3055 days ago

5 expert tips on selling your home

Lodge Real Estate - City

First impressions count and looks matter whether we like to admit it or not. Home staging not only helps to sell your home faster but also attracts more buyers that are willing to put an offer on the table.

Here’s how the experts present their homes before entering the market:

1. Keep it clean and crisp
Remember your mum telling you to tidy your room? Well those days have spent as you need to create a home that is clean and neutral. The goal of home staging is to get buyers to mentally move in when they visit, but that’s difficult if it’s full of all your own stuff. Take the time to remove family photos and other personal items from your home too, as these can distract viewers from what your home really has to offer.

Be ruthless!

2. Create points of interest
A perfectly placed piece of furniture, plant or artwork in a hallway, awkward corner or at the top of a set of stairs can create a point of visual interest and encourage visitors to investigate further.

Points of interest are a great tool to add symmetry and balance to each room, it’s about showing the viewer the potential of the home and helping them visualise what it can be.

3. Balance is good
Studies have shown that humans find symmetrical and balanced arrangements more aesthetically pleasing—from art to faces and food—and yes, even how we arrange our furniture. Move your lounge furniture away from the walls and pair up movable furniture, such as your chairs, lamps, and side tables. If something doesn’t match try pairing it with something of similar size to balance the room out.

4. Each room needs a signature
Every room has its own distinct feature. It could be a fireplace, a different coloured wall, a piece of furniture, a window, or an artwork or mirror. Once you’ve found your feature, celebrate it and emphasise it.

5. Know your audience
Every good entertainer knows what their audience wants and how to give it to them. Think about the features that will help buyers to visualise the lifestyle they might lead in your home. A table and chairs for a family on the deck, a secluded reading chair in the sun, or a minimalist kitchen can all help sell a viewer on a different lifestyle—it’s important to understand what buyers are looking for and how they see themselves in your home which could soon be theirs.

Remember, think about your location and it’s context. Is it mostly families, working professionals, students or seniors? Use that information to guide your staging decisions. If you’re struggling for ideas a estate agent can always help with this.

Click here if you want to find out more or download a free eBook on this topic.
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More messages from your neighbours
1 day ago

Poll: Should we ditch daylight saving? 🕰️

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

First introduced in New Zealand in 1927 with the passing of the Summer Time Act, it's what we know as 'Daylight Saving' and this year it ends on the first Sunday in April.

While we do get to sleep in this time around, some people would like to scrap the clock tinkering for good.

And why? Some evidence suggests the time changes are bad for our health as they mess with sleep patterns leading to short-term fatigue and affecting mood. Meanwhile the hour change is frustrating for farmers and a nightmare for getting the littlies to sleep. But what's your take?

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Should we ditch daylight saving? 🕰️
  • 40.9% Yes - get rid of the clock changes
    40.9% Complete
  • 57.4% No, I enjoy it
    57.4% Complete
  • 1.7% Other - I'll share below
    1.7% Complete
1208 votes
2 days ago

Don't overthink this riddle...

The Neighboury Riddler

I have a silver sole
but no feet,
I make my living by bringing the heat.
What am I?

Do you think you know the answer? Simply 'Like' this post if you know the answer and the big reveal will be posted in the comments at 2pm on the day!

Want to stop seeing these in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.

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7 hours ago

Plan to keep cash alive

Libby Totton Reporter from Waikato Times

Keeping cash alive in rural Waikato towns is a big problem, but help could be on the way.

The Reserve Bank is proposing banks keep a minimum ability for their customers to access cash - often a lifeline in small rural communities where banks have cut branches and opening hours.

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