How to prepare your house for sale in a difficult market

When you have made that decision to sell your house then you really want it to happen so that you can get on with all of your plans - the rules are the same when preparing your house for sale but in a difficult market they become much more important.

At the moment there are many properties for sale and it is referred to as a ‘buyers market’ because there is a lot of choice and most properties are priced competitively with many owners are open to offers - this means that potential viewers have lots of choice so you will want yours to outshine the rest, if a viewer is seeing a few houses in a day you will want yours to stay fresh in their minds.

The following list is meant as a prompt to do all those jobs you have been meaning to do and to start de-cluttering ready for the day when you have to pack all of your possessions away anyway!

1. Do all outstanding minor repairs - if there is too much that needs doing on the DIY front it could lead to a lower price being offered for your property.
2. Check that the house number is clearly on display, clean and readable from a distance.
3. If there are road works outside your property - find out how long they intend to be there.
4. Try to make sure that potential viewers can park outside your property.
5. Make sure any grass verges outside your house are trimmed and tidy
6. Make sure the front gate is painted and oiled
7. Well kept front lawns make a great impression - keep yours neat and tidy and all times.
8. Check and remove any cobwebs in the porch.
9. Jazz up the front door area with hangiong baskets or tubs of flowers.
10. Clean the front door step.
11. Clean the windows to allow more light to come in and take down your nets whilst marketing your property again to make the hosue lighter and feel more spacious.
12. Check for cracked glass and peeling paint - both of which will put buyers off.
13. Make sure the front door bell works
14. Check for stains, damp patches and cracks and do what you can to remove them.
15. Check whether any carpets need cleaning.
16. Clean all of your appliances (viewers do look!)
17. Garage doors that are well maintained also help with that first impression. Clean and repaint if necesssary.
18. Fix leaking taps.
19. Ensure all keys are available to view all areas
20. Move wheelie bins if possible out of site.
21. Make beds.
22. Keep the loo seat down.
23. Remove cat litter trays, animal hair and pet smells.
24. De-personalise your property to allow viewers to better imagine themselves living there. Also de-clutter the property to make it look bigger.
25. Make sure outside lights work.
26. Clear work surfaces.
27. Hang up and put away clothes. Don’t have washing on line
28. Moss on guttering and down pipes.
29. Limescale patches.
    

Drive-Bys

Often when a buyer receives details of your home they will drive by first to take a look at the outside before deciding whther to book an appointment. Therefore it doesn't matter how nice the inside is - if they are put off by their impression of the exterior. Make sure yours is in tip top condition - to get the most interest in your property.

When you decide that you would like to offer your property for sale our valuing team are more than happy to advise on improvements that should be done to make your home more saleable if necessary.

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