When it comes to preparing your property For Sale, our overall advice is to make the property as clean and clutter free as possible.
We are always on hand to come and offer our further individual advice to suit your needs, as everybody’s budget and timescale is different.
Here’s a handy guide towards promoting your home as best you can.
Kerb Appeal
Stand outside your home and compare it to your neighbours' properties. If you feel slightly mortified, it's likely that you've already failed to impress your potential buyers.
- Give the windows and gutters a good clean
- Are the window frames in need of fresh paint or a proper wipe down?
- Give the lawn a fresh cut.
- Cut back shrubs and trees, especially if they are blocking light or invading the paths or driveway
De-Clutter and De-Personalise
Be ruthless! There’s a very good chance you will have accumulated a lot of bits and pieces over the years and now’s the time to deal with it.
Firstly have a good look at the furniture and be radical where you can. As a general guide, there should be enough space for people to move around the room unhindered, and enough furniture to convey the room's purpose. Try removing some furniture in the living room and see if it looks more spacious and light.
As for the shelves, walls and work tops you are going to need to deal with the clutter when you move so now is the time to either a) donate to charity b) throw things out or c) box up and keep hidden away in the cupboards, garage or loft.
Pay specific attention to:
- Books, CDs and DVDs
- Ornaments and knick-knacks
- Kitchen tools and appliances that currently live on the counters
- Potted plants
- Posters on your children's bedroom walls
Your buyers want to imagine the lovely life they could make for themselves in their beautiful potential new home. Try not to allow anything to clutter that vision.
Cleanliness is next to Godliness
Clean, Clean, Clean. Nobody wants to see grime at a house
- Clean the windows (inside and out)
- Vacuum prior to viewings
- Get rid of cobwebs
- Polish taps and mirrors
- Bleach tile grout
- Scrub the oven clean - it may sound excessive, but prospective buyers can be judgmental
- Don’t be overawed if you think that you’ll need some help, we have some great local cleaners who we can put you in touch with
Control your pets
No buyer wants to be greeted at the door by your bounding dog. If possible, remove pets altogether when you're showing your property. Ask a friend or family member to take them off your hands for a while, or better yet, take them for a walk yourself and let us show the viewers around.
Get out..
Why not leave us to get on with it? More and more sellers are choosing to go out and let us conduct the initial viewing.
Prospective buyers often don't want the seller hovering over them while they're trying to nose around and it can be off-putting. If they feel awkward, they're much less likely to linger in your home and get the full impact of how great it is and how they'd very much like to buy it.
We appreciate you are the experts of your own home so when they come back for a second view that is the chance for you to wow them with your intimate knowledge.
Repair, restore, revamp
Try to look at your home from the perspective of your buyer, and think about the details that would impress or dismay you if you were in their position. Then take care of those details immediately.
- Replace broken light bulbs
- Fix leaky taps
- Fix doors and drawers that don't open or close properly
- Repair cracks in the walls
- Touch up paint and repaint altogether where necessary (in a neutral colour)
- Hang up fresh towels in the bathroom
- Get a new shower curtain and bathmat (again, choose neutral shades)
- Eradicate odours - particularly those from cigarette smoke, mildew and pets. Open the windows and air out your house. Simply masking bad smells with a perfumed air freshener won't do the trick
- Replace cushion covers, bedspreads and curtains that are worn or have garish colours and patterns
Let there be light
Lots of light usually tops the list of things people are looking for in a home, especially second or third-time movers.
Fortunately, there are ways to maximise the light in your house - natural or otherwise - and give the impression of having plenty of bright, airy space.
- Replace dim light bulbs with higher wattage
- In areas of your house that are particularly dark, install some extra light fixtures
- Repaint darker rooms with light-coloured and light-reflecting paint
- Prune any trees or vines that are casting shadows inside the house
