show house is not suitable to a country cottage.

The key is to have sufficient accessories to add interest and character in your property, after all it is a lived in home you’re selling. However it is a fine balance because having too many items will detract from the space in each room or the character of the property.


4. Entice buyers in

Quite often designers talk about ‘kerb appeal’ and this just means enticing the buyers through the door by presenting the front of your property in an attractive way.

For example:
make sure any rubbish bins are out of sight, address any peeling woodwork with a lick of paint, ensure all hedges are neatly trimmed and check all outside lights are working correctly by replacing any faulty or broken bulbs.

All of these simple touches show the buyer that you care about your home and it’s a worthwhile place to live.


5. Space Sells

If your home is full to bursting then this sends a message to the buyer that there is no room for them to move in. It is quite often a deal breaker, especially in this current economic market.

In preparation for your move, it’s a great idea to sort through and clear out any unwanted items.
As you’re clearing out the items, it’s also a good idea to put the duster around and give your home a spring clean. Your home should sparkle and shine prior to any viewing.

It’s like going to a hotel where you know there have been hundreds of people there before you but you don’t want to be reminded of it. Your home should be clean and tidy to maximise the space and light in each room.


All of these tips will help you maximise the property for sale by showcasing the space and usability of each room. Once the space is correctly defined you then add all of the finishing touches to give the property personality without looking cluttered.

Whenever we style your property for sale, we always take into consideration any furniture or accessories that are already available in your home. We then work with these as a basis to create a design that appeals to your target buyer.

For anyone selling an empty property, we are able to either hire or buy furniture and accessories to create a wonderful home that's a delight to market.

Why not contact one of our interior designers today for a personal consultation of your individual requirements:

GWENDOLINE
CREATIVE INTERIOR DESIGNER

Tel: 07841 519802
Website: www.ga-interiors.co.uk
E-Mail: gwendoline@ga-interiors.co.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ga_interiors

NEWSLETTER 3Q08

THE ISSUE

Christina Georgalla and Gwendoline Alderton, of GA Interiors (http://www.ga-interiors.co.uk/), are two highly motivated professional experts in the property arena today. Their combined strengths, ie: Christina’s show-home flare and Gwendoline’s interior design expertise, make GA Interiors a truly rounded company that’s able to offer its residential and corporate clients total piece of mind and professionalism.

Not only has their work been recognised in national house magazines this year, but also it’s now being aired on national television. You can read more about this below.

You’ll also find below further information on the s and their work but, more importantly, you’ll can pick up gems of information on the current economic climate and interior design trends.

Enjoy,
Gwendoline & Christina

(GA INTERIORS)

CHRISTINA GEORGALLA

Christina Georgalla trained with celebrity House Dr, Ann Maurice and represented the network as a consultant in the South-West. More recently, she has moved to the Hertfordshire area, to be near her family, after great success styling Show-homes in the Bristol area.

She has worked with many household names in the world of development and is already making a mark in and around the London area.

Her commercial experience also includes Laura Ashley, whereby she has styled and designed homes to die for.

Other unique projects have ranged from designing city centre restaurants and bars and, more recently, a boutique hotel in the Hertford area that is a project due to start next year…so watch this space.

Her dedication to the world of interiors has also given rise to specialist seminars, for Bristol City College and Brislington College, to promote the creative industry with aspiring designers in the making. More recently, she will be working with Oaklands College in St. Albans and Borehamwood to create a course suitable for people trying to break into the industry.

GWENDOLINE ALDERTON

Gwendoline Alderton is a professionally qualified Interior Designer as well as being trained by the celebrity TV ‘House Doctor’, Ann Maurice (http://www.housedoctor.co.uk/).

She represents Ann, as a consultant, at ‘House Doctor’ events such as the Ideal Home Show and, more recently, at a credit crunch event for a local estate agent.

Her work is recognised and published in national house magazines Real Homes (Jan08) and House Beautiful (Feb08). A recent makeover of a property for sale was a great success and is due to be aired soon on national television … see below for the exciting details.

Previous commercial experience includes styling for Marks & Spencer where Gwendoline perfected the art of visual merchandising. This is obvious in her work that is always gorgeous and stylish as well as being practical and impactive.



