10 top tips to prepare your property for the market
Selling a house can be one of the most stressful times of your life, but as you prepare your property for the market, there are tips you can follow to help you move through the process as smoothly as possible. We’ve listed ten top tips below to help you feel prepared before your property goes ‘live’ onto the market.
Our top tips to prepare your property for the market
1. Declutter
Step one is simple. Start with a tidy house. Start small: declutter the surfaces, for example. The benefits of maintaining a tidy house throughout the process will also avoid last minute panics before any potential buyer visits.
2. Fix those small jobs
Over the years, general wear and tear signs do start to appear, but we don’t always notice it when it is right under our nose. Whether there is a stain on the wall or a crack in the patio, these little things can give off a bad first impression. Spending a bit of time and fixing these smaller jobs will really improve the look of your home and potentially help win a buyer over.
3. Deep clean
A really good, deep clean can be vital to interest potential buyers. There can be nothing more off-putting than visiting a home that smells of pets or has dirty windows. Getting stuck in and providing your property with a deep clean will stop anybody being put off before they’ve even looked around the house. Another tip, if you do have pets, move their accessorises somewhere out of sight for viewings.
4. Consider a carpet clean
Carpets and floors can often look tired and devalue a property in the prospective buyer’s eyes. Knowing that they will have to lay down new carpet or wooden floors can be a huge negative for a buyer as it will undoubtedly slow down the moving-in process after completion. Hiring a professional carpet cleaner can give your carpets the new lease of life they need.
5. Fresh decoration
Just like flooring, walls and ceilings can grow tired and affect a home’s appeal. Providing a house with a quick lick of paint is an easy job and is a minimal cost.
6. Introduce colour
Introducing colour into a house can be particularly beneficial. There have been several studies that show introducing colour really does make a difference to the speed at which a property sells. A big bunch of colourful flowers on the table can make your property feel inviting and homely. Some studies over the years suggest yellow to be the best colour to increase the chance of selling your home!
7. Maintain gardens
In Winter, you might be ignoring or overlooking some parts of your garden, but potential buyers will still be looking at what they will be working with when Spring arrives. Keeping weeds back and lawns mown will help buyers see what is going on in the garden. Big weeds and bushes covering boundaries can also look like you’re hiding a poorly maintained fence – an unexpected expense your buyer will be looking to avoid.
8. Declutter the garden too!
Be honest with yourself – rusty, wonky children’s play apparatus in the garden is NOT a selling point for your house, neither is that broken trellis hanging off the wall. You’re better off taking it to the tip and leaving your potential buyers with an empty canvas for them to add their own touch.
9. Organise paperwork
One of our last tips is to ensure all paperwork is readily available. If you’ve had a new boiler installed or windows and doors that are still under guarantee, ensure you have the necessary paperwork to pass onto the new homeowners and your Conveyancing Solicitors.
10. A kitchen is the heart of the home
Finally, we all know someone who has said during their property search that a ‘must have’ is a good kitchen. Similarly, bathrooms can have a huge impact on the sale of a house. New or updated kitchens and bathrooms really do make a difference. If the cost of a brand new bathroom or kitchen is not feasible, there are companies who can update just the kitchen cupboard doors. This can save thousands, in what can be a financially difficult time, whilst providing your kitchen with a bit of TLC.
Talk to us about Conveyancing
If you are ready to prepare your property for the market, then you will want to start thinking about choosing your Conveyancing Solicitors. We offer a fixed fee Conveyancing service in Leighton Buzzard. With clear costs, you can be sure that there will be no surprises at the time of completion. Please contact us to talk about your Conveyancing needs.
