Tips for Selling your Property in Winter

Take advantage of the winter chill and make your property stand out as extra warm and cosy! Here are some great tips to make your home more appealing when selling during the winter season:

Street appeal

Freshen up your property by putting out potted flowers, or planting some new plants to brighten up the garden area. Rake up leaves, prune dead branches and leaves, and mow your lawn to help enhance your street appeal.

Winter staging

A warm fire can be a great asset in winter. If you have a fireplace, ensure it is lit during an inspection. Blankets can also be used on couches and in the bedroom to create a cosy vibe, making buyers feel good and more comfortable in your property.

Let the light in!

At inspection time, pull back the curtains and make sure all your windows are clean. This enables maximum natural light into your home.

Use lighting to your advantage

On dim winter days, you may not have as much natural light as you want. Then it’s time to turn on all your lights and lamps to banish dark corners and give your home a cosy warm glow.

Keep the heating on

When people enter your warm home from the cold outside, it will surely be noticed and noted! However, keep it a comfortable temperature – you don’t want people to feel like they are walking into a sauna.

Appeal to their sense of smell

Before the inspection, brew some coffee, bake muffins, or some cookies. The smell will be homely and inviting and buyers will linger…

Make minor repairs

No matter what time of year you plan on selling your property, you’ll need to attend to all the minor repairs such as torn fly screens, leaking taps and sticking doors, as these small things detract from the presentation of you home.

Property Investment 101

Property investment can be financially rewarding, however, before investing you first need have a clear idea of what you want to achieve.

What’s the best investment choice? Established property, off-the-plan, newly built, or a property with potential to grow in value immediately after renovation?

On paper new property often seems to tick more boxes, but the best answer is "it depends". The right investment choice is dependent on each individual's investment goals and their stage in life.

There are many articles and books out there that claim to have “the secrets to successful property investment”. There are no secrets – you just have to know all the facts, do your due diligence, know your numbers, and know what your own investment goals are.

Established property can have an edge on capital growth, but new properties bring the benefits of depreciation, which can help investors with cash flow.

At present, the government also has incentives in place to stimulate new housing – so this should also be taken into consideration.

If cash flow, rather than capital growth is your priority, then finding a positively geared property is what you’re after. Positively geared properties are those that produce more investment income (i.e. rent) than the interest expense (and other deductions). Yes, these are a little harder to find, but still possible.

A common strategy is to buy something established that generates a good rental income as well as good capital growth (which you then tap into to buy a second property). This means you are not under too much strain to service your loans.

Some experts believe that capital growth should be an investors’ priority. They believe it’s buying the right property at the right location that's going to make you money, and not the odd dollar that you save in your income tax.

Only about 15 per cent of investors buy a property to add value. Renovating suits experienced renovators or investors who are not desperate for rental income on settlement. Properties can be vacant for months during renovation and you have got to take that into account.

While renovating a property can increase its capital growth and rental yield, investors should be aware that the interest payments made when their property is being renovated are not tax-deductible, because the property is not available for rent. Instead, that period of interest payments is added to the property's capital value and is deducted from any capital gain when the property is sold.

It’s important for all investors to collect all the facts, and in most cases gain some financial advice before investing in property. Not doing all the work up front can result in a disappointing investment.

The Property People Wins at National Awards

Our team, Dougmal Harcourts – The Property People in Campbelltown has again achieved some outstanding awards on a national stage.

The Harcourts National and International Awards was recently held at Jupiters Casino on the Gold Coast.

Our team have again achieved some outstanding results in 2013-2014 to win:

5th place Top Australian Office Revenue per Sales Consultant

8th place Top 10 Australian Offices for Revenue

Our office competed against 394 offices and 1684 Sales Consultants throughout Australia to win these highly sought after awards. 

Congratulations to the whole team for these great achievements. These awards reinforce to me that we are doing a lot of great things and making a difference in our real estate service. Over the coming year we will continue to work hard to retain and improve our service. 

Well done team!