If you have decided to sell your property, you might be wondering how to best prepare for market appraisals and eventually viewings. Even if you are selling a property with a large buyers’ pool available, there are plenty of benefits of showing your property in the best light.
How so? Many buyers can visualise the property stripped back, but there are also people who buy into the vision presented to them. This means that by presenting it in the best light – you will likely have even more people actively interested in purchasing your property and therefore, you might achieve a higher price.
Getting your property ready does not need to mean huge investments into a new bathroom or kitchen – so what can you do?
- Clean, tidy and declutter
This is completely free and will always be our number one point in preparing a property for a sale. Minimalism is key when presenting your property, so ensure your home is tidy without clutter for the estate agents to take appealing pictures and keep it like this for viewings.
We spend a fair amount of time taking quality pictures of properties we market and are more than happy to help move things around so they show case the property in the best light.
If the need exists and your budget allows, we recommend considering professional cleans of carpets – but generally you should be able to clean this yourself to a sufficient standard.
It’s absolutely worth ensuring the property is as clean and tidy as possible for viewings so that potential buyers can feel the size of the rooms and don’t get distracted or put off by any mess. Moreover, it shows that your house is well-cared for and can give buyers confidence that the property has been maintained sufficiently.
Keeping your property minimalist through cleaning, tidying and decluttering your house before viewings and marketing pictures will always be our number one advice
2. A lick of paints or quick fixes of any snags
If you are interested in spending some money before putting your property on the market, a beneficial point can be to freshen up paint and/or fixing small snags around the property.
Does this mean you need to paint all your walls white? Neutral and white walls is a secure winner because it tends to brighten up rooms, but not a necessity. There are plenty of fantastic properties with vibrant or pale coloured walls. The important point is that the colour is in tone with the rest of your interior and doesn’t clash with the flooring.
If in doubt, it’s worth asking your agent what rooms to prioritise.
If in doubt, ask your agent what rooms to prioritise
3. Plants
Indoor and outdoor plants are a fairly inexpensive way to liven up and give character to your property. Hydrangeas, lilies and lavender are great additives to a garden whilst greens like snake plants, zamioculas and fidel are super indoor plants to boost colour and warmth into your home. Perfect if you have a room that needs some TLC to appear more attractive.
If you are lucky enough to have a garden, making sure its tidy with fresh cut grass is often more than enough – but do consider adding plants to increase the appeal of the garden. This is a nice added extra before pictures and viewings – your agent should be experienced enough to see the potential in your property without plants added.
4. Kitchens and bathrooms
As kitchens and bathrooms are generally the two most expensive rooms for a buyer to upgrade – we wanted to dedicate a section to them.
Upgrading your kitchen and/or bathroom(s) before selling can be a good idea if you have the funds available and the cost does not exceed any potential rewards in your property valuation. However, it’s not a necessity and often the cost outweighs any reward.
What is a necessity is to present them in the best light possible regardless of standard. For kitchens, you should as a minimum keep worktops tidy with utensils and food in cupboards and no washing up laying in the sink. For bathrooms, store away your toiletries where possible, remove any mould and clean shower doors/baths so prospective buyers can envision using the bathroom in its current state.
Every seller’s situation is unique and keeping an open and honest dialogue with your estate agent is imperative to managing expectations. Your agent should be able to advice on how to best prepare the property to be marketed and give you feedback after viewings if there are things that could be improved upon.
Your agent should be able to advice on how to best prepare the property to be marketed and give you feedback after viewings if there are things that could be improved upon
