Give your home that 'buy me' look
IT’S often mooted that potential buyers make up their mind about a house within 6-8 seconds of entering. The sad fact is that their mind has been assaulted with doubts long before getting indoors. We want to appeal to the largest group of viewers, and most people will welcome a house that’s attractive on first sight, easy to take care of and with a garden realised to its full potential for the warmer months especially.
When a viewer is gaping open mouthed at grass waving from a gutter, then trips over a raised paving slab, colliding head to backside with the estate agent — throwing down six figures for your house might be off the menu. Simple neglect can add up in a stranger’s mind to notions that you simply don’t care. A small crack in the render opens in their mind into a yawning chasm of problems that may lurk out of sight and undisclosed or discovered even at survey. It’s sheer stupidity to ignore obvious maintenance issues. Still, take the advice of property guru Sarah Beeny — no exterior DIY is better than badly executed DIY. If you can’t paint, plaster, lay a path — find someone qualified who can.
Clean the gutters from roof to drains, and ensure there are no breaks creating staining on the render. No, it’s not a huge matter, but it looks awful even at ground level where a downpipe is too high and spatters the wall in a mouldy plume. PVC gutters can be cleaned with a soapy rub and even painted with a universal surface treatment. Look for areas of rusting in cast iron and consider replacing or re-hanging ugly collapsing areas.
These should be re-stained or painted around every 5-7 years, and having this job done will be appreciated by potential buyers who may be wary about the maintenance surrounding timber elements. An examination of the windows and doors by an experienced tradesman will reveal any problems such as rot or seals needing attention. A strong colour on the front door married to a paler wall colour is generic and attractive to most people.
Render can be crazed in small cracks that mean nothing, and these are easy to put right before painting. Employ a professional painter interested in proper surface preparation if you’re refinishing the house. Cracks in the render or brickwork more than 3mm wide should be seen by a structural engineer to rule out any serious underlying issues.
If you’re not painting the house, have it power-washed, and if needed the roof too. Moss and algae discolouration can ruin the appearance of sound tiling. Ensure you choose a reputable company with full insurance, as a cowboy can lift areas of render and even blow out tender brickwork with the wrong tools.
Outdoor theatrics can make all the difference, prompting immediate ideas of what the house is like indoors.
* The front gate should swing lithe and welcoming on its hinges and the front door should present itself clearly as a front door. Move the bikes, bins, anything short of the word ‘handsome’ loitering in the area and marring your arrival from the entry gate or where you leave the car. A small area of paving can create a stone carpet underscoring the door’s position and status, and gravel is relatively cheap bounded in rivery paths. Consider one or two symmetrical wall lights and topiary shrubs in oversized containers (these can flee with you after the sale).
* Every garden can be whipped into some sort of shape. Clear out borders of shaggy diseased plantings and clip back the rest without beheading all spring growth. If you can afford to, stitch in some attractive spring perennials with a good long show of blooms or flashy foliage. 8-10mm of mulch is ideal for dressing borders.
* Edge the lawn with a spade or edging tool and feed it to bring on an emerald show in just a couple of weeks. If paving is uneven, lift the problem slabs or stones if possible and re-lay them in safe, seamless symmetry. Spray or dig out weeds and use a power hose to clear moss, lichen and adherent gunge from the surface of paths and patios. Modest concrete can be brought back to surprising life with a determined effort. Deck boards will appreciate an oiling, returning to their former colour.
* Watch for the view from outside to in. If curtain linings are stained and failing, replace or re-line with a colour. Clear off windowsills of knick-knacks and clean the windows every two weeks while the house is for sale.
* A large shed will leer at a viewer if besieged by piles of rubbish, rusting mowers and broken play equipment. It may mean hiring a skip, but get the detritus out of there and show it off as an attractive, useful outbuilding. Pay the kids to slap on some Fence-life (from €6 for 5 litres) or even a bold Cuprinol colour (litres).
* Never apologise for your property when selling and this includes the smallest garden. A lovely garden bench set against a sunny freshly painted wall or panel of fence with a few surrounding pots and a table for drinks is an al-fresco entertaining area. Hanging baskets, window boxes and containers can layer on the greenery where there are no adjacent borders.
* Where you do have the chance to do more, ensure a patio is dressed for the season with clean, structurally sound seating and at least one table. If your benches or dining set is shot, gift it to the skip, and buy something that will suit your new property as well as a little set dressing for the house going on the market.
* If you have a mobile BBQ in good condition, get it out of those winter shrouds and set it up. Well of course you’re out there in April!
* If French Doors lead from the living area, don’t block them off with sofa — create a flow from indoors to out. Throwing open the doors during the viewing can lead the imagination to the idea of stepping out glass in hand on warm summer nights, even if the view is on an overcast day.
* Take a look from the house to the garden, creating good lines of sight. Use loppers if the trees are ganging up from the borders. Disguise what you can’t fix, for example a compost heap or the neighbour’s yurt with a fence panel or introduced planting.
If you have an area you want to lawn in quick time, an instant application of lawn turf may be the answer. The easiest option is turf in metre sections delivered to your door by a specialist company who raise their own lawns from seed. Rich in perennial ryegrass, domestic lawn should be hard wearing, but be aware that like any new growth the roll out variety is delicate until rooted and well established. Avoid walking on it. Turf is a relatively heavy product, so the closer you can get the lawn delivered to its final destination the better. Keep the rolls in the shade, well watered (yes, this will make it even heavier) and lay it as quickly as possible in a brickwork style of one half way along the other on fertilised, level ground. Butt the sections closely together and tamp them down together with a blunt object. Emerald Lawns, KMC (Kinsale) and Summerhill Lawns supply cultivated lawn-turf for an instant upgrade from €108 for 6 square metres delivered. www.emeraldlawns.ie, www.summerhilllawns.ie, www.kcmlawnturf.com.
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