Preparing Your Home for Autumn Viewings
The clocks go back on 25 October this year, and how a room looks at four in the afternoon changes completely once the evenings draw in. Here is what is actually worth doing before your next autumn viewing.
Light is the first thing to sort out.
Once the clocks go back, a viewing booked for what feels like a reasonable time can end up happening in near darkness. A few things make a real difference:
- Put lamps on in every room a buyer will walk through, not just the overhead light. A single ceiling bulb in a north-facing room looks cold and uninviting in October in a way it does not in June.
- Open curtains fully during any daytime viewing, even on a grey day. A room reads as smaller and gloomier than it is if the light is being blocked.
- Check bulbs before, not during. A viewing is not the time to discover a landing light has gone.
Warmth is not optional.
Put the heating on for half an hour before anyone arrives, even if the house does not feel cold to you. A house that feels properly warm reads as looked after. A house that feels the slightest bit cold reads as expensive to heat, whether that is fair or not.
If your listing photos have not been taken yet, do it now.
The window for good natural light in photography gets noticeably shorter after the clocks change, and a listing with photos that look grey and flat will get fewer clicks than one that does not, regardless of the house itself. If you are thinking about listing this side of Christmas, this is the month to get it done.
Do not let seasonal decoration take over.
A doormat and a bit of warmth in the hallway is a good thing. A house fully committed to Halloween or heading straight into Christmas decorations mid-viewing can distract from the house itself, and not every buyer will share your taste in decorations. Keep it light and keep it tidy.
Think about viewing times differently from how you would in summer.
An early afternoon slot will show the house in proper daylight. A slot after four o'clock from late October onward needs every light on and checked beforehand, not worked out on the spot.
