Preparing and listing a house for sale can be stressful. But it doesn’t need to be. Like most things in life, preparation is key!
To get the best price before you list your house for sale you need good planning and management.
This is especially important when you are selling your house on the Northern Beaches, where factors out of your control like weather and distance can cause disruptions.
The good news is you won’t need to break the bank when you prepare your house, to get good results.
Here are our Top Tips on how to prepare your house for sale:
1. De-cluttering
Removing any unnecessary furniture and personal belongings early sets you off on the right foot. Those stacks of magazines sitting on the kitchen bench top and that bowl which was mean to have fruit but is full of odd pens and keys, can either be tidied and relocated. Those extra stools and side tables should be removed or even better, put into storage for later. Small changes to de-clutter and simplify your house make it look tidier, larger and mean you are ready when you need to make some decisions on how to present the rooms for photographs and open home inspections.
2. Maintenance and Repairs
Once you have a clearer idea of what needs to be done, you need to go about making fixes you may not even have noticed before. Small patch-ups of paint (or even repainting entire rooms!), tightening loose fixtures, and finally finishing those projects that have been left for months will all add value to the final house price. In Sydney’s property market, buyers are spending more than ever before, which means they are looking for homes that need little to no work done once they purchase. Their purse strings are tight as they are spending everything they have on the sale price to beat the competition at auction.
3. Cleaning
Having a clean house is crucial. Keep in mind that if your property is in the proximity of Northern Beaches, cleaning windows will always be an issue. Be prepared to get your windows ready for sale as buyers will not want to look through salt stained glass. More than just that, we recommend getting your carpets are steam cleaned (or re-carpet old, stained rooms). Make sure your oven and stove top has been wiped down and all the bathrooms smell nice. A Palm Beach candle in the bathroom lit prior to each open home will always freshen up any bathroom. Ensure that any smells from your pets are neutralised. You will need to keep an eye out for cobwebs or dirty vents and clean those as you want to avoid anything that may make a buyer consider whether the property has been well maintained.
4. Colour Scheme
While you may like the way your house looks, having a neutral colour scheme consistently throughout your house will be the most appealing to a wider range of buyers. Try to keep the same neutral colours throughout – ranging from the same style of door handles, to the same bed sheets.
5. Freshen Up!
Don’t forget to freshen up the interior of your house for open inspections! Add some sparkle with some fresh flowers, new bed sheets and quilt covers. Make sure that any rooms for kids have newer toys on display, rather than their older (admittedly more loved) toys. Clean your TV screen. All these things make a house look fresh for the buyers coming through. Make each room look their absolute de-cluttered best!
6. Don’t Forget Outside!
You need to make sure that your garden is nice and tidy. Freshly mowed lawns are essential. Remove excess leaves or mowing clippings from around the place. Clean your pool as often as you can to stop it going murky and with leaves floating around the top. Make sure that the outside of your house is as prepared for sale as the interior. Both are important! Remember that first impressions last and if you potential buyers are viewing five to ten properties each Saturday, you want your place to be memorable and tick as many boxes as possible!
7. Professionally Stage Your Property
After everything is clean and tidy, have a professional property stylist come through and have your house staged without needing to go and buy new furniture. While your most loved furniture may be sentimental, buyers want to see themselves living in your home. They want neutral, yet modern and stylish furniture that they can aspire to own. Professional stylists will have furniture ready to go that matches your house architecture style. They will ensure it is prepped and ready to go for property photos and inspection.
