Helpful and economical tips and advice for achieving a faster sale
If you’re looking to sell your property, then achieving as quick a sale as possible is naturally your intention. There’s much you can do without necessarily spending lots of money to make your home more saleable at what is already an expensive time.
Here are some ideas:
The fabled ‘kerb appeal’ is that first impression your potential buyer forms as they approach your property for the first time - often before they’ve even set foot inside.
To enhance your property’s kerb appeal, focus on those areas the viewer will first notice. For most properties this will be the frontage so ensure the garden is tidy, windows are clean, tatty paintwork is attended to, and any minor repairs to the roofing and gutters are dealt with.
A fresh coat of paint for the front door isn’t a bad idea.
Your estate agent can help advise on how to make the most of kerb appeal, so choose an experienced local professional such as these expert South Woodham Ferrers estate agents.
Far from making your property appear ‘homely,’ clutter will make it look disorganised, cramped and maybe even disheveled to your viewer.
They want to be able to imagine themselves living in the house and this is difficult if stacks of memorabilia, junk and assorted clutter fills every nook and cranny. So be ruthless and have a major declutter; it will be useful anyway as it will vastly reduce what you will be taking to your new home.
To a degree you should depersonalise your home in terms of family photos, again your viewer is more likely to be sold on your property if they can imagine themselves living in it - this is harder for them if there’s photos of past holidays and family events here, there and everywhere.
That said don’t totally remove any trace of humans living in the house; you don’t want it to appear too sterile. Balance is key here.
It more than likely won’t be necessary to redecorate the entire house unless it’s in particularly poor decorative order but wielding the paint brush here and there could pay dividends.
If one or two rooms are in rather strident colours they won’t appeal to all, so it could be worth repainting them in a more neutral shade to appeal to a wider audience. Darker areas may benefit from a lighter colour - anything you can do to enhance the feeling of spaciousness is a good idea, so a lighter shade may lighten up that dark hallway.
Judicious use of mirrors can make a room or space appear larger and airier, so put one or two up if necessary.
Obviously, your home should be clean, but a quick flick over with a duster and hurried vacuuming may not be enough.
It’s worth taking the time to really go to town and give your home a thorough clean up before it goes on the market; better still invest in a deep clean from a specialist cleaning company - they know how to get into the nooks and crannies and how to leave rooms smelling good.
On this point, attend to any unpleasant odours that may be present. These can be a real turn off for viewers, so don’t just spray the air freshener around - attend to the odour at source whether it’s a blocked drain or perhaps furniture impregnated with tobacco smoke.
As with decorating, there’s a balance to be struck between attending to necessary repairs and spending too much money.
Items that could put people off yet are seemingly minor should be attended to such as a dripping tap and the odd loose or cracked roof tile.
A recently serviced boiler can go a long way to reassure potential buyers bearing in mind how inconveniencing and possibly expensive a broken-down boiler can be.
Whole enterprises have sprung up offering ‘home staging’ services - advising on and organising the preparation of a home for sale.
You shouldn’t need to go this far but preparation - much of which is discussed above - will help. Your estate agent of course is well versed in what helps a property appeal to a buyer, so take their advice.
They can advise you on the best way to conduct the viewing to show your home off in its best light if you will be handling all or some of them.