Are you considering putting your home on the market in the near future? If so, how can you ensure your property stands out from the crowd and makes it much more likely to sell? If you have never sold a property before, you may not know the key tips and tricks on how to give your home the spruce-up needed to secure potential buyers, so this guide will give you a handful of helpful hints to take on board before putting your property on the market.
Take a look at how you can add value to your home and make it more sellable:
1. De-clutter
While you may be proud of the ornaments and objects that you have collected over the years, having clutter in full view during a viewing could put off the buyer. People want to envision themselves living in your home during the viewing, therefore, it’s wise to try and depersonalize and de-clutter each room as much as you can before putting your home on the market. If you haven’t got the space to store your belongings, consider hiring a storage unit as a temporary solution until your home sells. Also, remove bulky furniture and replace with modern, slimline pieces if possible. Ultimately, you need to make the space as appealing as possible and give the illusion of large and spacious rooms.
With that being said, don’t remove everything – a touch of personality gives the viewer some ideas of how they could style and make use of each room.
2. Have a new bathroom installed
The bathroom is one of the most valuable rooms in the home, alongside the kitchen, and is often what buyers base their decisions on when house viewing. Although a bathroom refurbishment can be costly, it could certainly boost your chances of securing a sale. What’s more, this type of refurbishment by a professional company such as beautifulbathroom.net could add significant value to the property, with modern fitting and a heating and ventilation system.
3. Light and airy
Making your home light and airy can make even the smallest of properties more attractive. If the layout on the ground floor is awkward or cramped, you could consider knocking down walls to create a contemporary open-plan layout. This has become a popular option with young families in particular who wish to enjoy a communal safe space to keep an eye on their little ones.
However, if you don’t wish to carry out any construction work on the property, you could try a few clever hacks such as adding more mirrors into rooms to reflect the natural light or paint the walls a neutral tone to give the illusion of more space.
4. Make sure it smells nice
It can be difficult to know whether there are any peculiar smells in the home, due to becoming accustomed to our surroundings. However, this is one of the most common ways to off-put buyers. Don’t just cover them up as they’re likely to crop up again in the future – make sure you get to the source of the odor. Open windows, clean bins regularly and dispose of furniture that has become entrenched with cigarette smoke and pet odors as these can be extremely difficult to shift.
If you are a smoker, place bowls of vinegar in every room for several days, before opening the windows and letting the stench out to make the place smell fresher.
5. Fix anything that is broken
Before putting your home on the market, it’s extremely important to finish off any DIY projects that are in eye’s view or fix structural aspects that could be alarming to the new buyer. A well-maintained home gives the impression that it has been cared for. However, most buyers do the math when viewing a property. For each problem they spot, they make a mental note of how much they could knock down the asking price of the property, so it is in your best interests to carry out repairs as and where possible to maintain the value.
6. Make a good first impression
Viewers make a judgment of your property before they enter the building, but have you paid attention to what the exterior looks like? Although your house may be astounding inside, the outside could seriously threaten your chances of making a sale. It would be wise to evaluate your home’s curb appeal before putting adding it to the market. Approach your home as though you were a stranger and consider the aspects that may need tidying or sprucing up. How does your home measure up to others on your street? Some of the pointers you may want to take on board include:
- Remove clutter such as plant pots and garden gnomes from the driveway
- Paint doors and windows
- Re-landscape the patio and grass area
- Add colorful bedding plants
7. Obvious conversions
If you have any additional rooms or space within the home (such as a garage or attic) that could easily become a conversion, why not take on the renovation works now, rather than waiting for the buyer to do so? Some buyers might not want to take on a great extent of construction work when looking for a property and would prefer to move straight in, which could dramatically cut down your chances of selling. Arranging this job before placing your home on the market could also add significant value to the property.
