As New Year’s resolutions go, it was a big one!

While many were making vows to get fit or lose weight, Clair Paxman decided to take the plunge and set up her own business. “It was a case of New Year – new start,” she says.

Clair and husband Curtis discussed her options during a four-week camper van holiday in Australia. “I was going to be running a cleaning company or open a bistro or maybe go back to college and do interior design,” she says. “But it had to be something for which I have a real passion.”

Clair’s final choice was just that – combining her enthusiasm for interior design and her experience working in the estate agency sector.

The result was I Love Your House, a business helping people “present” their houses for sale.

Says Clair: “It’s called ‘home staging’. I advise people on how to present their property for the purpose of making a sale.

“I try to help them make the best of what they have. It could be a simple ‘de-cluttering’ or replacing the bathroom taps, re-decorating a room or changing the carpets.”

Despite early signs that the housing market is picking up, Clair says: “It’s still a buyer’s market and there is a lot of choice out there. People wanting to sell their properties have to present them to their best potential. The reason a house is not selling is not always down to the economic climate. It may be down to the property itself.”

Clair, who was brought up in Scholes, attended Honley High School before taking a course in health and social care at Huddersfield Technical College. She says: “I applied to do my nurses’ training, but because there were so many people wanting to do the same, I needed to get some ‘life experience’ in the sector.”

Clair worked as a dental nurse for three years before reaching a “crossroads” and asking herself “in which direction am I heading?”

Says Clair: “I loved my job and the people I worked with, but I didn’t see myself doing it forever.”

Clair spent the next 10 years working in the property sector, including several years as a business transfer agent and time with a local independent estate agent. Her role included appraising properties and valuing houses for sale – building up experience which has left her well-placed for her new business.

In too many cases, when houses aren’t selling, the standard answer is to reduce the price, she says. But spending a little money on making the house more desirable can be the better option.

“I visit the property and carry out a consultation to prepare a plan of action,” she says. “First impressions are important and if a potential buyer walks into a house and the first thing they see is a frayed hall carpet, it doesn’t create a good impression.”

Clair also carries out de-cluttering and can organise for painters and decorators, plumbers or carpet fitters to carry out work which will make the property more saleable.

“I have seen properties where drawers are left open and people’s underwear is left out,” she says. “You walk into the kitchen to see dirty plates on the draining board or go into the living room to see an untidy bookcase. It doesn’t make a good impression and prevents people seeing the potential of a property.

“In another case, one room of a house I was asked to visit had patio doors and looked out over the garden, but it was being used as a junk room. It was cluttered up with a computer, a broken chest of drawers, a cat basket and other rubbish.

“It could have been presented as a real sanctuary away from the rest of the house. The owner cleared it to create a beautiful sun room with new flooring and paintwork. It looked completely different.”

Clair says: “I know every single excuse a viewer comes up with for not buying a house – so the seller shouldn’t give them more reasons to look elsewhere.”

Clair says the property sector is still a male-dominated profession, but remarks: “It is really the ladies who make the decision whether or not to buy the house! I suppose I’m providing the feminine touch.”

In some cases, the house which has failed to sell suddenly becomes more appealing after a lick of paint on the window frames, a tidy-up in the garden or fresh flowers in the hall.

One of Clair’s pet hates has to be net curtains. “I visited one house which had beautiful views of Castle Hill from the window – but the owners had net curtains and you couldn’t see the scenery. They took the view for granted because they had lived there for so long – but that view was one of the property’s biggest assets as far as a potential buyer is concerned.”

Clair says: “I get a lot of support from local estate agents who recognise that home staging is something we need to do to encourage movement in the housing market.”

Clair is positive about prospects for the local market, however.

“We live in a very desirable area,” she says. “There are a lot of beautiful places in Huddersfield. The market has been stagnant, but there is always a desire to move into this area and people’s circumstances change. They get married, have kids or split up, which all means people have to buy and sell houses.”

Clair, Curtis and their three-year-old son Jacob enjoy holidays and getting together with family.

They were joined by “the whole Paxman clan” on a ski-ing holiday to Val d’Isere – as Huddersfield lay buried under the heaviest snowfall for decades.

Says Clair: “People were tweeting us about the snow, but when we arrived at Manchester Airport we didn’t see anything. We thought they were having us on. Then we crossed into Yorkshire and realised what they meant! Luckily, we all have big Land Rovers and Range Rovers, so we were okay.”

Clair, Curtis and Jacob live in a “lovely” house surrounded by countryside near Hepworth.

Says Clair. “We have wonderful views. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of the scenery – or hide it behind the curtains!”