Whether you’ve made a significant profit with rising house prices and you want to cash in, you’ve decided to relocate or you simply want a change, the property market is most certainly a seller’s market at the moment. But even with the market thriving as it is, there are still ways you can maximise your chances of finding a buyer for your home. If you’re getting ready to market your property, these tips can help you prepare your home in the best way for maximum kerb appeal.
Why prepare your home for selling?
It may seem counterproductive to spend time and money doing up a property if you don’t intend to live in it long-term, but there are several reasons why you should prepare your home for selling. A property that looks its best, will get a higher valuation which is the first step in the selling process, helping you to maximise your profits. Understanding what your property is potentially worth is also essential. As one property expert highlights, “An overinflated price can frustrate that all-important first impact when the property is launched to market, depressing its overall saleability which can potentially leave your property on the shelf for months without a sale”.
It’s also a fact that the longer your home sits unsold on the market, the more likely you are to need to reduce the asking price to get a buyer, so it pays to make it as desirable as possible. Presentation makes all the difference between a house that sells immediately for the full asking price or higher, and one that sits for months with minimal interest.
Maximise kerb appeal with exterior maintenance
First impressions are incredibly important when you’re selling a property, so it’s not just the interiors you need to think about but also what your home looks like from the outside. Fix up the front garden, deal with any chipping paint on the front door or window sills, and make sure that fixtures such as guttering are fixed in place and clean. If your home is looking a little more drab than you’d like, it may also be worth investing in a repaint of the exterior or at least power-washing to remove dirt and grime that can build up over time.
Prepare for potential questions
Prior to having people view the property, get yourself prepared with answers to any potential questions that they may have. Buyers want to be sure they’re buying a secure property that doesn’t have any potentially costly problems, so they may have questions regarding flooding in the area, for example, or if the property has ever had any issues with subsidence. Having these answers ready can put a buyer’s mind at rest and ensures that you’re providing them with the right information.
Fix any damage
It’s really important to carry out any routine maintenance before you put your house on the market, as you never know what a viewer may spot when wandering through your home that could put them off making an offer. Often, it’s those small tasks that we run out of time for that can affect how a property appears to an onlooker, and they could affect how much you wind up being offered on your home. Buyers mentally reduce the offer they consider making if they see that the home needs problems fixing. So, it is a worthwhile investment of your time to go through the property and tackle those niggling jobs that need finishing.
Give each room a purpose
You want to help a potential buyer visualise themselves in the home when they’re viewing it, and that’s much easier if each area of the property has a distinct purpose. Rooms that look too cluttered or are filled with mismatched furniture can make the property look in disarray and impedes the flow of the property. So, when you’re decluttering your home ready for selling, try to organise the property to demonstrate to a buyer that there’s ample storage and that there’s room for everything, without needing to have areas serve double duty.
Get multiple valuations
Even if an agency values your property at the price you were expecting to get, don’t settle for the first valuation you receive. It’s worth speaking to multiple agencies and having several valuations before you put your home on the market to make sure that it’s genuinely worth what you’ve been told and that it’s in keeping with other properties in the area. An agency may want to appeal to you by giving you a favourable price, but if you’re sitting higher than every other similarly-sized home on the market, it’s going to take you far longer to sell. Do your research so you can be sure you’re going with the right business, at the right price.
Depersonalise and stage
You want to make it as easy as possible for a buyer to see themselves living in your property by helping them to get that love at first sight feeling. That’s difficult to do if your home is filled with elements of your own personality and character. Depersonalise the space to create a neutral canvas that your viewers can then insert themselves into and picture their own furniture and furnishings in. Similarly, you can stage the property to make it more visually appealing, such as having fresh flowers on the dinner table or garden furniture on the patio. They are neutral elements that may seem insignificant but they create an enticing illusion that helps someone see themselves living in the home.
Naturally, moving home is expensive and you don’t want to spend more money than you have to when putting your property on the market. But there are some things that are certainly worth the time and money in order to make your home as appealing to a potential buyer as you can. From carrying out those DIY jobs you’ve been putting off to making sure you’re prepared with as much information about the property as possible, and keeping the property clutter-free, these tips can help you to sell your home as quickly as possible.
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