One of the best things about Cheltenham is that it looks spectacular in autumn, with the parks and crescents festooned with red and golden leaves and full of crisp air.
If you’re putting your Cheltenham property on the market around this time, you can improve your chances of a swift autumn sale even more by following our advice.
Boost your kerb appeal
Everything looks better in the summer, so once the nights start drawing in you’ll have to compensate for the loss of sunshine by making sure your garden looks its absolute best.
Repaint or replace your front door, sweep away any leaves and tidy up the garden path and borders and hide away bins and any outdoor toys left over from the summer. If you have any outdoor lights, make sure they’re working and look tidy – tattered old string lights blinking away do not create a good impression.
Declutter the hallway
It’s great to go walking on Leckhampton Hill when the first mists roll in, but those wet, muddy boots and gently steaming raincoats shouldn’t be the first thing a viewer sees when they walk into your hallway.
If you tend to keep a lot of coats, boots, bikes, helmets and so on in the hall, find a way to hide or rationalise everything so your hallway looks uncluttered and spacious. You might need to invest in a more streamlined storage unit for the hall or find a corner in the kitchen or porch for some items so they’re hidden away or spread out a bit more.
Clean up – inside and out
Some of the clutter in the hallway might be summer-related things, such as sun hats, sandals and so on. That’s a good place to start your mission and when you’ve packed last season’s accoutrements you can tidy away the barbeque and the paddling pool. If you don’t have a big enough shed, then ask a friend or neighbour to store things for you or rent a small storage unit.
Then, clean the windows, look for any cobwebs left behind from summer and make sure all your internal surfaces are as clean and bright as possible.
Speaking of clean and bright
A dimly-lit interior is going to put off buyers because they won’t be able to see your home in all its glory and they might even find it a bit dingy.
Pull the curtains back and try to arrange viewings during daylight hours to make the most of the natural light. If there are any items of furniture in front of windows, move them if you can and if there’s any plant overgrowth after the summer, cut it back so it’s not filtering out any light.
If there are any dark corners, bring in a lamp or two, or change up the brightness of any existing ones and make sure all the lights are on if you have an evening viewing. A bright interior on a dark night has the same effect as a welcoming smile.
Turn the heat up
No matter what your ideal temperature is, make sure your home envelopes viewers in warmth as soon as they step in from the cold. Turn on the heating 30-60 minutes before viewers arrive and if you have an open fire or burner, spark it up so that buyers don’t worry that the house ever gets cold.
