Deciding to put your home on the market is a huge step. But, beginning the process of preparing your property for sale can be completely overwhelming. Here are eight simple tips every seller should follow to ensure their home is ready to welcome viewers.
1. Do a Thorough Declutter
A rigorous declutter is essential before you place your house on the market. This will not only make your home look bigger, brighter and more inviting, but it will help massively with the moving process.
The easiest and most thorough way to declutter is to approach each room separately. Empty the entire contents of the room, and split it into three separate piles. The first should be items you adore, which will be joining you in the new home.
The second pile should be items of excellent quality, but belongings that are simply not loved by your family anymore. These can then be sold, given away, or donated to charity.
The third and final pile will consist of items that are no longer any good. These can then be taken to your local recycling centre to be transformed into something new.
2. Clean Rigorously
Your home should be sparklingly clean in the preparation process to allow for the best quality photographs to entice the most buyers.
Consider renting a carpet cleaner to clean the floors throughout your home. Additionally, take this opportunity to deep clean the blinds and curtains, which will easily transform any space.
3. Decorate and Depersonalise
Viewers want to look around your home and imagine a place that they will enjoy. During their visit, they will visualise how their furniture and belongings will sit in each room, which can be challenging if the space is already cluttered.
Where necessary, paint the rooms in light, neutral colours to attract the broadest range of viewers. Remove any large pictures, canvases or artwork which can also be distracting for potential buyers.
However, avoid expensive renovations such as kitchens and bathrooms. These might look fantastic, but it is unlikely you will reap the rewards during the sale.
4. Complete All Maintenance Jobs
There are many niggly things in our homes that we learn to live with. Stained carpets, leaky pipes, and unvarnished windowsills. Showing your home to a potential buyer with these issues suggests you have not loved and taken care of the property, which can seriously deter viewers. In such a competitive market, your home needs to do everything it can to stand out in the crowd.
These tasks are often inexpensive and quick to sort, so dedicate an afternoon to fixing the issues before you plan to put your home on the market.
5. Switch Around the Rooms
You may use certain rooms in a way that works perfectly for your family, but that doesn’t mean it will appeal to prospective buyers.
For example, you might be currently using your dining room as a playroom. Unfortunately, this may eliminate older couples with no children or those who don’t plan to start a family soon. Remember, buyers quickly glance through the online advertisements, so your home must do everything it can to make the best possible first impression.
Try to squeeze in an office space where possible. More people are working from home than ever before, and a dedicated space for a desk will make a huge difference.
6. Set The Scene
Home staging is the process of ensuring your home looks its absolute best before the photographs are taken, or buyers enter the property. You might decide to lay the table, add new lighting, or even rearrange the furniture to maximise the potential of each space.
Add fresh flowers, reed diffusers or candles before viewers arrive to leave the house smelling beautiful.
7. Freshen up the Garden
The outside space is as important as what’s inside the home for most buyers. Therefore, ensuring your garden is in top condition is imperative.
Before de-weeding the area and mowing the lawn, you should remove any empty plant pots, toys, or general waste. This shows the garden has been cared for throughout your ownership.
Kerb appeal is crucially important too, and viewers often make snap decisions on their first impressions. Therefore, it may also be worthwhile to paint any garden walls or fences, brightening up the area.
8. Get your property photo ready!
Once your home is ready to be put on the market, it’s time to capture all of your hard work to show your property in the best light. At HomeMove Estate Agents we offer an inhouse photography service or can recommend local property photographers if you’d prefer!
Get in touch –
Covering Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire, HomeMove Estate Agents are your East Midlands Property experts! If you’re thinking of moving please get in touch, now is a great time to move with the demand for properties remaining high.
