Preparing your home for the market can seem like a huge task, but there are a few things that are worth focusing on, so your home is as market-ready as possible. Often your local estate agent can guide you through some of the best things to do, but our top tips should help to get you started.
1. De-clutter, de-clutter, de-clutter
Often, when people are looking to move, they’ll be conscious of storage space, as it’s likely something that bugs them about their own home. So it’s important to make sure that your property appears to have ample storage by tidying away any excess belongings that you no longer need or even better, selling on an online marketplace to finance your move!
The local charity shops will thank you, your property will seem much more spacious, and you’ll have less to box up and move to your next home.
2. Don’t forget about the outside
Kerb appeal is vitally important, as the front of your home is the first thing potential purchasers will see. Tidying up gardens, washing down patios and hiding the bins are all going to make the property appear more low-maintenance, which is always a positive thing.
A garden is also an important feature to many people, so presenting it at its best can make a huge difference. Not all gardens need to look as though they’re from a gardening magazine, but just by keeping things tidy and trimmed back, the garden can seem more usable and spacious. Even the smallest of outdoor spaces can offer a real benefit to a property, so cleaning down a balcony or small yard and adding some potted plants can brighten it up into a positive selling feature.
3. Keep it light and bright
Brightening up your home can make the space feel larger and more appealing. Start by looking at your windows and establishing whether any large trees or hedges need pruning back to let more natural sunlight flood into the room. Once you’ve considered whether anything external can help, look to de-clutter the windows themselves by pulling back the curtains or delayering if you’ve got both blinds and curtains in the window. Large furniture close to the windows can also cast shadows and darkness across the room, so moving around your layout to open up the room can be beneficial.
Neutrally painted walls allow light to bounce around your rooms and present a blank canvas that potential buyers can visualise themselves in your property. So painting over bright colours, or removing a larger print wallpaper can showcase your home to a wider audience and is relatively cheap to do.
4. Focus on your kitchen and bathroom
Kitchens and bathrooms tend to be the most expensive rooms in the house to renovate, so it’s important to keep these looking their best to avoid buyers having to worry about them needing upgrading in the future. Often de-cluttering worktops can make the kitchen look bigger and avoids worries about storage space. Small things like changing the cupboard door handles can also make a big difference to the look of a kitchen and may make it seem more modern. If a dining table takes up a huge amount of space within the room, it may be worth changing the layout slightly to show off the space better, or pushing it up against the wall to generate more floor space.
5. Think about paperwork
Finally, getting all of your paperwork together can help in the long run, so it’s worth tracking it all down and checking that it’s in place. Things like boiler service certificates, FENSA certificates, invoices for repairs, and electrical checks are likely to be asked for by a solicitor once you have a sale agreed on your home. So, making sure you know where relevant paperwork is should save you a panic further down the line. Often missing paperwork can often be located or replaced, so don’t worry if you can’t find it all.
If you’re considering selling your home, the first step would be booking a valuation to get an idea of how much it’s worth. Our team of expert valuers can often guide you on the dos and don’ts of preparing your home for sale, so once they’ve seen your property they may be able to suggest some things you’ve not considered.
If you want to move things forward on the journey to your new home, call your local team today.