Details

Published: 05 July 2022

Hits: 332

4 Simple Home Staging Tips That Can Help Sell Your Flat Quickly

Sometimes, it’s the little things that make a big difference when you’re selling a flat. While it’s easy to spend a fortune staging your home for viewings, you don’t have to splash the cash to freshen up your space.

By maximising the assets your apartment already has and doing a few simple things to spruce up the overall appearance, you can make your home look more attractive to buyers and be on the right track to getting a quicker sale.

In this article, we’ll share our best home staging tips for apartments that can help you sell your flat quickly.

1.  Declutter

One of the best things you can do to stage your flat for a quick sale is to declutter. A messy flat can easily make the space appear smaller than it is.

Before viewings, minimise your belongings and put things away in cupboards to maximise your floor space and show off shelving areas.

Remember, it’s best to depersonalise as much as you can, but never make your flat feel empty. Buyers want to see open space, but too much emptiness can have a negative impact and make your home look cold.

Strike a good balance and stick to decluttering the clutter, not everything.

2.  Accentuate Natural Light

Natural light is one of the best features a home can have. If you have many windows in your flat, accentuate the natural light as best you can.

When viewings are booked in, make sure your window ledges are clear and your blinds/curtains are opened all the way. If you have time, give your windows a quick clean, too.

These changes may be small, but they can make a huge difference in how bright your apartment feels.

3.  Wash Rugs & Upholstery

Sometimes, it’s the little things that make a big difference! If you want to make your apartment look brighter, give your rugs, upholstery and sofa cushions a clean.

You may not notice it yourself, but these items can become dirty over time. With a quick wash of the essentials, you can make your space look fresher and cleaner. Plus, your apartment will smell fab when buyers walk in!

4.  Refresh Walls

Your apartment walls are likely one of the first things buyers will notice. With a bright, neutral colour, your flat can easily appear bigger and cleaner.

To stage your apartment for a quicker sale, giving it a fresh coat of paint can go a long way. However, we know not everyone can spare the cash or the time to paint.

Instead, you can simply wipe walls down with a magic eraser. With just a quick spruce, dirt and blemishes can disappear entirely.

Need Help Selling?

If you’re selling your apartment, we’d love to talk! Warren Powell-Richards are your local property experts. Our friendly team are happy to arrange a valuation of your flat and provide personalised home staging tips.

Give us a call today or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to learn more about our services and how we can help.

Details

Published: 01 July 2022

Hits: 622

Renovation Ideas That Can Add Value to Your Home

It’s no secret that home renovations can give your home a boost in value. But knowing which DIY projects will reap the most benefits is a tricky one.

If you’re flipping a property or selling up in the next few years, being selective about what you renovate is always a wise choice. Some renovations are worth more in resale value than others.

If you’re looking for ideas on what renovations will add the most value to your home, here are Warren Powell-Richards’s top four choices based on UK demand.

1. A Conservatory

Conservatories have always been popular with UK buyers. They add more living space and can sometimes even boost the amount of natural light that spans across the downstairs of your home. By choosing to install a double-glazed or solar-controlled glass conservatory, you could easily add value to your home.

Plus, the good thing about conservatories is that they can extend the square meterage of your home, without you having to pay for a costly extension. It’s a cheaper solution that can easily pay for itself if the market is there for it.

2. A Loft Conversion With a Bedroom En-Suite

It’s no secret that the more bedrooms you have, the more value you can add to your home. If you add an extra bedroom with an en-suite bathroom to your loft, you can boost your home’s value up into the next pricing tier. Some loft conversions can even add as much as 15% to the valuation estimate[1]!

3. A Garden Office

Since the number of people working from home is on the rise, installing a home office in your garden could be one of the best renovation ideas for your property. Summer houses that are properly installed as productive home offices can cost anywhere between £5,000 and £20,000[2]. But the value this extra space could add to your home could be well worth the investment!

4. An Open Plan Kitchen-Living Space

Open plan kitchen and living rooms can be a simpler DIY project than it sounds. If all you need to do is knock down the wall that separates your two main spaces, you can add value to your home without needing to extend it.

