May262015

Selling your home can be tricky. Whether it’s a competitive market, or a quite one, you need to be able to present your home in the best way possible to catch a buyers eye. Check out our top tips on how to prepare your home for sale.

Lets start with what your potential buyers will see first – the outside of your home.

How does your home compare with your neighbours? If it stands out for the wrong reasons then it needs some work.

Quick fixes:

  • Mow the lawn
  • Clean your windows
  • Open your curtains
  • Tidy away any toys
  • Cut back overgrown shrubs
  • Clean the gutters
  • Don’t leave your garage door open
  • Remove dead flowers from hanging baskets and pots
  • Put away rubbish bins and make sure they aren’t overflowing
  • Tidy up messy ponds

If you have some spare cash:

  • Paint the window frames and door
  • Buy new door numbers
  • Buy some flowering plants
  • Paint the house exterior
  • Fix uneven paving slabs

And now for inside the house. While your home is your home, you need to remember that every potential buyer that walks through that door will be trying to envisage that home as their own.

Quick fixes:

  • Declutter! Donate what you don’t need to charity or put items away neatly
  • Are there family photos all over the house? Take some down – keep it minimal (and remember to fill any holes that hooks may have left on the wall)
  • Is your fridge cluttered with drawings and memos? Store what you don’t need
  • Give your entire home a deep clean – our spring cleaning article is a good place to start!
  • Do you have pets? If so – clean the tank, make sure your caged friends haven’t left any surprises and if possible, make sure that dogs aren’t in the house when potential buyers come to visit
  • Clean grubby hand marks off doors and light switches
  • Take out the rubbish
  • Put clean towels in the bathroom
  • Place freshly cut flowers around the house
  • Open the curtains – get as much light as you can in to your home

If you have some spare cash:

  • Fix leaking taps
  • Touch up paint
  • Replace broken bulbs
  • Fix creaky doors and stubborn drawers that won’t shut
  • Replace grubby wallpaper
  • Replace your shower curtain and bath mats
  • Refit your bathroom – no one wants to imagine relaxing in a 1980’s avocado bath
  • Deep clean your carpets and curtains
  • Is your boiler making strange noises? Book a service