When you are selling, giving a room a purpose might not automatically strike you as important – after all, potential buyers might not want to use a room for the same purpose and when they move in the property is going to be empty anyway. However, think for a moment. How many times have you viewed a property and found yourself wondering “what’s this room supposed to be?” You need to help your buyers visualise how they they would use the space because not everyone can do this.
Purpose typically arises in two situations – when the property is empty, and when it used for more than one purpose.
Empty Properties
A property might be empty because you have already moved and therefore taken your belongings or if a property has been a renovation project.When a property is empty, potential purchasers can struggle to imagine what each room would be used for even if they have a set of property particulars with a floor plan and it can be difficult to work out if furniture will fit especially if a room is small (this is most likely to arise with bedrooms).
A room does not have to be fully furnished but put in the furniture that you would most to find in that type of room e.g dining table and chairs in dining room, bed (make it a double if it is intended to be a double bedroom), bedside cabinets and wardrobes in a bedroom, sofa, chair(s) side tables in a living room. The other point to note is that an empty property is likely to feel cold and unwelcoming, adding furniture helps to create a more inviting feel.
Multi Functional Rooms
It is a reality of modern life that often rooms serve more than one purpose – a dining room or bedroom might also be used as an office or a lounge also be used as the kids’ playroom or dining space. If a room looks as if there is a lot going on viewers might be confused as to what the room’s primary purpose is.
If you can, restrict each room to a single purpose. If this is not possible then have clearly defined areas for each function and don’t allow sprawl, make sure that items are kept to the appropriate area. Using rugs, units or a different paint colour on the walls can help create definition. Buyers will then be easily able to understand how the room is used. It is common these days for a bedroom to be used as a home office. If the property particulars describe the room as a bedroom then the room needs to be dressed as a bedroom. If viewers are coming to see a three bedroom property they will be expecting to see three bedrooms not two bedrooms and an office and will be disappointed. We would still recommend this even if the particulars state something like “….currently used as a home office” . The number of bedrooms is usually high up a buyer’s list of criteria.
If you need help giving your rooms a sense of purpose or with any other aspect of preparing your home for sale we are here to help. Contact us via email at info@homestyle4u.com call us on 07745 876182 or complete the enquiry form on our contact us page. We cover Cheshire and the North West.