Balance the energy in your home

Some homes ooze calm. Others cause a knot of anxiety to well up in open home-goers. The cure, or at least a potential pick-me-up for that unappealing house, may be the Chinese practice of feng shui, which is designed to balance the energies of a space.

Get the feng shui right and you might increase your chances of selling at the price you want. A good way to get started is to read books or watch YouTube video on the subject. Or find yourself a feng shui consultant such as Danny Thorn.

There are some factors, says Thorn, that are just bad points when it comes to feng shui such as being sited below street level that should be avoided.

It's all about having sufficient qi -- the life force in your home. If your house is a turnoff to some or all buyers then there could be something out of balance with the qi.

Getting qi right is about making adjustments to the space to create balance and flow.

Some of the techniques include:

1. Declutter: Clutter takes away the qi. Remove the clutter and you can move around the home more easily.

2. Focus on the front of the home: Have you ever noticed that homes owned by Chinese people often have beautiful entrances. It's the feng shui way of creating positive qi. A bright hall or Ming Tang, says Thorn, involves having a generous wide-open space to the front of the property's central building. Blocked facings inhibit the movement of qi from free flowing into the building.

3. Create good traffic flow: In the most basic sense this is about repositioning furniture. Walking around a corner to see the back of a sofa is a no-no, for example, as it closes up a room. It might mean removing some of your much loved belongings.

4. Give each room a purpose: We've all got that room that's storage, office, and spare bedroom in one. In feng shui each room needs a purpose. Transform it into a bedroom that looks like it's used or an office, but not both.

5. Wash the windows: This should go without saying. But it's really important for the feng shui of a home.

6. Close your toilet seat: Toilets and drains suck positive energy away. While you're in the bathroom clear all the clutter, clean, and put plush towels out to offset the starkness.

7. Watch for busy subliminal messages: If the painting above your bed depicts a bullfight it's not feng shui. You might want to take it down and put a soothing artwork in its place.

8. Add plants: Hire or buy some thriving plants for the period of your sale and put them in the corners of rooms. But don't go overboard, you don't want them to make the room busy. Water features also add energy to a room or outdoor space.

Finally, don't ever buy a property where you can see the back door from the front door, says Thorn.