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Dougmal Harcourts - The Property People

Friday 28 November 2014

4 Simple Tips to Improve the Appeal of Your Property

So you’ve made the decision to sell your property, the next step is to get your place looking as good as possible before any photos are taken or potential buyer inspection dates.

The good news is, whether your property only needs a little or a lot of attention, you can start to improve the appeal of your property in these four simple and inexpensive steps.

1. De-clutter
Buyers are generally looking for space. The more space you can show, the more attractive your home will be to buyers.

Don’t expect buyers to ignore your accumulated stuff and imagine your house in its clutter-free state. The aim is to make it as easy as possible for potential buyers to imagine themselves and their belongings in the house.

Tips to get you started:
  • Be systematic. Do one room at a time and don’t move on to the next room until it is complete.
  • Depersonalise. You want your buyers to visualise themselves in your house, not you living in it! Pack away photographs, souvenirs, trophies, medals, certificates, posters, religious items and family heirlooms.
  • Restore rooms to their core functions.
  • Clear tables, counter tops and all surfaces.
  • Consider storing off-site some items of furniture.
2. Clean
Once you have more room to work, undertake a thorough housecleaning. As well as your regular chores, focus on rarely-cleaned areas such as skirting boards and light fittings. Steam clean your carpets, and wash walls and windows. If you don’t have time to do this, there are cleaning companies that can help you.

3. Patch and paint
Add a fresh coat of interior paint. Painting your walls can instantly brighten up your house and make it appear well cared for. First, patch up any holes, no matter how small. Favour white ceilings and off-white or beige walls with white skirting. These colours throw more light around the room and make it appear larger.

4. Garden work
Spruce up your outside area. Get rid of green waste, trim the hedges, weeds, and mulch the flower beds.

Friday 21 November 2014

The Property People Wins at Real Estate Awards

Our team recently attended the Harcourts New South Wales Quarterly Awards at The Tea Room, QVB, Sydney, to celebrate individual and office real estate achievements for the July – September 2014 quarter. 

We competed against 66 other real estate offices, 150 sales consultants, and over 60 property management professionals across NSW to gain these highly sought-after awards.

Individual Awards Won:

Property Management Business Development Listing Award - 
1st place, Sarena Rowley

Top Lister - 1st place, Garth Makowski

Top Auction Lister - Garth Makowski

Auction Encouragement Award - Shaun Moss

Top Sales Consultant – No of Settled Sales
1st place, Cathy Furness & Shaun Moss
3rd place, Tom Spiljar

Top 10 Sales Consultants - Income to Office
4th place, Cathy Furness & Shaun Moss
7th place, Tom Spiljar
8th place, Troy Holmes

Bronze Sales Achievement Award
Gary Ghassibe

Silver Sales Achievement Award
Garth Makowski
Tod Campbell
Troy Holmes

Gold Sales Achievement Award
Tom Spiljar

Platinum Sales Achievement Award
Cathy Furness/Shaun Moss

Sapphire Pin
Cathy Furness/ Shaun Moss

Diamond Pin
Tom Spiljar
Garth Makowski

Office Awards Won:

Property Management Office Excellence Award - 1st place

Property Management Office Revenue Award - 1st place

Property Management Business Development Office Award - 1st place 

NSW Top Office (highest gross revenue) - 1st place

Top Auction Office for the Quarter - 1st place

I’m so proud of our awesome team! Our Property Management team, led by Sarena Rowley and Laura Makowski, won most of the major awards, testament to their top class service and tireless work ethic. Our Sales Department kicked some great goals too, with four of our agents in the Top 10 in NSW (Tom Spiljar, Troy Holmes, Shaun Moss and Cathy Furness). It is also fantastic to earn back our title as the number 1 auction office in NSW, and retain our title as the number 1 office in NSW.

Friday 14 November 2014

November Auction Results!

Last week we had our biggest in-room auction event for the year, held at the Rydges Hotel in Campbelltown. 

This auction event gained some outstanding results, selling 10 of the 16 properties submitted to auction – a 62.5% clearance rate. Here’s the summary:

RABY, 20 Tornado Place - SOLD BEFORE AUCTION
ROSEMEADOW, 7 Miranda Place - SOLD!
INGLEBURN, 11 Moorhen Street - SOLD!
WOODBINE, 7 Barrenjoey Close - SOLD!
BRADBURY, 3 Gipps Street - SOLD!
BOW BOWING, 7 Hamersley Place - SOLD!
ROSEMEADOW, 1/20 Fortinbras Close - SOLD!
EAGLE VALE, 14 Diamond Place - SOLD!
MACQUARIE FIELDS, 2 Sixth Avenue – Not yet sold!
CAMPBELLTOWN, 57 Chamberlain Street - SOLD!
GLEN ALPINE, 15 Bishopscourt Place – Not yet sold!
RUSE, 17 Cudgegong Road - SOLD!
CAMPBELLTOWN, 25/31-35 Chamberlain Street – Not yet sold!
ESCHOL PARK, 10 Eschol Park Drive – Not yet sold!
ROSEMEADOW, 39 Hamlet Crescent – Not yet sold!
CAMPBELLTOWN, 1/182 Lindesay Street – Not yet sold!

11th NOVEMBER AUCTION EVENT STATISTICS:

  • 10 of the 16 properties submitted to auction SOLD – a 62.5% clearance rate.
  • Of the properties SOLD, our team achieved an average of 23 buyer inspections per property during the intensive 21-day marketing campaign leading up to the auction.
  • Of the properties SOLD, there was an average of 4.8 bidders vying for each property. 

It was a fantastic auction night! Everyone worked so well together to create the best possible auction night, and it transpired to excellent results. There is also strong interest in the properties that didn’t sell on the night, and I am confident they will be sold this month. 

Thanks again to our outstanding Auctioneer, Paul Casarotto, and the wonderful support from Domain, The Macarthur Advertiser and Harcourts NSW.

Friday 7 November 2014

Renovate your Outdoor Space

Australians love nothing more than outdoor living areas, and with the warmer months ahead, it makes a lot of sense to make the most of your outdoor space. 

If you are looking at selling your home in the future, refining your outdoor living areas doesn’t have to cost a lot, but can greatly increase the appeal and selling price of your home.

Provide outdoor entertaining
A good outdoor entertaining space is highly sought-after by buyers. This could take the form of a deck, a pergola, a retractable sun-shade, or verandah.

Also consider the inclusion of an outdoor barbeque and dining area.

Outdoor lighting
In the evening, a garden or an entrance looks wonderful with good lighting. It can emphasise a feature or hide a blemish. Carefully selected lighting can create a wonderful effect that makes your property very desirable. 

There is a huge range of solar lights available that can achieve a wonderful effect without wiring.

Don’t forget to organise the inspections of your home at a time that shows your lighting off!

Car spaces
Off-street car spaces are worth a lot, both in dollars and convenience. Covered off-street parking such as a carport or a garage is right at the top of the list for many buyers.

Landscaping
Defined landscaped areas can add hugely to the overall presentation and desirability of your home – however it can detract if done badly. Achieve a balance between easy maintenance, water efficiency, and hard and soft surfaces to create a landscape in which your property stands out.

Consider the plants you choose, as some are better at certain times of the year. With a bit of research you can have a garden that changes, having different features for every season.