Source: Mortgage Express

If you’re getting ready to sell, you’ll want to make the best first impression possible when showcasing your home to potential buyers. As well as ensuring your home is in tiptop condition both inside and out, a thorough clean, decluttering your personal effects, and styling your home to sell can go a long way to ensuring you get the best sale price. To help you prep your home for sale, here are our top 5 tips.

1. Fix any problem areas and give your home a refresh

Before listing your home for sale, try to see it through the eyes of potential buyers, rather than as the owner. Take a walk through your home – both inside and outside – and identify niggly problems or areas of concern that potential buyers are likely to spot. These may be things you’ve ignored for years or even become oblivious to… like a dripping tap, a broken door handle, or a window that doesn’t close properly.

Repair anything that can be fixed and replace items beyond repair. Refresh dated walls and tired ceilings with a fresh coat of paint. Swap out old light fittings and light switches for newer, modern replacements. Change out cupboard and door handles, and fix leaking taps and broken windows or window frames. The idea is to create an impression of “move-in ready”, with nothing left for the new owner to do.

 2. Sort and declutter to open up space

To open up the space in your home so that rooms appear much bigger – and to help potential buyers envisage how their belongings would fit in your home – spend some time organizing your home and packing away personal items before your first open home.

Decluttering can help to create a neat and tidy impression, while removing extra furniture and personal belongings – and placing them in storage until you move home – helps to clear up rooms that may appear overcrowded and fussy. 

Ideally, you want potential buyers to get a good sense of what it would feel like to live in your home, and a well-organised home that is free of clutter can leave potential buyers with a positive impression.

 3. A deep-clean from top to bottom

Whether you hire in a professional cleaner or do it yourself, a clean and tidy home is an absolute necessity when it comes to prepping your home for sale. A messy home will just detract from your home’s appeal, making it appear less attractive to potential buyers.

So to help them focus on the positive aspects of your home – and not get distracted by unmade beds, grubby walls or dirty carpets – ensure your home is deep-cleaned from top to bottom and any mess is tidied away.

Clean walls and skirting boards, steam clean carpets and hard flooring, wash windows, and wipe down window and door frames, and dust cobwebs from corners. Pay particular attention to areas that are frequently used and more likely to show wear and tear, such as bathrooms and kitchen. And don’t forget to eliminate pet odours and cooking smells!

 4. Style your home to sell

Most real estate agents will tell you that good first impressions are vital when it comes to selling a home quickly for the best price. Often just decluttering and deep-cleaning your home can have the biggest impact on its presentation to potential buyers.

But if you really want to help your home stand out from the rest, consider having it professionally staged by a home stylist. If that’s not an option, talk to your real estate agent about how best to style your home on a budget.

5. Enlist the help of an experienced real estate agent

Working with an experienced and knowledgeable real estate agent can help get your property maximum exposure. As well as running a marketing campaign to get your home listed online and in print, a good real estate agent can help you price your home correctly, share tips on home staging, connect you with professionals in the industry – like plumbers, electricians and builders – and guide you every step of the way through the home sale process.

Find a real estate agent who has experience in your property market as they’ll have the best understanding of realistic sale prices and timelines for sale. Get recommendations from family or friends and read online reviews, then interview your shortlist of potential candidates before deciding on the right real estate agent for you.