Top Tips for Selling an Empty Property

Most estate agents will tell you that to secure a good property sale, it’s best to market a home fully furnished. But to quote the Rolling Stones, ‘You can’t always get what you want.’

Whether it be due to a death in the family or a sudden change in circumstances, sellers sometimes find themselves with an empty property to market.

When this happens, what’s the best strategy?

Let’s Think About Visuals
 
Empty homes tend to stick around because we humans are visual creatures. We find it easier to imagine ourselves living in a property that looks ‘lived in.’ Photographs of empty rooms don’t tell a story.

Buyers also struggle to judge the size of a room without everyday items, such as sofas, beds, even children’s toys to provide a visual perspective.

Bearing this in mind, if you’re selling an empty property here’s a few tips on what you could do.

Create a Blank Canvas

Invest time into presenting the property as a blank canvas onto which a buyer can quickly stamp their own personal touch.

• Remove rubbish from inside and outside and give everything a good clean. (Empty doesn’t have to mean dirty.)
• Fill holes in the walls and paint them in a neutral colour. Nowadays, white is preferred to magnolia.
• Clean the carpets or if they’re beyond saving pull them up and tidy up the floorboards.
• Cut back any overgrown bushes or grass in the garden.

To Stage Or Not to Stage

Once you’ve got the bare bones of your home shipshape, consider whether to ‘stage’ the property.
You could go big and rent furniture and furnishings from a professional staging company. While this will require a financial outlay, if your property is in a high-value area, it’s a move that could make you money in the long run.

If this isn’t a realistic option, you could still bring in some furniture, borrowed or nabbed from your own home to help buyers understand the layout. Think beds in the bedrooms, a table and chairs in the kitchen and a sofa in the living room. It’s a kind of ‘staging lite’ approach that can give a property an extra push.

You could even attempt a cardboard box bed. Map out a double bed area, fill with boxes and then dress it with bedding and pillows. Just remember it’s for ‘show’ not sitting and definitely not for sleeping.

A Final Word About Security

Whatever you decide to do, prioritise security. Check the locks, windows and make regular visits to the property to remove any tell-tale signs that it’s empty. Install lamps that operate on a timer, so that the lights go on at night.

For more advice on marketing your property, contact Butler Residential, we would love to work with you and your home.

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Thanks for reading, Barry & Laura