Just make sure you always seek advice from a professional before taking down walls. The last thing you want to do when you’re thinking of selling is to make your house structurally unstable!

Thinking About Resale Value?

If you’re thinking about the resale potential when renovating your home, we’d love to talk to you! Warren Powell-Richards are your local property experts in the area and are here to help. Whether you’re selling up right now or next year, our friendly team of agents can help get your home ready for buyers.

Give us a call today or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for a chat about which renovations can add the most value in your area.

[1] https://www.propertypriceadvice.co.uk/home-improvements/ten-of-the-best-ways-to-add-value-to-your-home

[2] https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/advice/how-to-add-value-to-your-home

Details

Published: 28 June 2022

Hits: 315

Moving Home: Who Should I Notify?

Moving home can be the wonderful fresh start you need. A new place, new location, new neighbours and new friends we just haven’t met yet. You may have got all the financials in place, instructed the lawyers and got the removals company all booked in.

But wait! Who needs to know you are moving home and why?

Here, we at Warren Powell-Richards identify some of the people and organisations you should be notifying about your move. And don’t forget, we can help you create a list if you need a little bit of extra help.

1. Don’t Bank on Them Knowing!

Financial institutions, such as banks and building societies, should be informed as soon as you can. The same goes for pension companies or credit card providers. Firstly, their paperwork has to be correct, and they often use it as a security check – think of how you get a new bank card or PIN numbers. Secondly, imagine if your bank details and personal finance arrangements are sent to the wrong address and end up in the wrong hands.

Top Tip: Take time to write a list of organisations you bank with or have some sort of financial agreement with. Do this when you’re moving home and try to keep it updated as it’ll save you time in the future.

2. Motoring Into the Future

Driving off to a new home? Make sure the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency are kept informed once you’ve moved. They need to have the correct address for you and your licence, and for your car.

Top Tip: The DVLA is one of many government organisations, such as HMRC, who will need to know your new address. Think about other governmental organisations who have info about you and make sure they all know the changes.

3. Power to the Utility Providers

You will have been paying for your gas, water and electricity bills, and it might be that when you move, you’ll have new suppliers. Make sure your old suppliers have updated details for the property you have moved out of – after all, you do not want to be paying someone else’s bills. Remember to update your TV licence and TV companies too.

Top Tip: Don’t forget to take your meter readings when you move so that you are billed for what you have used, and no more.

4. A Health Checklist

Whether you have a medical condition or are as fit as a fiddle, you will have a doctor and the GP surgery where you are registered must have your updated details on file. This goes for the dentist too, and the optician, and any other medical services provider to whom you are registered.

GPs often use addresses for identification purposes too, so it’s a security requirement as well.

Top Tip: Communicate with your medical providers as soon as you can. You don’t want important letters going to the wrong address.

5. Education and Employment Matters

These two areas are aligned as education and employment are often linked. It’s a good idea to deal with them together, so you don’t forget. Schools, nurseries, training providers, and employers all need up to date information as they will all need a record and be able to communicate with you via letter if they need to.

Top Tip: Group your thinking together. There’s less chance of missing something then.

6. Council Tax

Love it or hate it, we all have to pay council tax on the property in which we live. Worked out by several factors and set by the local council, it’s vital that you pay what you need to pay. If you don’t let the council know you’ve moved, you might get a notice to pay for a property that is no longer yours.

Top Tip: There are various ways to contact your local council with your new details, from phone to live chat to email. Whichever method you choose, it a priority to let them know.

You might also want to let family and friends know – or you might not if you’re having a fresh start!

We hope this gives you a clearer idea of who you need to notify! Still looking for the perfect property? Call our team or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and we’ll get the conversation started.

Details

Published: 24 June 2022

Hits: 289

Plant Life: The Top 5 Best Indoor Plants for Your Home

Interior design trends come and go with the seasons, but there are few trends that stick around long enough to be considered staples in home decorating. Houseplants are one of those evergreen (no pun intended) trends. 

