News

Six Things To do To Get Your House Sale Ready For 2023:

By Paul Dobbs
Back to news

Six Things To Do To Get Your House Sale Ready For 2023:

Here are our top tips to prepare your home for sale to ensure it sells faster and for the highest price possible:

#1 – DECLUTTER – BUT DON’T DEPERSONALISE;

Get rid of items that have accumulated and make rooms look cluttered.  Put them into storage, sell them or give them away! Also, consider moving out old bulky furniture that make the rooms look small and replace with smaller, brighter furniture

People need to be able to envisage what the property would look like if they were living there. People often find this difficult, so make it easy for them to see all the fantastic living space you’re offering them.

But, don’t make it look like a generic hotel; leave some personality. Apart from anything else, it gives unimaginative buyers suggestions as to what they might do.

People are often buying into a lifestyle as much as a property.

#2 – A FRESH LICK OF PAINT:

Giving your home a fresh lick of neutral paint will immediately make it feel fresher, brighter and bigger. It will also help potential buyers envisage how they could adapt rooms to their own needs.

#3 – MAXIMISE KERB APPEAL:

Kerb appeal creates a lasting first impression – in fact, most buyers make up their minds in the first few minutes of arriving at a property.

The most important features buyers tell us they notice are well-maintained windows and a roof that appeared in good condition. A well-maintained front garden, pathways and fences and a well-painted frontage were also important. See how much it costs to do some simple updates to your home to enhance its kerb appeal and value.

#4 – FIX & CLEAN:

Make any minor repairs – holes in walls, broken door knobs, cracked tiles, torn or threadbare carpets. Many buyers want to move in without making changes, so allow for this.

Clean everything until it sparkles. Get rid of limescale, clean and repair tile grout, wax wooden floors, get rid of odours, hang up fresh towels. This will make the place more appealing and allow viewers to imagine living there.

Tidy the garden: cut bushes back, clean the patio and furniture and cut the grass. While this doesn’t add much value to your home, it makes it more likely to sell as people visualise themselves using the garden.

#5 – LIGHT & AIRY:

Wall mirrors make a room look much bigger and lighter. Consider putting some up, especially in smaller rooms or hallways.

Clean windows inside and out and replace any broken light bulbs. Making the place feel light and airy makes rooms feel bigger and the property more attractive.

Ensure that you have lamps on in any dark corners.

#6 – GET IT SMELLING GREAT:

Bad smells are the single biggest turn off for prospective buyers. Don’t just cover them up, fix the source of the smell. Clear drains, wash bins, open windows, air the kitchen from old cooking smells, get rid of furniture that is embedded with cigarette smoke, and wash any grimy bed sheets.

If you are a smoker, place bowls of vinegar around the house and leave out for three days. Though the vinegar will smell when you open the windows it will disappear quickly taking most of the stale cigarette smell out with it.

Conversely, good smells can make a property feel like an alluring home. While it might be impractical to bake fresh bread, cakes or brownies for every viewer that visits your home, you could perhaps brew some fresh coffee or light some scented candles.

We hope these pointers have helped with the initial planning stages of marketing your property.  We love helping people buy and sell property locally, so why not drop us an email or contact your local branch for a friendly, informal chat?

Don’t forget – We are running our very own JANUARY SALE and are offering a 25% reduction in our commission for the first ten new properties listed in 2023!

Until next time…

Paul Dobbs

Sales Director

About the Author...

Paul has been successfully selling property locally since 1992 working for both large corporate estate agents and smaller independents where he rose to Area Manager.
Read about Paul