Ealing, London – 5 Bed Edwardian Home
Full Home Staging
This lovely, substantial, period property, belonged to another ex-pat who had previously lived in the property for 10 years before making a new life in Australia. The property had again been rented for a few years but aside from a fresh coat of paint when the tenants moved out, little had been done to prepare it for sale.
I was contacted by the client to ask for my opinion and whether I thought the (low) offers of around £1.1m it was attracting (in a prime London market) were ‘about right’? As the house was in London, he was in Australia and I was in Bath…I agreed to take a quick look at the online marketing details and discuss my findings by email.
Overall, the selling price at £1.4m seemed about right, perhaps even a little on the low side; considering it against similar properties in the area and the fact that the market was good, it was London after all and the house was large, detached and Edwardian, with a private parking space.
22 potential buyers had been shown the property but not one offer near to asking price!
Before & After Gallery
Delving into the details however, revealed part of the problem. The house was empty and had been empty over the winter months. The online images looked cold and the outside a bit scruffy. I imagined the reason for the low offers must be the presentation (or lack of) and the fact that if the house now looked a bit down at heel, prospective buyers would think the owner desperate to sell and willing to take a low offer. Which was not the case.
Although I offered to source a stylist closer to the property, the client insisted I came up with a home sale strategy for the property and a quote for furnishing throughout.
Stepping through the door, my initial feelings about the house had been right. Unloved and unlived in, the house was cold, dirty, dusty and full of dead flies. Despite my client being told by the agents it had been cleaned from top to bottom, it obviously hadn’t been, nor had any curtains been hung back up. And, 3 years (well it looked like it!) mail was stuffed behind the front door, in the cupboard under the stairs and on the kitchen counter.
There were areas of the property that more time and a larger budget could have addressed for a much higher valuation but I was confident that a bit of a ‘spring clean’ and a full furniture package should see an increase in better offers and the desired sale.
The installation was fairly straight forward or would have been if the agent hadn’t turned up with two families to view (even though he had strict instructions from the client to stay away). Neither of them thought the house was right house for them, especially as they had to negotiate boxes and half built furniture in every room but once the work was completed increased offers did come through very quickly.
Within 4 days an offer was placed and accepted for £1.38m – happy client! Then a week later this offer fell through. In the end the same thing happened 3 more times(!) until finally success: an offer turned into a longed for completion.