what are the priorities for preparing a house for sale?

[WhatWouldTheDoctorDo]

We're going to put our house on the market later in the year.

There are some maintenance things to sort, but that aside, what are the priorities for getting the house ready for sale? What's worth spending a bit of money on? I don't want to spend too much as we'll want to save as much as we can to spend on somewhere new.

Any top tips?

Deep clean, declutter, make sure spaces are defined. Curb appeal, clean/paint/weed as appropriate.

Sort out cracks and former signs of damp etc... Declutter like crazy.

Clean, tidy and any jobs that need doing about the place done.

Get a big note pad and walk out the house to just out of view. Approach the house as if you've never seen it before.

Can you see the house number or name clearly, can you park, does it look tidy, what stands out, look at the neighbouring houses what looks good that you could cheaply emulate i.e. a seasonal planter.

Parking is a funny one. If parking is a bit restricted when you've got viewings can you move your car/s if you have them so viewers can easily park.

Approach the door does the bell or knocker work, is the doormat nice (a cheap investment for a good first impression).

Enter the house and walk around as if you're on a viewing. Where would you go first, whats your first impression of that space.

Go around the rest of the house and garden as you would if viewing.

Hopefully you've filled a good few sheets of notes and can look at the easy to fix jobs, then assess the ones with a cost against how much you want to invest in time and money.

I go for lots of fresh flowers, house for sale new crisp towels and a new doormat every time.

Just massive de-cluttering, and also stick a few reed-diffuser things around. I'm sure your house smells lovely regardless, but they are a little reassurance if all else fails?
Good luck!

Declutter
Doorstep appeal
Declutter
Deep clean kitchen
Declutter
Deepclean bathroom
Declutter
Good photos

This is quite reassuring, thanks all. We definitely need to re-do the ensuite which won't be cheap, so glad to hear I probably don't need to go crazy spending money elsewhere.

I'm a bit torn about whether to replace the carpet in the hall stairs. I'd definitely replace it if we were staying as it's seen better days, but not sure how obvious it is. Will ask visitors! It's not frayed or obviously worn though.

I like the idea of going room to room and coming up with a list - good place to start!

Honestly, save your money for the new place.

The buyers mIght not even pick up on it, or just offer a slightly lower price.

It is well worth spending some money now so it sells faster.

repainting is a cheap and fast way to transform a room. Neutral colours are best because the appeal to the majority.

Make sure the garden looks tidy.

Any odd jobs that need doing should be sorted out or get someone in for a day. People don't want to look at a house and see all the things that they have to do.

I wouldn't bother with the carpet since they will probably change it for one they like. The main things are to make it look clean and tidy.

Thanks. Will leave the carpets. Will do the ensuite though, but scale back to the minimum that needs to be done to make it look presentable. Off to start some de-cluttering

I've sold 2 houses and I repainted rooms that needed doing to a neutral magnolia colour. I decluttered as much as poss and put away some of the family photos displayed. In my last house the kitchen needed updating but was in a clean useable condition no doors hanging off or anything just old fashioned but it didn't stop the offers. I always had fresh flowers out made sure house was aired and every room was spotless not a thing out of place basically! I had many comments on how clean and tidy the house was. The garden needs to be tidy grass cut no weeds! A few hanging baskets and pots of flowers around cheered up my garden and I made sure kids toys were tufted up when I had viewings and no washing out! I just thought garden looked better presented without our washing on the line!! I wouldn't go to a great expense other than painting I had a bedroom carpet that was quite worn in a spare bedroom but didn't stop house selling. Hth

Fix things. Buyers open cupboards so fix everything.

Tidy garden. Clean properly. No artificial stinks as that says - what are they hiding?

Pet bowls hidden, knickers off washing line, clutter out of bathroom, toilet seat down.

Honestly, speak to a good local agent before you do anything. We just sold and I had a whole list of stuff that I was planning to do, but we had three agents round and they all said not to do a thing - that the local market was strong with little stock available, and that our target buyers would want to put their own stamp on things.
We got an asking price offer within a week, have just exchanged, and our money and decorating energy is all saved for our new house.

I'm not sure I would expect to get my money back redoing a bathroom. Put it this way, I wouldn't expect to pay top dollar for someone else's choice of shower/tiles etc. What if you spend ££ on a new carpet then someone who hates carpet is interested? They'll just be calculating the cost of ripping it out. Just fix any broken stuff, and maybe put on a lick of nice neutral paint where needed. Tidy up the garden and front of the house. Make sure it's clean and fresh smelling. People will decorate to their tastes when they move in.

Thanks for all the advice.

The bathroom definitely needs some work, but we'll be keeping it to the bare essentials.

It's also about the subtle cues- anything narrowing a hallway will make it feel pokier and lacking in storage, for instance. Small bits of missed maintenance make it seem unloved and possibly structurally worrying. So often it's the small things that make a big difference!
Things on top of cupboards always look awful in photos, as do too dim lightbulbs (or insanely glaring ones).
I second the walk through with list- and take photos as you go, as it helps you see things a little differently.