If you’re trying to sell your house, you will be well aware that every estate agent will give you a list as long as your arm of various things you can do to make your house more appealing to buyers and potentially bump up the price. However, what if you haven’t yet started the selling process but want to get ahead of the game and get the ball rolling faster? Here, we cover some of the major renovation and maintenance tasks to get your home ready to sell.
The two most important rooms without a shadow of a doubt are the kitchen and bathroom. Without a modern kitchen or an up-to-date bathroom suite, it’ll be hard to get buyers to give your house the time of day. If your suites are looking a little dated, replace the lot with a great value, classic style. Plain kitchen units in a traditional wood or modern black or white and a timeless white bathroom suite are ideal for buyers, who will be able to visualise their style with these blank canvases to work with.
The approach to the house is another important aspect of the househunting process. If the exterior of your house is shabby and uninviting, it will set a terrible first impression for buyers coming to see the house for the first time. Make sure all of the windows are clean and there are no obvious problems with brickwork or paint, and if possible erect a fence complete with a secure gate to represent a good level of security. If you don’t have clearly displayed door numbers, you can buy brass ones cheaply at hardware stores to help the potential buyers find your house easily.
If you have any rooms painted in outlandish colours, it might be a good idea to redecorate these as neutrally as possible. As before, it is far easier for buyers to visualise themselves in a home if they can imagine how they will put their own stamp on it, which can be difficult to do in a room with leopardprint wallpaper and lime green carpet, so make it easy for them to see themselves living in your house by giving them something that looks bright, fresh and new and ready to be decorated by a brand new owner.
Obviously if you haven’t already, you should get a specialist to come round and make sure the building is structurally sound and not in any risk of imminent danger from landslides, unstable foundations, flooding season or anything similar. If you don’t find out now, the buyers certainly will when their surveyor comes to check out the property, so if there are any issues with damp or dodgy electrics, you should be the first to know so you can get it sorted ahead of time and keep your buyers happy.
Also, the idea of baking bread before your potential buyers visit to entice them with the homely aroma is very outdated. Instead, a good tip is to place a few drops of vanilla extract into the oven and gently heat it. This is much more subtle, and won’t look like a desperate attempt to get people opening their cheque books. Likewise, fresh bouquets aren’t necessary; any sign of life will make it look more appealing, even if it’s just a spider plant or a single lily in a vase.
