This checklist will help you take the first critical steps towards selling your home in 2019.
1. Inspect properties in your neighbourhood
While browsing online will give you some good insight, you’ll also want to get out to physically inspect properties so you can see how your home compares with the stock available to buyers.
Attending open homes also gives you the opportunity to see the local agents in action. Take note of their communication style, how they interact with buyers, whether they proactively point out features of the property, whether they can answer questions about the property, and whether they make a follow-up call.
2. Interview agents
Agents typically take a break between Christmas and mid-January, so if you’re hoping to kick off your campaign in January you’ll be wanting to book interviews with your agent shortlist as soon as possible. Harcourts Packham are always available to assist you buying and selling.
3. Clean and declutter
Decluttering goes hand-in-hand with moving to a new house, so if you’re thinking seriously about selling there’s no better prompt to get rid of unwanted belongings.
Once you’ve completed the decluttering process it’s time to give your property a top-to-toe clean, so that it not only looks good, but smells good too.
4. Improve and enhance
When deciding how much money and energy to throw at your home before selling, ask yourself the question “Why would people not want to buy my home?”
Tackle the deal-breakers first and the rest comes second. Vendors aiming for maximum return should consider fresh paint and flooring right through their property. You could also use the holiday period to price home styling options and decide if it’s worth the investment.
5. Create a fabulous first impression
You might like to use the holiday break to wrangle an unruly garden into submission, repair fences or front gates or paint the front door.
6. Get a head start on paperwork
You can also use the holidays to read through agent contracts, check in with your local council for any requirements like pool compliance and to contact conveyancers for quotes on preparing a sales contract.