When you decide to sell your home, the amount of advice you’ll find on the internet and from family and friends can be bewildering.
Most of it you should receive with a polite smile. The process isn’t complicated but it can feel a bit overwhelming. However, as your agents, we are with you every step of the way.
The amount of effort you put into your home will pay dividends when the offers start coming in. Below is a shortlist of necessary activities you should complete to ensure a successful sale.
- Keep it real – Check-out the prices of similar properties for sales nearby. No matter what friends and family may believe your property is worth, it won’t magically sell for 25% more than the going rate even in a hot market. Compare your home to others of a similar size, location and features to get the truest idea of the value.
- Pick the right agent – This is critical. Your agent will work with you on your pricing and marketing strategy and ensure you get the best result. If you’ve done your homework, you’ll know if they promise a price they can never deliver on. Make sure your agent is motivated and a great communicator.
- Curb, your enthusiasm – Street appeal is essential. You get one chance to make a first impression, so make it a good one. Consider repainting the front door and windows, mulch the flowerbeds and plant seasonal blooms for a splash of colour. Your front yard must be tidy, and the lawn should be in good shape. Cut back bushes that screen windows or block visibility of your home from the street.
- Clutter-buster – Your home should be neat and tidy when prospective buyers walk through the property – and ideally a neutral canvas upon which potential buyers can imagine their own lives. An untidy home looks small and inadequate and this will reflect the size of the offers you receive.
- Smell of success – That smell is no smell at all. Deodorise your home to ensure you don’t put off any buyers, especially if you keep pets. Burn some incense and put out flowers. Some of my clients have been known to bake biscuits or put on coffee! A little classical music can add a touch of class for inspections.
- Focus on key rooms – These are the kitchen and bathrooms. You don’t have to remodel them. Instead, focus on small details such as organising the cupboards and shelves neatly, clearing the benchspace and making a little splash by hanging colourful, fluffy towels.
- Come out of the closet – Don’t jam everything into the closets when you declutter. Buyers will often open cupboards to judge the amount of available space. Make sure they’re half-empty to leave the impression there’s ample storage.
- Keep lights on – Turn all your lights on when buyers come through. Open the drapes and the windows, too. Light leaves visitors with a favourable impression of the size of the home.
- It’s not personal – Get some early packing done by boxing up your photos and personal effects. Buyers want to picture themselves in your home, not feel like they’ve intruded into your life.