Have you ever wondered why your property is still on the market when the one five doors away sold quickly … even though it was slightly more expensive and, if anything, the views were just not as good? Part of the answer could be simple, with an easy remedy: presentation. Everyone is now familiar with the concept of Property Presentation, since it is the subject of perhaps the most popular television programmes in the UK … ever. But can this type of staging help when selling property abroad? You bet it can.

Of course, the first and perhaps most important “presentation” will be in the photographs that should accompany your property details in your estate agent’s window. This is what will get potential buyers into your property in the first place. Make sure that the photographs that appear are those that portray your property in the best light. Does this sound obvious? Well, it clearly needs stressing, because you would be amazed at the numbers of photographs showing cast off clothes and shoes, unmade beds, bathrooms with overflowing waste-paper baskets that are produced … by vendors themselves!

So, whether you are intending to take photographs yourself, or are waiting for the property lister to arrive to take them for you, cast an impartial eye over what the camera will inevitably show. Make the beds, clear away items that are too personal for comfort … and this includes clothes, empty the bins, and draw the curtains back to frame the windows. Don’t take pictures of hallways, or areas without windows … although “transitional areas” matter when conducting viewings themselves, they do not photograph well. Concentrate on giving an overall flavour of the property, and remember that people will often want to see the exterior of a building and communal areas as much as interior shots before they decide whether to view or not.

When your agent brings around clients to view, stage the property in advance to make it welcoming. It is all very well removing all personal items to declutter a UK house, but with a holiday home, this will simply make them wonder who has ever used the property. Here, a few personal items are essential to convey the fact that this is a well loved and well cared for holiday home from home. Moreover, since DIY is often difficult at a distance, or in the restricted time you perhaps have here, don’t try to hide problems … rather confront them. For example, putting lights on to brighten a dark room will not necessarily help here when the outside sun is so bright. And, in any case, people are too used to these tricks of the trade now, and it can actually work against you, with viewers thinking that a reasonably bright room must, actually, be dark if you’ve put the light on! Make an asset of the shade, and remind buyers that the sun is there year round outside, and that inside shade is a welcome relief … look at the typical style of all those Canarian houses!

Similarly, don’t pull curtains to hide a small and drab external area. It will just make the inside of the room look smaller and darker, and people will, in any case, wonder what you’re trying to hide. If there really is a problem area, try to brighten and tidy it up and again deal with whatever positive aspects it does have … perhaps it is a private sun trap, or a small area where the washing can be put out to air away from everyone’s eyes. Do anything rather than trying to hide it, because this will just lead your potential buyers to wonder what else you might be trying to hide. It will make them worry just that tiny bit, and this is the quickest way to lose their interest.

Most important of all, though, remember the one piece of house doctor advice that truly does translate here from the UK: you are selling a lifestyle, and in The Canary Islands that lifestyle dream consists of sun and relaxation more than any other factors. Concentrate, therefore, on all those aspects of your property that emphasize these two features. Clean up the sun loungers, and plump up the cushions that you scatter on them. Put a small table by their side, and before a viewing, make sure that there you have a couple of drinks ready to provide cooling refreshment. You can always get a couple more glasses for your viewers, and their no doubt thirsty agent, and invite them all into your lifestyle … you might end up with some new friends, as well as buyers!