NOW
that the beach towels and thongs are well and truly filed away at the back of
the wardrobe and the snuggly rugs and fluffy slippers are a feature in the
living room, it is time to stop thinking about ceiling fans and cross
ventilation and dream of warmth.
Those cooler days and even colder nights are really beginning to creep
in.
So if you are about to sell, or are selling, it is time to highlight the warm
and cuddly aspects of your home.
If you are buying and you fall in a love with a home on a cold, grey, wet
winter day, there is a good chance you will adore it the rest of the year as
there are no rose tinted glasses in this season.
Whether you're selling a house, a unit, a mansion or a studio, first
impressions are still everything.
The sales trick, if the weather is cold outside, is to ensure the home feels
warm and cosy inside.
Any inspection that starts with a positive reaction always has a better
chance of ending on a happy note.
Warmth comes not just from heat (I knew science in Year 9 would prepare me
for adult life) but the ambience of warmth that can also be created with good
lighting and a few warmer tactile items, such as rugs over large tiled areas,
bed throws and cushions.
Even on a sunny day in winter, use lighting to create warmer areas during
your open for inspection by turning on background lighting and lamps.
Fit dimmers to downlights and have them switched on to a low level.
This will make darker areas of the home feel more inviting, soften hard
surfaces and subtly light the spaces.
Even though the door is likely to be open, you will need to ensure people
feel a bit of heat when they walk inside. If you have a gas, wood or multi-fuel
burner fireplace, crank it up. This is real estate gold at this time of
year.
If you have a reverse-cycle airconditioning system, turn it to warm. Sure you
don't get the cosy fireside atmosphere but it's functional and does the job.
Allow time to warm up the home fully a few hours before inspections, then
turn it down. That way you should have a comfortable even temperature.
Now for those of you without any of the above, it is a trip to Bunnings for
some portable heaters.
Once in the home, turn them up high just before the inspections, reduce their
numbers and turn them to low.
On that note, wrap yourselves up and have a warm winter selling season.
By Andrew Winter*
From News Limited Newspapers
July 12, 2012
*Andrew Winter is a real estate consumer champion and the host of Selling
Houses Australia on The LifeStyle Channel.
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