Prepping a house to sell wisdom

[pastypirate]

Posting here for traffic. Putting my new build minuscule 2 bed on the market in feb.

On the jobs list I've already got touching up all the paintwork, massive declutter obviously and a general style of the rooms with a few plants etc.

What else us recommended? It's got a new looking fitted kitchen and a decent garden. I could paint the shed and fences to match should I do this?

What else should I be doing?

We have a dog im always paranoid im immune to dog smell.

Storage is a bit shit - put loads in the loft?

Front of the house has a tiny garden that needs attention - was thinking a big planter?

All and any tips really gratefully received!

I think how much you have to do depends entirely on how hot the local market is for the kind of thing you're selling, whether it's a 'difficult' or quirky property that only a certain type of buyer may go for etc -- we sold our house in August after two days of viewings and literally did nothing apart from getting it very clean and retouching a few areas of paint.

@Corbally

I think how much you have to do depends entirely on how hot the local market is for the kind of thing you're selling, whether it's a 'difficult' or quirky property that only a certain type of buyer may go for etc -- we sold our house in August after two days of viewings and literally did nothing apart from getting it very clean and retouching a few areas of paint.

Probably not that hard to sell. It's metres from a brand new primary school on a housing development in a sought after suburb.

I need to most I can make from this sale though as I will be scraping through with deposit for the next place so I can't really risk buyers knocking me down. Friend has just sold a larger house in a neighbouring development and had a bidding war which is very encouraging.

This will be interesting, would love to hear other peoples advice.

We will be putting ours on the market in the new year.

So far my plan is:

• continue de cluttering room by room
• touch up any scuffed paint
• tidy and organise garage to show full potential of space in there
• give the garden a tidy/jet wash patio

@lobsteroll

This will be interesting, would love to hear other peoples advice.

We will be putting ours on the market in the new year.

So far my plan is:

• continue de cluttering room by room
• touch up any scuffed paint
• tidy and organise garage to show full potential of space in there
• give the garden a tidy/jet wash patio

I definitely need to add borrow a jet wash and showcase the storage to my lift that's a great idea!!

Also we have a rabbit with a large run (moveable) in the garden. Should I move this for pictures/viewings? He can go and stay with a friend. He's very cute but not to everyone's liking same as the dog!

Clean your windows. Hang a mirror or three. Lamps to give nice light.

Curb appeal is very important
So yes to tidying the front garden up

I would make sure pets are out when doing viewings and hide water bowls etc

Clear clutter

Having just sold and viewed a lot to get another under offer

• Get it scrupulously clean. Make sure the showers are sparkling with no mould or water scale, replace the shower door seals if they are cloudy etc. Sinks in kitchen and bathrooms immaculate. No dust anywhere - vacuum your woodwork.

• Descuff the walls and touch up paint

• Declutter as much as possible. We did a super aggressive declutter which made our flat seem much more spacious than it actually was. Buyers will open cupboards - it’s not a great look to have things tumbling out.

Beyond that’s there’s not much you need to do. When you get photos make sure there’s nothing under beds, no cables/leads lying about, and white linens always photograph well. We went around clearing worktops/bathrooms counters of day to day detritus into a laundry basket as each room was photographed.

Ditto what everyone else has said. I used to sell new builds many moons ago. Visit one of your local new build show homes for a bit of 'staging inspiration'. When you have viewings all lamps on, fresh flowers, a couple of strategically placed upmarket carrier bags😁.
Try and sell a lifestyle. If you have a small corner put a little table with an open laptop, nice magazine etc.
Never say your moving because you need more space either. You want to stage it so the buyer can see themselves living there/ aspire to living there.
Good luck

Get estate agents round and ask them?

No point doing a load of unnecessary stuff

I think broadly to remember that people like to buy a lifestyle, especially first time buyers. So things like fresh fruit, flowers, etc.

Yes to hiding things away that highlight a lack of storage, and make your life look as ‘perfect’ as possible.

If you have fitted carpet and a dog, might be worth going over the carpets with a steam cleaner.

On the days of the viewings, air the house really well for a couple of hours (doors and windows open), presuming it's not raining, then close it up and warm the house (if it's winter).

Where possible I would do things that don't cost much - the decluttering, the cleaning, hanging borrowed mirrors etc. Be wary of redoing the front garden (beyond low cost interventions like weeding and putting borrowed pot plants out). It may not be a good return on investment.