Ten tips for selling your home in winter

If you're hoping to sell your home in the coming months, check out these tips.

Once Christmas is over, the winter months are pretty dreary and seem to drag on forever. As a result, if you’re hoping to sell your home this year, you might be holding off until the spring time.

However, for some of us, this isn’t a realistic option. Perhaps there’s soon to be a new addition to your family or you need to move for work reasons. In which case, holding off for a few months could be out of the question.

So if you do need to sell your home in the cold, dark months of winter, what should you be doing? Take a look at these top tips.

1. Keep warm

First and foremost, no one likes stepping into a cold house. So make sure your heating is on while viewings are taking place. If you’re not going to be at home, set your heating to come on at least 30 minutes before your viewers arrive so that they will be entering a warm property.

It can also be a good idea to keep your heating on a low level all the time to prevent the pipes freezing up.

Meanwhile, if you have a real fireplace and you’re going to be around when you have viewings, it’s a nice touch to light the fire.

2. Maximise light

Seeing any signs of sunlight during the winter months is pretty rare. But try to make the most of the light you do have. Clean your curtains and blinds and leave them open for as long as possible. A dark, dreary house really isn’t welcoming – the owner of a flat I viewed had shut all the curtains even though it was the middle of the day – which really isn’t the best way to try and sell a home.

It’s also a good idea to give your lamps and fixtures a clean and use timers for lights to come on just before a viewing is due so that your potential buyers will walk into a brightly lit house. And if certain rooms in your home are particularly dark, brighten them up by placing spotlights on the floor behind furniture.

Finally, if you have a decent garden, why not consider some outdoor lighting to brighten it up.

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3. Clean the windows

No one likes to look through smeary windows. So make sure you give them a good clean before you have any viewings.

Not only will this show prospective buyers that you take pride in your property, but if you have a well-maintained garden you want to show off, clean windows will help to do the trick!

4. Make it accessible

If you’re trying to sell your home after a recent snowfall, make sure the pathway to your home and the driveway has been cleared.

You should also make sure the path/driveway is free from ice – after all, if a potential buyer has an accident, you can kiss goodbye to an offer on your home! A good way to do this is to sprinkle a layer of sand across the path.

And if it’s raining, a nice touch is to place a mat by the front door and have a container to hold wet umbrellas. This might not seem like much, but it could make all the difference to prospective buyers.

Finally, if you have an outside light, make sure you use it so that viewers can see where they’re going!

5. Use photos to your advantage

If it has been snowing recently, you might think that using photos of your home in the snow to advertise it is a good idea. After all, a white rooftop can seem very attractive. But the problem with this is that if your home is still on the market in the spring, it will look very dated and could therefore deter buyers. So try to avoid this if you can.

Winter is actually a good time to sell properties that have little or no outside space because viewers are unlikely to want to stand about in the cold so may not be fussed about checking out the garden. However, if you do have a garden, make sure you keep it tidy and clear away any garden furniture you’re not using.

You could also have a few photographs of your garden in the summer time dotted around your home so that viewers will be able to get an idea of what it’s like in the warmer weather. (Just don’t go overboard, otherwise your home will look cluttered.)

6. Get cosy

Winter provides the perfect opportunity to make your home look cosy. As suggested earlier, if you have an open fire, make sure it’s lit if you’re going to be in the house at the time of viewings. You could also light a few candles to create more of an atmosphere.

It can also be worth having a few comfy-looking cushions on the sofa, as well as some warm throws (although again, don’t go overboard as viewers may think this means your house gets very cold in the winter months).

7. Provide slippers

It’s also a good idea to provide slippers to your visitors upon arrival. This will prevent viewers from trailing mud through your house, and will show that you are proud of the property you own. Personally, I also think there’s something quite homely about walking around a property in your slippers!

8. Make it smell nice

Whether you’re selling your home in winter or summer, it’s important to ensure your house smells nice. But during the winter months, scents such as cinnamon or festive spices are good choices, as are freshly baked bread and apple pie!

Just make sure you don’t go over the top. If you’ve got scented candles and incense in every room, you might have buyers pondering if you’re trying to hide something.

And if you’re a smoker, try to start smoking outside to ensure your home doesn’t smell of cigarettes.

9. Serve hot food and drink

Leading on from this, if you’re going to have delicious smells wafting through your home, it’s a good idea to serve some food. Warm, freshly baked cinnamon cookies are bound to smell heavenly and are also likely to be a hit with potential buyers. A hot drink will also help to warm them up!

For recipe inspiration, why not head over to our sister site lovefood.com?

10. Play music

Finally, playing some soft music in the background can also create a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere – which may help to make your home more appealing. Jazz or classical music are the best options – just make sure the volume isn't up too high.

Thanks to fabricproperty.com for several of these tips.

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