The size and shape of the garden is far less important that the look of the garden – if it looks tidy and safe, it’s an incentive for the buyer to purchase. They can imagine sitting there in the summer, cool drink in hand, looking at the neat grass and pretty flower beds. They don’t want to imagine sitting in the middle of a mountain of weeds while the shed falls down behind them, all the while looking out for broken glass and trying not to catch anything from the rubbish dump next to the fence!

It doesn’t cost a fortune to make your garden presentable, a just a little bit of maintenance every couple of weeks will keep it that way. Think of the time you spend as an investment in your property – it could clinch the sale you are looking for.

Click Here to see The Complete Gardening Course, featuring the Garden Master Plan.

If you invest a small amount of time to ensure that your property is clean and tidy, you will be well on your way to making more money for the property – it is not uncommon for buyers to offer a lower price if they perceive the property is in need of work doing to it, and an untidy home can give that negative impression.

If you are pressed for time, Mimi Tanner may have the answer for you in her DeClutter Fast system. Decluttering is easy, and a lot less stressful than spending day after day looking at piles of ‘stuff’ just laying around for no good reason.

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In these cases, it is easy to get caught in the “eBay trap” – we’ve all seen it. Something is for sale on eBay, and you place a bid for slightly lower than you would pay if you went to a shop. Someone else bids a few pennies higher. You feel this was your item, so you bid higher. Someone else bids. The original bidder bids higher. You….give up and move on to something else. The other two bidders outbid each other for the last two minutes of the auction, and the item goes for four times the original value.

The same things happens with properties – as the price started low, people are willing to make higher offers if other people are interested – and it quickly gets out of hand. It’s not uncommon for prices to go up to 10 or 20k higher than the original asking price, and as the original price was “reasonable”, there’s no problem with getting a mortgage as the property could quite likely be valued much higher.

And you end up paying far more than you originally intended – don’t forget, the interest on your mortgage will be higher if the total amount is higher. It’s a double price rise every time you move up in cost.

So take it easy, and makes offers with you head – not your heart. Other properties will become available, just bide your time and don’t get the eBay fever…

One thing is for sure – you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression when selling your house. If you can create the impression of a bright and airy property that is clean and spacious, you stand a better chance of selling – and at the price that you want.

In these times, it is common for a buyer to offer 10%-25% less than the asking price, often citing instances of work needing doing or changes that need to be made. With a great looking house and a fairly neutral colour scheme, there’s not a lot that can be said that needs doing – you are effectively offering a spacious blank canvas for the buyer to stamp their identity on.

In any economic climate it is always worth making your property more desirable, but there is no need to go overboard, as long as jobs are done right. The quality of the finish is just as important as the kind of work that is done – a carpet that is fitted with gaps around the edge, or a bathroom that is re-tiled with tiles that don’t match or line up is liable to decrease the perceived value of a property rather than increase it in the eyes of the buyer.

There are benefits to both approaches. An online agent tends to cost far less and often provide you with features to help manage your own property online. You can have instant access to reports on the popularity of viewing your property too, and your property can usually be seen worldwide within minutes.

A traditional agent may offer a more personal approach, but may not be too quick to get you online – a delay of a week or more is not uncommon. These agents are also more likely to advertise your property in the local press, and have the advantage of having a presence in the high street that a casual passer by may notice.

With both styles, customer service will vary widely and depend entirely on the company involved.

Which is your preference? Are you all for new technology and a reduced cost, or do you prefer the more expensive approach that is grounded in reality?

As said in an earlier post, now is the time to buy. Interest rates are still low, prices are nearly at rock bottom, and it’s a buyer’s market – anyone who has had their house up for sale over the past year will be eager to take an offer to get moving.

The start of the year is also traditionally the time to start looking for somewhere to move to, which will naturally increase demand for property over the coming month. As demand goes up, properties WILL sell, which then means prices will go up. BUY!

Look at it this way – you can now buy a property for potentially 25% less than a year ago. So what if it needs new carpets and a lick of paint? You just saved a fortune. Mortgage approval rates are on the up also, so if you are dubious about getting a mortgage with the tightened rules and regulations, it may still be worth speaking to an independent mortgage advisor to discover your options.

Additionally, if you are not moving but perhaps considering re-mortgaging – DO IT NOW. Low interest rates with a potential for fixing a low rate for a year or two should be enough to convince you anyway. When the interest rate starts to go up, it will keep going, and there is no telling when it will drop again. This is the ideal time to borrow money if you are able.

Take action now, or you may regret it in the long run.

People are having difficulty selling and are more likely to consider accepting lower offers.

VAT doesn’t go up until next month.

Buy a property on a fixed rate mortgage now – save on estate agent fees and don’t feel the effect of interest rate changes in the New Year. Could now be the time to kickstart the property market?

Its annual forecast for the UK property market paints a picture of continued stagnation, with the current low level of sales persisting, and prices falling modestly or staying flat.

Full story here.

The number of surveyors reporting lower prices exceeded those seeing an increase by 44%, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) revealed Tuesday.

Full story at Sharecast.

View the video at the BBC website.