With 16 years project management experience under her belt, Gwendoline is no stranger to completing projects on time and to budget, especially in the current economic climate.

SEE OUR WORK ON TV - NO PLACE LIKE HOME

In October 2008 an estate agent, based in Bishop's Stortford, approached GA Interiors to makeover their client’s 7-bed ‘Old Telephone Exchange’ home for sale.



This was a great success and both the homeowner and estate agent were mightily impressed with the cost effective but stunning changes.



When it went on the market, the property caused a stir with buyers whom showed much interest and have been back for second viewing.



On top of this, the property is scheduled to be aired on ITV1 "No Place Like Home" early 2009.



The TV programme was filming an ex-patriot couple viewing homes within the local area. This property was highly recommended by the estate agent after its successful makeover.



The ex-pat couple certainly enjoyed the home as they came back for a second viewing. It will be interesting for us to review their opinions of GA Interiors’ styling as they did ask the homeowner if she had an interior designer!



Though neither Christina nor Gwendoline are on the television themselves, it’s still very exciting to see their work being aired on national television.



For further details on this property for sale, in a beautiful english village, please contact Mullucks Wells at Bishop's Stortford (http://www.mullucks.co.uk/)






AUTUMN TRENDS FOR 2008




Autumn sees the return of femininity in all of its lovely shades and tones, from soft baby doll pink through to berry red and sumptuous deep plumb. It’s time and these very nurturing colours will help us through the current economic downturn.

For one of the bedrooms in the ‘Old Telephone Exchange’, GA Interiors took their inspiration for the guest suite from this season’s colours and selected sugar pink to compliment the already black and white bathroom.

Using an existing black and white picture of Marilyn Monroe, they expanded on the ‘Hollywood ’ style to create a truly gorgeous and sumptuous suite of rooms.

As well as combining this season’s colour with the classic black and white, you could also think about mixing them with grey for a great contemporary look or, chocolate for a more neutral colour scheme.




DEVELOPERS' DILEMA









Here’s an Americanism for you: VIEWHOME.




At the moment many developers are unsure how much or, more precisely, how little to style a property for sale.




For many months, in the current economic downturn, properties have not been selling ‘off plan’ so some form of showhome has been required to create an interest in the buyers.



The new Americanism is, as some of you may expect, where the property is styled somewhere in the middle between bare bones (just carpets and curtains) and full blown show flat (now far too costly and risky an option for many developers).



From an interior design point of view, it’s where we use our expertise and skills to create areas of interest in the property using very few products, eg: maybe a single chair in a room dressed with an open book or cushions on the floor to denote a seating area.



The pockets of interest, or vignettes, give the buyer a very loose indication of colour and perspective. More importantly, they take away the stark element from many unfurnished new properties.



Such minimal styling can trigger a buyer’s interest and desire in a property. If carried our professionally, it can work extremely well and obviously suits a restricted budget.




PREPARE FOR THE NEW YEAR

We trust that we’ve filled you with lots of ideas and inspiration for the next couple of months.



Our aim is to bring you frequent suggestions and hot tips to help your business survive, and hopefully grow, in this current economic climate.


As well as cementing new links with estate agents and developers over the coming months, GA Interiors will also be focusing on expanding into Hotel styling. Our high-end glamorous and sumptuous styling enables us to move easily into this market sector where the emphasis is on luxury and pleasure.

We hope that the Christmas season will bring you both pleasure and prosperity and, as always, we’re keen to forge new relationships and also hear your own personal viewpoint on the economic situation.



Gwendoline & Christina


GA INTERIORS


(DECLUTTERED - DESIGNED - DELIGHTED)

Top Tips To Help Sell Your Property

We were approached by a local estate agent, Abbey Estates, to write an article for their corporate blog.

http://www.abbeyestates.co.uk

The article was entitled "Top Tips To Help Sell Your Property" and focused on pulling together all of our knowledge and research to present our top 5 tips in the current economic climate:

1) Know your buyer - buyers want 'the dream' as well as the house

2) Give each room a clear identity - sort out that junk room

3) Keep it real - style your home to look homely

4) Entice buyers in - make sure any outside space looks great

5) Space sells - clear out what you don't need or don't want

If you'd like to read more about each top tip then just follow this link to Abbey Estates' blog:

http://www.abbeyestates.co.uk