We posted recently about preparing your home for sale in the same way that you would prepare for any major event and suggested steps you would be wise to take a month before. Leading up to the big event these steps are those we would recommend to be done at least 2 weeks before your photographs and first viewings….
1. Book some time off
Getting your home ready for sale is hard work and it is time consuming. It needs dedicated time if you are to do it as well as possible. And let’s face it, most of us can’t afford to sell our major financial asset at anything other than the best price possible. So to realise your top price, first make sure you have time to do the work it will need to get from being a much-loved family home to being presented as the most desirable home locally in its price bracket.
2. Consider your kerb appeal
Many people look first at Rightmove when they are house-hunting and then they take a drive pastthe houses they have on their long-list before they call the estate agents to book a viewing. You’ve made sure you’ve got your photos right but forgotten about the drive-by viewers. The bins have been left out, the grass hasn’t been cut all week and the kids’ toys are still on the lawn from the weekend. The message is strong; ‘these people don’t care enough to tidy the outside of their house, probably they haven’t cared much about the maintenance either.
3. Curate your clutter
De-clutter! This ubiquitous phrase has become the estate agents and the home stager’s mantra. Recently though I have seen a couple of properties where this has been taken to an extreme. People want to be able to see the space without your clutter in the way but they are also buying a home and want the house they are viewing to feel like it could be their home. Remember, houses are far more often bought with the heart not the head.
4. Clean
There is nothing more off-putting than a dirty house. Oh, except a house that smells; that is REALLY off-putting! First deal with any bad smells; pet smells are usually the most noticeable when you enter. Put pets and their bedding and food outside during viewings. Keep the bedding and food outside for the whole time the house is on the market if possible. You may not notice a smell, but your viewers will.
5. Clean again
Have you cleaned the oven, inside and out? Washed the skirting boards? Made the windows sparkle even when the sun streams through? Have you looked up and made sure there are no cobwebs lurking in the corners? Get under the beds, into the cupboards, behind the loo; your viewers will notice everything, don’t put them off by any corner appearing uncared for.
For our full article, click Two Weeks before Sale