Selling your home requires teamwork, mostly between you and your agent. You can both work together when preparing your property for sale to make sure it looks its best, ensuring that everyone who sees your property simply can't look away!
On top of this, a home that looks fantastic might attract better offers and generate significant interest. So with this in mind, we have prepared a handy series of tips to get you ahead of the market and make your home look superb.
Indoors
For starters, it's time to clear away all of the clutter that takes up space around the home - putting excess books, ornaments, toiletries and the like into storage. Making a home feel lived-in is important, but having too much lying around can be off-putting, and stop people from being able to envision their own lifestyle in their new home.
From there, you want to add in a few flourishes that really make the home sparkle. Polishing surfaces (including taps), adding fruit bowls or flowers, cleaning lampshades and curtains are all essential. Check your lighting - is it too dim or too intense?
Heating is also important - the ability to keep a home both cool in summer and warm in winter will be crucial. Also keep the smell of your home in mind - it should be neutral, rather than overpowering with one particular scent (especially if that's last night's cooking!).
Outdoors
The facade of your property is the first thing people are going to see and the old cliche is true - first impressions last. Trim the lawns and do any necessary landscaping to boost your home's appeal. Don't skimp on the paint if your home needs it too! And don't forget to clear out the gutters for any leaves that can build up.
When you have an open home, check there is no junk mail hanging in your letterbox, and bring in any washing that's on the line.
The tough stuff
Sometimes, selling property means putting in a little bit of extra work to bring your home up to scratch. Loose floorboards, extensive landscaping, carpet replacement and pool maintenance are some examples of the more gruelling jobs you might have to take on.
These could require the services of a building professional as well - check your local council guidelines before you undertake any of the bigger jobs in case you need approval!
Things people always forget
No matter how much effort you put into preparing your home for sale, there's always going to be something in your property that has been overlooked. Have you organised your wardrobe? People may want to check out clothing storage, and don't want to see a big mess in there.
Are family photos out and about? These might be better off hidden away so the home is more of a blank slate. Are there any 'quirks' that you're used to, like a loose door handle, that might irk someone visiting?
A good way of identifying things you might overlook is getting some fresh eyes on your home. Get a friend to go through your house as if they were looking to buy, and they might be able to identify more areas that need work.
If you have any questions or need help, then the team at Combined Real Estate is ready and willing to help you get your home looking its best ahead of the sale!
Call us on 02 4655 2011