How clean is your house?

September 17, 2017 by Rob Kahl @Scott & Stapleton

If you have read any of my previous blogs (and you better have had!) you will know that I am always banging on about how a property should be presented. A house doesn’t have to be brand new or have the best kitchen or even modern fittings but as a minimum, it has to be clean and tidy and have the lawn cut.

Good presentation should in my opinion, be a minimum standard when trying to sell a home. It should only be for a couple of weeks and is usually worth the effort whilst you try to secure a buyer. Once you have had an offer accepted then you can get back to living normally again, if you like living like that!

There is one other time though that I think you should take the time and effort to make sure the property is presentable....... This week we have had a lovely young couple complete on their first home together. They came into the office on the day of completion having spent every penny that they could afford and full of excitement at the prospect of moving in to their new home. I imagine a point of them giggling at the door, new keys in hand with the chap contemplating carrying his partner over the threshold so magine their disappointment that when entering the property, they find it filthy dirty, full of rubbish, old furniture left and even dog poo not having been cleared in the garden!

When we deal with the rental properties we carry out a 'check out' inspection on the houses to make sure they have been left in good condition. We have usually got a months or 6 weeks deposit so that if things need doing, they can be paid for out of the deposit. These can include decoration, repair, cleaning, carpet cleaning, gardening or clearing. Obviously tenants are aware of this before they take a property on so the vast majority of them make sure that there are no retentions and leave properties in very good condition.

Unfortunately with sales properties there obviously isn’t any money retained and usually people are moving in to properties on the same days that the previous occupants are leaving so there isn’t the time we have with rental properties to carry out any jobs required. Once a property has completed there is also very little come back that a new owner can have on the vendors. It has to be brought up via the solicitors and this in itself can incur costs.

Most people, like the couple that have just moved in, they quite rightly grumble about it and then just get on and do it themselves. A full day cleaning and a few trips to the tip and hopefully all is forgotten. It is not very fair though in my opinion. Most transactions get at least a week between exchange and completion and all property sales take a good few months to go through (unfortunately) so people cant say that it comes as a surprise that they are moving and that they haven’t had time.

I bumped in to another couple yesterday who were busy clearing out the loft of their house and clearing and cleaning things. They haven’t exchanged yet but know it is going to be in the next couple of weeks so quite rightly are getting things in order now.

A lot of it boils down to common courtesy. I appreciate that it is a very busy time and extremely stressful but a property should be left in the condition that you would wish to find it.

This article is by Rob at Scott & Stapleton.
Tel: 01702 471155 
Email: rob@scottandstapleton.co.uk 

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