Not only do they give a breath of fresh air into your home by bringing the outdoors in, but they also make it look like you’re ‘adulting’ the same way a fully stocked bookshelf does. It shows some level of care and responsibility more than other decor does, which can actually add to the feel of the whole room. Think about your friends’ places who have plants and how you feel when you visit their homes. You’re a bit more impressed and oddly relaxed, right? 

Why not recreate that feeling in your own home and take advantage of the other benefits houseplants can offer? A plant is more than just a piece of decor – it’s a living thing that requires care, and in turn, makes you feel more relaxed, along with other mental health benefits one gets from taking care of a living thing. 

If you aren’t a plant expert though, this may sound like hard work. Bringing something into your home that requires effort and caring for may just be too much trouble. Therefore, this list is here to help you find the perfect plants for even the most minimal amount of work needed to help them thrive and look great in your home. 

Here are the top five indoor plants for your home, regardless of your gardening expertise. 

1. Zamioculas Zamiifolia (ZZ Plant) 

The Zamiculas Zamiifolia or ZZ plant is the perfect plant for anyone who usually (and unintentionally), kills any plant they bring home! These plants are easy to care for as they require such a minimal amount of commitment that you could practically ignore this plant and it would be just as happy. You have probably seen them in places like offices that have low natural light – a good sign this plant can take some neglect. 

ZZ plants are well known as the Zanzibar Gem because of how shiny their emerald green leaves are. There’s also a variegation of the ZZ plant that has black leaves called the raven ZZ plant, so if you want a more dramatic plant, you could opt for that version. Both variegations require indirect sun but can tolerate low light, so they are great options for areas of the home that don’t have a lot of natural light like a bathroom or tucked away in a corner. The less light this plant gets, the slower it will grow, but it’ll hang on as-is regardless. 

They also don’t need a lot of water since they store moisture in their bulbous roots. If it’s sitting in a spot with indirect sun, you can probably get away with watering it thoroughly once a month and letting it completely dry out between waterings. If it’s sitting in a spot with very little light, it needs even less water. 

2. Monstera Deliciosa (Swiss Cheese Plant)

One of the most recognisable plants, monsteras are super trendy right now and so easy to keep happy. This plant isn’t for anyone with a tight space, however. The split leaves can grow pretty quickly and seem to double in size whenever a new one pops out. If you’ve got the space for it, it can take over and be a focal point of the room, turning your room into an indoor jungle. 

3. Sanseveria (Snake Plant)

This plant is practically invincible and much like the ZZ plant, it can grow in almost any condition and only needs minimal water. There are different varieties of snake plants (dwarf, sword, striped, twisted sister, cylindrical, Kenya hyacinth, golden bird’s nest, etc.), so potentially you could just have a massive collection of them and not have the same two types. 

Sanseveria plants are also perfect to fit into smaller spaces since, unlike other houseplants, they grow upwards and not outwards. You won’t need to worry about trimming them back because they also grow incredibly slowly. 

4. Spathiphyllum (Peace Lily)

Peace lilies are another easy to care for plant that doesn’t need too much light to thrive, although the more light you can give it, the faster it will grow and bloom those gorgeous white flowers they’re known for. They can grow relatively quickly in medium or low light as well, making them ideal for any room with minimal light. The best part about peace lilies is their tendency to let you know when they need a good drink of water. Their leaves will wilt and flop over, making it look like it’s dying, but if you give it a healthy amount of water, in a few hours the leaves will perk right back up again. 

5. Epipremnum Aureum (Pothos Vine)

For anyone who wants a fast-growing plant that takes up whatever amount of space you give it, a pothos vine is the way to go. They’re easy to care for in the sense that they won’t put up a fuss if neglected for a little while but do require intermittent watering and a medium amount of indirect sun. They work best as hanging plants because their vines grow quite quickly, so giving them room to trail down makes any space look like an indoor garden.

With this in mind, if your property is on the market, consider the addition of one of these top five houseplants to help transform your rooms in an instant, by bringing your space to life.