Top tips to prepare your home for selling
Kerb Appeal
Many buyers will take a drive around an area and to look at a property from the outside before making a decision whether to view, or even before contacting your estate agent. So it is really important that your home is well presented from the outside. An unkempt front garden to them is not a busy lifestyle, but a sign of an unkempt inside and lack of maintenance!
Simple things like ensuring the garden is trim, weeds removed and paths swept, windows and frames are clean and the addition of a few flowers or tubs to add a little colour, can go a long way to making a good first impression.
Have a Spring Clean
Buyers always arrive with a critical eye and often look up to the ceiling to get an idea on the true size of the room, or to admire a period cornice, so ensure there are no cobwebs loitering to distract them.
Giving your property a real thorough clean will reap rewards.
Maintenance
Take a quick tour around your property, are those little jobs that you have been putting off all completed? Are all the light bulbs working? Does the doorbell work?
Buyers who see work which needs doing will put their own price on such repairs which may result in a lower offer.
DECLUTTER
Properties which look too busy, or have lots of personal details and mis matched furniture can prevent buyers from being able to imagine where their own furniture and family pictures will go. It can make them feel much smaller than they actually are.
It’s a good idea to start sorting your possessions ready for the eventual house move, box up items you are not using day to day and dispose of anything you no longer require. Don’t hide everything in cupboards as buyers love to open them, and a packed cupboard will give them the message there is insufficient storage!
Self Store units are a really good idea for short term storage, or failing that you can move boxes into your car whilst the viewing takes place!
Pets
Whilst we are traditionally a nation of pet lovers, not everyone will appreciate a dog or a cat fussing around them on a viewing, at best it is a distraction from them concentrating on your home.
Ask a family member to take them for a walk during the viewing.
Another piece of good advice is to ensure they have been sent to the dog groomer or had a bath and that their bed has been washed. A house which smells of pets can be off-putting to some buyers.
Finishing Touches
Fresh flowers and windows being open ahead of a viewing all help to make your home attractive to buyers. Don’t declutter to the point that it feels clinical, but a few splashes of colour can be achieved with cushions or throws etc. Freshly ironed bedding is always a winner and a scented candle in the hallway always makes a nice first impression.
Gardens
To a lot of buyers, the garden is a deal breaker, especially to the family market. Mow the lawn, cut back unruly bushes and plant some inexpensive flowers. Pressure wash the patio and try to remove children’s toys where possible to give the maximum impression of space.
These are just a few pointers to ensure when it comes to photographing your home, it will be advertised to its full potential.
