Selling your property

Preparing the house for Sale

You only have one chance to make a good first impression.

• Make sure you have ‘curb appeal’ by sprucing up your front garden and entrance. Trim the grass, touch up paint and make your windows sparkle. Clean the gutters so there’s no greenery growing out of them. Remove any litter and dog droppings. You want the house and gardens to appear cared for and well maintained.
• De-clutter! If you have a lot of stuff you can’t part with, consider renting a storage unit and do a big de-clutter. You want to strike a happy balance between your house looking like a home and it looking like a show house. Sometimes people are buying the house for your taste.
• Don’t over furnish the house, if a piece of furniture is too big for the room, take it out. It only makes the room look small.
• Outstanding repairs, its time to get to those jobs big and small that you have been putting off. It could be worth several multiples of the cost on the price.
• Clean everything until it sparkles. Get rid of limescale, clean and repair tile grout, wax wooden floors, get rid of all odours, hang up fresh towels. This will make the property more appealing and allow viewers to imagine living there.
• Make sure the house is fresh and ready for a new owner to move in. This attracts those who do not have the time, inclination or patience to do the work. A fresh coat of paint if needed can transform a property. Use light neutral colours and replace old tired carpets.
• Clean the windows, let as much light in as possible, when viewing make sure all curtains are open. Viewers love bright properties.
• Be mindful of what you spend your money on. If you’re spending money just to pimp your property, i.e. putting in new bathrooms or a kitchen in an old property that needs a total refurb, this can be counter intuitive. You may not get it back and it may be replaced anyway by the buyer as it may not be to their taste.
• Try to look at your house with fresh eyes. Make sure each room has a use and a purpose – make a wasted space into a study, put a cot in to a tiny box room, a dining table in that second downstairs room you never use. Get rid of bulky furniture and make sure that the circulation and flow through the house is seamless.
• Make the beds with fresh clean ironed bedlinen. Ensure bedrooms are clean and tidy.
• Decide on one fragrance for the house in terms of candles and diffusers, and stick to it, but don’t overdo it. Air the house well in the morning before the viewing. Don’t cook any strong-smelling foods the night before a viewing.
• If the weather is cold, make sure to have the heat on to warm up the house before the viewing.
• Indoor plants and fresh flowers are a nice touch. As well as having a lit fire on in the darker colder days.
• Do your best to ensure that there is parking outside your house for anyone coming to view. That means moving your own car around the corner.
• If the property is rented, please ensure the tenants are willing to allow viewings and that they will have the house in presentable condition. It is usually better to try and sell the house unoccupied as the agent can enter at very short notice and can be sure that the house is in presentable condition.