Christmas is a time when many professionals such as surveyors and conveyancers take some time off, meaning that the sales process can slow down. But it’s usually only for a couple of days, so if you’ve got all your legal paperwork lined up, efficiency should almost be maintained.

But paperwork aside, what about your property at Christmas?

Present Your Home in the Perfect Light

You may have more available time at Christmas to be able to stage your home ready for viewings. Presenting your property is one of the critical things to do to make prospective buyers picture themselves at home. Little touches showcasing your home as a fantastic, warm and joyful house can help sell the dream to a prospective buyer.

Add Festive Atmospherics

Turn on your outside lights, festive or otherwise. Similarly, some indoor atmospheric lighting works a treat to show how welcoming your home is. Don’t go over the top though! Choose subtle side lamps to cast a soft glow.

Sleigh Ahead of the Game!

Many people believe that Christmas is not the right time to put their house on the market….so they don’t. But fewer homes on the market means less competition, so actually, it’s a great time to be selling. Even if the process doesn’t gain momentum until the New year, you’ll still be ahead of the game.

Take advantage of this opportunity and make sure you’ve got everything in place should you accept an offer, and your buyers want to move quickly. It may be Christmas, but legal professionals will be available in the run-up to the holidays. Hold a conversation with conveyancers beforehand, and you’ll know exactly when they are working and how to get hold of them should you need to.

Family Time Leads Online!

Another thing to think about is that Christmas is often about family. But spending more time than usual with extended family can take its toll! Escaping online is common. In fact, housebuilders have reported that Christmas Day and Boxing Day are two of the busiest days for web traffic to their sites.

Families spending time together often prompts talk about the potential for moving to a new house. And, what about all those new phones and tablets received as Christmas presents! This presents even more opportunity for going online and potentially searching for properties!

There’s ‘Snow’ Time Like the Present

If you delay putting your house on the market, you’ll ultimately be postponing the sale of it. Based on our experience, we say take advantage and get it listed! Preparing the particulars takes time, as does the taking of photos and creating floor plans. So, if you set the ball rolling now, you’ve already made the first move. Wait until after Christmas, and you may find more properties coming to market, and your property won’t stand out as much.

New Year, New Move

Christmas can be a great time to move home, but there’s often a lot going on. Remember though, your move doesn’t have to happen straight away. Be patient, get your processes and planning done, and then by the time the new year comes around, you could be looking at getting the keys to your new home.

It can be a dream, but to make it happen, you need to set things in motion.

• Plan how you will tackle packing for the move
• Think about whether you can gift things or recycle items
• Think about getting boxes ready
• Talk to the conveyancers
• Search for removal firms
• Note down who you need to notify

In essence, simply prepare.

We are here to help guide you through selling your home at Christmas. We are more than happy to chat about your next steps.