Selling a house is hard. It's even harder when potential buyers have to 'look past' clutter, mess, dirt and all those little things you always 'meant to get round to'. Before you put your house on the market here are some things to do to get your home ready to sell.
The ‘D’ Word
De-Clutter. As we’ve got wealthier, we have acquired more and more 'stuff'. Not all homes were designed for a TV in every room, let alone the DVD player, the ’X’ box, and every sort of gadget you can think of. Having every surface covered with things makes the place look untidy and smaller.
The aim is to create ‘space in your place’ so don’t just shift it to another spot. If you don’t use it, loose it!
The ‘C’ word
Clean. You want your viewers to be thinking about buying your home…not Cleaning it. Cleaning your home goes hand in hand with decluttering it. So get the bin, bags, dusters, sponges and rubber gloves out and get cleaning.
Don’t forget to clean windows and if you have net curtains either take them down or at least open them. This will let in a lot more light, and make the place feel brighter and bigger.
By both decluttering and cleaning your home, you will have done two of the most effective things you can in preparing your home to sell. Don’t underestimate their importance.
The other ‘C’ word
Curb Appeal. You only get one chance at a first impression. Buyers will be looking to see how great it looks – does it pass the ‘first reaction’ test? How good does your home look compared to the others in the street? Does the gate work? Are the gardens looking good or full of weeds? Is the pathway clear or does it resemble an obstacle course, full of odds and ends, wheelie bins, the recycle box and the kid’s toys? What about trimming the live hedge or refreshing the paint on the fence.
Do That DIY
Finish all the little odd jobs that need doing around the house. People notice and it is off-putting because they are seeing work, not their new home. They may also overestimate how much it will cost to fix.
The Other ‘D’ Word
De-personalise. This really goes hand in hand with de-cluttering and cleaning. Don’t distract the buyer with all of your bits and pieces. Take down the ‘Grade 4 piano’ certificates, remove that funny poem about farting in the bathroom, and thin out the photos in the living room. All these will end up distracting the buyer; they will concentrate on looking at things that tell them about you and not the house.
Keep bathroom personal care products out of view. Think about laying out some nice towels, bath salt containers and things that make it look like a hotel bathroom.
Keep It Tidy
Selling is hard work because you have to be ready for ‘that’ viewing at any moment. This means that you really have to get into the habit of tidying away as you go along. Washing should be in the laundry bin, in the machine or away in the cupboard. Don’t let your viewers have to negotiate a clothes horse anywhere. Don’t leave dirty dishes in the sink or a pile of clean dishes on the draining board…clear it away.
Your home is for sale and should resemble a show home not a lived in house.
Make Each Room Count
When buying we tend to look for a 3 bedroom house or a 2 bedroom apartment. We buy by the number of rooms and space we want. So we want buyers to leave your home and go away to think about it and talk about it with their partner remembering each and every room.
Take the confusion out of rooms and give them purpose. They are either rumpus or bedroom, they are either bedroom or office. The dining room should be a dining room not a dining come office come music room. This is a real mistake because if a viewer can’t see what the room is for they may well dismiss it as unusable or worse forget it.
Property is expensive, make sure that yours offers the viewers good value for money.
Grow the space
Buyers are buying space, think of ways of making the rooms look bigger. Firstly in your main rooms try and thin out the furniture. If you have a number of side-tables and footstools could you move one or two out of the room – the more floor that can be seen the larger a room will feel.
Try and keep the lines of the room clean. Clear away stuff stored on top of kitchen and bedroom cupboards, these make a room feel over stuffed and suggest a lack of storage space.
Clear out the camping gear, and unused clothes and stuff you might just need from the garage. Have a place for bikes, the mower etc. Make your garage attractive for the new owner’s car.
Light = Space
Think about trying to get as much light into your home as possible. Pull back the curtains and give the nets a wash and have them pulled back or removed. Change light bulbs to increase the wattage in those lights that illuminate internal spaces like hallways and bathrooms. Even on bright days I like to have a little artificial lighting on to add some depth to the rooms.
Make it look like a show home and let your agent show it.
These little tips along with a great marketing program will pay dividends by getting you more. I promise.
Written by Pauliene van Strien
Pauliene is a Licensed Real Estate Agent with Mike Pero based on the beautiful Kapiti Coast. Having seen a fair bit of the world after visiting NZ she lost her heart to it and in 2014 took the plunge emigrated her with her husband. You can follow Pauliene on her Facebook page or contact her on pauliene.vanstrien@mikepero.com or 022 675 0549
The information contained in this article is of a general nature and should not be taken as advice. It reflects the opinions of the writer only and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of New Zealand Home Loans.
