Phil Spencer recommends making your home stand out

"If you’re selling, do everything in your power to make your property stand out and be noticed when compared with other properties of a similar type in a similar area,’ advises Phil. ‘I’d pay particularly close attention not just to the price, which is the obvious way of making your home stand out, but your challenge as a seller is to get people through the door to come and have a look inside.

There’s been a great increase in what I call drive-by viewings, and with less potential purchasers out there you need, as a seller, to do everything possible to get people in. Work hard at what the outside of the property looks like, because a lot of potential purchasers are driving by, looking over your garden fence and then deciding if they’re interested or not. So pay attention to the outside. Don’t go spending loads of money but keep everything ship-shape.’

Phil Spencer speaking to Channel 4

Interior design demands of Russian property buyers

A shiny black Steinway grand sits in the corner of an all-white room, accompanied only by two pristine white sofas and a neat picture formation on the walls. The gallery-like basement room in the smartest new house in Mayfair feels insulated from the financial storm outside. This showspace might well clinch the deal on the £17.5 million townhouse on Culross Street. A wow-factor entertainment space is at the top of the Russian wish list and as London's super-prime market begins to slip, Russian buyers are calling the shots.

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Best home improvements to boost your home's value

From The Times, September 19, 2008

Lloyds TSB reports a near 20 per cent jump in the number of people who want to borrow money to improve their home compared with the same time last year. Some homeowners have decided to expand their properties rather than move while others are hoping that their improvements will help them to sell at a better price. So how can you boost the value of your home?

Ten ways to improve your home