Five lessons from Selling Houses Abroad's Andrew Winter

Jennifer DukeDecember 7, 2020

Last night's Selling Houses Abroad on Gem had Andrew Winter advising British Tony Dunn, after he had bought a house in France - without consulting his wife Rose. A long story cut short, Andrew and Rose, unable to live the retirement life they had wanted with their money tied up in this property, needed to sell the house. However, after putting it on the market for a period of time the interest was minimal despite the market in the French town being strong and all of the fundamentals being in place (such as a new daily air route to the village).

After Andrew's assistance, they managed to sell the property for more than their asking price, despite the real estate agent saying the next step was to drop the price by £20,000. Here are five things we can all learn from this experience:

1) Never assume the buyer will be happy to fix issues with the property/renovate to their "own" style

This particular house had garishly loud patterned wallpaper over the walls and the ceilings, a drab kitchen and a small sitting room that looked unusable in its original state. Tony, the vendor, kept saying that the next owners could renovate and put their own stamp on it and that it was in 'original' condition. While original features are often highly sought after, original condition isn't. The real estate agent said this too. Andrew did not. Buyers will balk at properties that appear they might be a lot of work, so if you can spend a little bit of money to fix it up then you will take a significant obstacle out of the way. In this situation, painting over the wallpaper with thick coats of white paint, and some light signature colours in the bedrooms, really did the trick to making it appear modern. The kitchen was also updated and, while it wasn't mentioned too much in the episode, the front of the property was drastically fixed up with pot plants and a number of other fixes.

2) Empty rooms look smaller

It may sound contrary to what you think you already know, but empty rooms (and, conversely, over cluttered rooms) can make the property appear smaller. While the vendor thought that presenting empty bedrooms was the best option, staging the property using some of the original furniture and some rented pieces brought in for furnishing really made the house shine. It also allowed the small sitting room area to be re-adjusted and to be turned into a cosy nest, rather than a cramped box room. Use furniture to show off the features of your property, and lighting to enhance darker spaces.

3) Plan the direction through which buyers are shown around

This one is for any real estate agent or vendor selling/showing the house themselves. Often, we're told to have all the doors open, all the blinds open and show them from the front door to the back. This isn't always the case. If there's something you want to show off, or hide, then it's worthwhile being strategic with your path at inspections. For instance, in this case Tony and Rose showed the viewers through while keeping the middle room door shut. This allowed them to open it up and give the viewers the "wow" factor of the done-up middle room. They were also instructed to take the viewers through the side back door not the main back door due to a new build obscuring the views that the home initially had. While this didn't gel with one potential buyer (who still pointed out the new build) it was certainly a lot better than heading straight outside and into a new property.

4) Don't let the buyer know you're fixing it up for sale

Despite a lot of hard work, painting and styling, don't seem desperate to your vendor by letting them know everything has been done just prior to sale. Andrew told Rose and Tony to tell the prospective purchasers that the renovations were done "some time ago", and to not appear as though you're doing a quick fix up. Let them think the property has always been this bright, shining and sparkling.

5) Be proactive

After speaking with the real estate agent about the poor photos and the bad way in which the property was presented, they decided to take a unique approach on this unique listing. Tony and Andrew went to the airport with flyers for the property, showing it off and speaking to tourists who would perhaps be interested in a country getaway. If the standard channels aren't working for you, then get out and try something different.

Finally, never buy without consultation with everyone involved! Tony said that he purchased the property unsure of even how many bedrooms it had after a lunch and wine with the real estate agent, thinking it would be the perfect dream house. It wasn't, and Rose very much disliked the property. If you're buying on behalf of someone else, ensure they are happy with your choices, and avoid this entire situation.

jduke@propertyobserver.com.au

Jennifer Duke

Jennifer Duke was a property writer at Property Observer

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