Prepping a house for sale

[Blobby10]

Does anyone think it is worth spending any money on 'special' items to make a house more show homey? I did this with the last but one house I sold, £500 on new duvet covers, mirrors, lights, throws, coloured bowls with coloured stones etc and don't think it made a blind bit of difference to the speed we sold!

Am now prepping another house for sale and beyond repainting in a neutral colour, having it deep cleaned, de-cluttering and keeping it tidy, do I really need the little extras?

De cluttering is the big thing and I was advised anything else is a waste of money but I did find that offering refreshments went down well (and we sold above asking price)

God no. No one is going to buy a house based on coloured stones! Chances are all that tat won't be to the taste of most of the people viewing your house anyway.
Save your money. Give it a good clean, tidy up and de-clutter, etc.

Have a look at pictures online and take a note of how you feel. It very much depends on how your house currently is. If it's nice and looks homely then probably not but if it doesn't then spending a bit to give it the homely feel can make a difference. I wouldn't be spending £500 though!! My kitchen was awful and was the room that estate agents walked into and said 'oh this needs re-doing'. I spent £20 on paint and about £30 on bits to make it look homely and co-ordinated and it's amazing the difference it has made!! For £30 I got a canvas, mini cactus, mini canvas, hanging pic, some candles, fake plants, stones, new canisters and chopping board and some other decorative objects. I got it all off Facebook, charity shops and Poundland. It really doesn't need to cost a lot. For the rest of the house it has been mainly a good clean and tidy up and refresh paintwork.

We spent money on getting all outstanding jobs around the house done: 3 new fence panels, replaced dodgy shower, modern light in the kitchen, repainted front door canopy, replaced two old dimmer switches and redecorated one bedroom and refreshed another. Complete de-clutter and fresh neutral bed linen.
We sold in 17 days.

Thanks everyone - my 'friend' at the time insisted on helping with the old house and it was her who came with me to Dunelm! I think she just liked spending someone elses money although, to be fair, the mirrors etc all came with us to the new house and I'm still using the duvet covers etc.

I do keep looking at other houses online and get very depressed that mine will never look that 'nice'. I dont have any interior decorating skills and co-ordinating colours throughout a house it totally beyond me!

Think I will just go for clean, tidy and clutter free and keep my fingers crossed. I bought the house without noticing the hole ridden carpet and rubbish decorating so hopefully other buyers won't notice that I haven't painted skirting boards either

I would suggest de-cluttering and making sure it is spotlessly clean and tidy are more important. Maybe spend some money on getting cleaners in for a deep clean including carpets and windows instead of buying 'stuff'.

Not coloured stones in coloured bowls. God no. If you're selling it as 'done' then make sure there's no jobs left undone, as pp said, and check the finish - we went to see a house on Sunday that was lovely but had some really easy to fix issues - wallpaper peeling in downstairs loo, bit of cracking above skirting boards (just paint work), stuff like that. Beyond that, possibly neutral bedding if you don't have it already, possibly a mirror or two if there are any dark corners. Don't waste your money on twigs/stones etc.

If you're selling it as a reno then no point doing anything at all.

Imagine you had the photographer coming round or a viewer, and then snap some pics on your mobile phone. Chances are you'll see some things in the pic that you won't see just looking around.

If done properly, it makes a massive difference. I’m a particular fan o fresh flowers and scented candles (subtle scents so it doesn’t look like you’re trying to cover up the smell of dump or something).

Depends on how it looks! We've just sold our 4 dble bed Victorian semi which needs updating, and I think the best thing (which we did) is a good clear out. A nice smell helps so opening the windows before a viewing and no cooking fish!

That said, my best friend painted her kitchen red and the estate agent said that they should paint it before the photos as lots of people wouldn't want to view the house because of it.

We spent some money when we sold our cottage a few years back. We refreshed some tired paint, finally bought a laundry bin (very embarrassed we didn't already have one) and had a huge deep clean. I bought a couple of bits like a bright, fresh tea towel to hang over the oven and I also made sure to always have a pot of coffee on. We had lots of viewings and an offer within a week or so, so I think it was worth it.

That said, the house we bought the owners did absolutely nothing to and once were even present during a viewing and cooked smoked fish. So it depends on you buyer! We were after a doer upper, so it wasn't an issue.

I'm involved in politics- bear with me on this analogy! At 10.05pm on election night, you want to feel you've given it 100% and you've done your best. The rest is in the lap of the gods, and you've presented your case to the best of your ability.
You'll never really know if person X would have offered if it wasn't for that beige wall or if person Y liked everything apart from that rug, so all you can do is try.
Declutter and remove personal items, even leaving stuff in your car boot. Put any oversized furniture in storage or with a friend, and clean everything within an inch of its life. If you've got spare paint or gloss, stick all the lights on in a room and touch up any wee marks. And give any grout a good scrub with some bleach. Get the basics of clean, bright and fresh sorted, and the rest is just taste.

I have already sorted my 'display' towel for the ensuite and I have a new duvet cover for my bed! Kids beds will get the new covers used for the last house sale as they had own choice ones for this house which, to be honest , are about ready for the "dust sheet" bag anyway

No more coloured stones!! The previous owner's strong colours in the living room and kitchen have been repainted already in Crown Natural Hessian and the den, hallway, stairs and landing have also been repainted in the same colour. The 'family multi-photo' picture frames have gone away and I'm debating whether to get rid of the 3 seater sofa (which will be too big for my new house) and replace with a smaller one that I have in my garage. Couple of new lamps needed then the deep clean then I should be set!
Front path dutifully weeded, front grass reseeded (thank you rain!) and sprouting nicely - bit scruffy right now but will be able to be mowed by next month .

Estate agent coming round next Saturday to discuss and do initial measurements etc so they can do photos once its been cleaned and I'm back from holiday! Eldest DS is going to have a shock when he has to be out of bed and have his room tidied on a Saturday by 9am .

We have replaced a few lightbulbs that weren't working properly - don't want viewers to think there's an electrical problem.
We are probably going to replace a few lampshades as well.

I've sold both my flats in under a week.

I tend towards neutral decor anyway but last time I invested time in touching up the paintwork and had already declutters.
I spent money on aspirational toiletries, fresh flowers, pictures for the empty hooks (my art work had already moved to a new home) and new towels.

I then used up the toiletries - aesop is the brand de jour in central london. I still have the towels and the picture frames. The flowers died!

What’s the general feeling about plants and/or flowers? Do they make a difference? And are either best? I know feng shui says that plants are better but feng shui isn’t going to sell my house for me!!! 😁😁