Top tips for selling
Your home is most likely to be your biggest asset, and you’re now thinking of selling. It’s really important now to treat the sale of your property as a business transaction.
It’s best to try and leave your emotions aside and focus on how to achieve the highest possible price. This means you may have to step out of your comfort zone, possibly make some changes to your property and also consider setting aside a budget to prepare your house for sale. We’ve all heard the saying “You’ve got to spend money to make money”, and this is absolutely true when selling a property (unless you spend too much and over-capitalize).
Ok, so let’s get down to business… Here are some of our top tips that home owners can do themselves when preparing their house for sale:
Remove clutter, and I mean all of it… (please see our blog post about how to successfully de- clutter) Clutter makes a house look messy, unloved and is a huge turn off for buyers. Really go through paperwork etc and throw out things you don’t need. The rest of the clutter should be packed away neatly in closets etc, or even better- put into moving boxes for the next home. (The study area is a great place to start)
Keep personal photos to a minimum (or none at all). It’s a natural feeling for a buyer to keep seeing you and your family living in the house, not the buyer and their family. You really want the buyer to feel as though they can see themselves living in your home.
Remove all items from the front of the fridge. This includes paper, bills, kids drawings, magnets etc.
Don’t have kitty litter or alike in the house. Hide away dog/cat bowls and toys.
For open house/ private inspections, please take your animals out with you for an hour or so. Some people are either allergic/ scared of dog/ cats and this will limit the amount of time they’re spending looking through your house.
Dishes… ensure they’re packed away, even if they're clean.
For the rest of the kitchen: remove all clutter such as spices etc from the benchtop, pack away the dishwashing liquid, small appliances etc.
The day before an inspection, try not to cook food that has a lot of smell that can linger around until the next day. eg: spices, exotic foods etc.
For the bathroom, pack away shampoo/soaps/ reading material in the toilet area/no empty toilet rolls/remove toilet brush etc.
If you’ve got some nice white/ neutral coloured towels/ hand towel, then hang them on the towel rail neatly.
Put the toilet seat down.
Tiles: You can use a grout cleaner that will instantly whiten your grout, making the room feel a lot cleaner and brighter.
Try to open up the windows/ doors to air the house out before the inspections to help reduce any odour smells.
For the inspections and photos: turn on all lights (ensure all light bulbs are working), open up all the curtains/blinds to make the house look big, bright and airy.
Ensure all beds have been made.
Weed/whipper snip/mow the lawns and gardens. You want your property to look its best, whilst also looking low maintenance.
Use a high pressure cleaner to clean driveway and footpaths/ entertaining areas.
Make sure there are no clothes on the clothes line.
Ensure all washing baskets are packed away if possible (otherwise stacked neatly ontop of each other/ put in garage/or take them in the car with you).
Some fresh flowers in a glass vase on the kitchen bench/ dining table always makes the house feel homely, loved and bright.
If you want to burn a candle for open home inspections, some of our favourite brands are SOH and Glasshouse.
If you have a nice cookbook with colourful pictures, feel free to put it on a book stand on the kitchen bench.
Ensure all window sills, windows, light shades, kitchen doors, tapware, oven etc is really clean. You don’t want a potential buyer thinking a house may be dirty or unloved, this will only bring their perception of your house down, therefore the price is reflected.
If you would like some assistance in preparing your house for sale, we offer property styling services (partial staging and complete home staging) and pre-sale consultations.
For more information please contact us on 02 46110027.
Wishing you all the best in selling your house!
The Little Styling Co.