Top tips for selling this Spring!

View this email in your browser

TOP TIPS FOR SELLING THIS SPRING!

It's Spring! Peak selling season for residential property. A favourite time for vendors to sell with their gardens blooming and Christmas approaching, but can also mean more competition. What can you do to make your home stand out amongst the new listings flooding the spring time real estate market?
Here are our top tips to get your property noticed and sold!

1. FIRST IMPRESSIONS AND STREET APPEAL
Our experience shows that a relatively small investment of time and money into the presentation of your home can pay off many times over in the long run. Whether it's a lick of paint or some statement pots at the front door, first impressions really do count. Help potential buyers fall in love from the moment of their very first encounter with your home. Sweep and high pressure wash your patio, verandah and driveway to remove any unsightly stains, check exterior lighting and replace globes if required and remove any leaves or debris from your gutter and drains. Never underestimate the power of street appeal.

2. GARDENS AND LAWNS
An overgrown and messy garden does not only repel potential buyers, it also suggests that it takes lots of time and effort to maintain. Minimal maintenance is an increasingly desirable lifestyle trend. Its time to roll up those sleeves and get your hands dirty! Attend to those overgrown lawns, garden beds, trees, shrubs and hedges. Mow the lawn regularly throughout the selling period and water frequently, green grass is appealing! And refresh the gardens with some fresh chip bark and flowers to add a dash of colour.

3. MAINTENANCE TIME
Whether it's the tap that's been leaking for months or some paint touch ups here and there, now it the time to get onto those small repairs and maintenance. Ensure curtain and sliding door tracks are gliding smoothly, and all tiling and grouting is clean and in good condition. Re-coat timber floors or decking if necessary. Inspect everything from top to bottom and replace or repair anything that’s necessary to create a welcoming environment.

4. DE-CLUTTER
The interior of your home must be as clean, spacious and as clutter free as possible. Sort through your home, room by room and discard the clutter as you go, not only will your home look better through the sale period but you will have less to pack when you are moving. It can pay to store a couple of larger, non essential furniture items to make your home feel more specious. The idea is to create a clean slate, where potential buyers immediately see the potential to add their possessions and individual special touches to make it a home; their home. Make people feel that they want to live here.

5. SPRING CLEAN
While the light is very beautiful in the spring, it's brightness can emphasise less than clean surfaces. Roll up your sleeves for a good clean of every nook and cranny. Polish your tap ware and stainless steel appliances, remove cobwebs, wash your windows inside and out and dust your blinds. Take the time to polish your floors, mirrors and glass as clean reflective surfaces make a space feel larger.

6. OUTDOOR ENTERTAINERS DELIGHT
Outdoor entertaining is a must. Create an ambiance that has buyers imagining their first social gathering in their new home. Keep areas clean and free of leaves, toys, tools and clutter. Ensure outdoor furniture is clean and arranged neatly. Clean the BBQ, pizza oven or outdoor kitchen and if you have a pool, pond or fountain ensure everything is in working order and that the water is clean and sparkling.

7. MARKETING AND ADVERTISING
Many vendors skimp on marketing, thinking it saves them dollars. In fact, quite the opposite is true. An individually tailored advertising campaign specifically targeting to your target market ensures plenty of early, avid interest. There is no doubt that professional photography is a must as it shows off your home in its most flattering manner. Consider using drone videos/aerial photography to highlight your property features and amenities. Statistics show that videos are more engaging and captivating for potential buyers. And last but certainly not least, internet and social media advertising. The use of as many property websites as possible and upgrading to the highest quality features will greatly increase the number of views of your property and the quality of buyers.

SPRING TIME GARDENING TIPS

Spring is undoubtedly the best time to get out in the garden. The winter chill has gone, the days are
getting longer and your garden is about to flourish! So here are some top tips to get your garden looking
it's best this Spring.

1. TIDY AND TRIM
Prune trees and shrubs to remove any withered winter leaves. Trim your hedges to encourage new growth. Just a light trim all over is sufficient. If you haven't done it already, summer flowering shrubs like hibiscus and hydrangea should be trimmed now so all their energy goes into producing beautiful blooms. Leave it any later in the season and you will risk cutting off the buds. Ensure after every pruning job you feed the plant to help them recover.

2. FEED LAWN OR LAY NEW TURF
Spring is an important time to fertilise, as your lawn breaks the winter dormancy. Your fertiliser application will encourage new growth as the weather warms up.
Spring is also the ideal season for laying new turf or growing from seed as new turf can send down new roots much quicker than in winter. The weather is still fairly mild and warming up slowly and new turf can cope better with the increasing heat as summer arrives, and should be fully established by Summer. Planting a new lawn in Spring also means the newly laid turf will need far less regular watering during its establishment, often only requiring watering once or perhaps at most twice a day.

3. THE VEGGIE PATCH
Spring is the time for sowing and planting those summer vegetables and be sure to add organic matter and nitrogen to really make them thrive. There’s a bit happening in the veggie patch so you could try leeks, onions, parsley, parsnips, cauliflower, peas, radish, silverbeet, lettuce, swedes and turnips. But wait until the risk of frost has passed before planting your tomatoes.

4. WATCH OUT FOR PESTS
Hunting down and removing hibernating pests now can save a lot of trouble later on. Take a closer look and you may find slugs, snails and aphid colonies that have been sheltering for the winter. Keep an eye on your Citrus plants and watch out for Bronze Orange Bugs as they suck the sap from young stems and damage new growth, and Citrus Leaf Miner as they tunnel through the young leaves of citrus trees which creates silvery lines.