My house is finally on the market. Yeah!!!
The dream of setting up the holistic centre in Spain has come a step closer. Though tough, it has been quite a liberating experience shedding my attachment to my home, (but more on that in a future blog).
I was really surprised that, contrary to popular opinion, the estate agents advised me against sprucing up my house ready for the sale. But I had watched Ann Maurice in House Doctor far too many times to listen to them and went ahead with the work anyway.
And I’m so glad I did. Apart from being able to show prospective buyers around with pride, I’m absolutely positive it makes sound financial sense. In fact a friend, who has just put her house on the market and who had been given the same advice, told me her very pertinent story....
She had her house valued, then, against the advice of the estate agents, she painted, decorated and removed all traces of her own, very personal, taste from the property. Five months later she had it valued again, before putting it on the market. The price had gone up by £100,000! Now I know prices are rising – but there is no way that that staggering increase was wholly down to the rise in house prices.
Perhaps the estate agents were just keen to sign us up and thought any delay might result in us going with the opposition, or maybe they really thought it wouldn’t make any real difference to the sale or the price (in which case, perhaps they are in the wrong business). Either way, they were clearly wrong in my friend’s case (and hopefully in mine).
So, keep watching those programmes and listen to Ann Maurice – she knows what she’s talking about. Everything that needed fixing has been fixed - no red flags for buyers when they visit my house!!!
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