How to get my property ready to sell

[acupofteamakeseverythingbetter]

We're looking to put our house on the market towards the end of the year. Does anyone have any tips to get our house ready?

The kitchen is old and the garden is too but I don't think we want to spend any money on those to get them looking nice. I will probably jet wash the patio and buy a few potted plants

Decluttering is at the top of my list but what do potential buyers look for in a property and what would turn people off?

It's hard to see the wood for the trees sometimes in your own home and we're currently living in our first property so don't have any experience when it comes to selling!

Three things:
Declutter within an inch of your life.
Clean, clean, clean.
And mend everything that is broken.
Then invite an honest friend over and ask them what else you need to do.
Good luck.

Decluttering is the main thing. Touch up any paint that looks worn.
When you have finished a room take photos and be critical about them. Is there still too much stuff on the sides? Have you gone too far and made it look clinical? I think most rooms benefit for a rug/pictures/ soft furnishings.

Everyone who viewed our house (just sold) commented on the storage so I would spend some time on this if you can. Have you got inbuilt cupboards anywhere and if so, do they have good shelves in etc? For example, people loved our airing cupboard - it cost £100 for a joiner to build some shelves in it. People also loved that we had shelves built into the trusses in the loft.

Simple but it’s something that people love to see - somewhere to put all their “stuff”.

Watching with interest - we are hoping to sell our house just before the end of the year also but a lot needs to be done before we can sell!

Good idea about taking photographs and also about storage too. We're in a mid-terrace so no garage unfortunately but loft is all boarded out but could add shelves in there too. My husband has added shelves under the stairs already.

Our sofas are so old and were second hand when we bought them so they don't look the best tbh, no stains or rips though! But would it be worth buying some nicer cushions? The rug is pretty gross too, again no stains but just looks really tired and old. I don't know whether to spend money on things like this or not?

The front of the house is THE most important thing for me. If paintwork is peeling, fix it. Garden a mess, get it done. No photos with bins out the front. I want to see the pointing is in good order.

Other advice I have read on here is to 'stage' your home for how a family might use it. E.g. if you currently have a dining table shoved up against a wall so you can easily walk around it, remove clutter and put it back in a sensible place so it's easy to see people can sit at it from all sides. Sofas in weird places in lounge so you can all see the TV? Re-home one, make it look less awkward, bring it back when pics are done.

The other thing that gives me the raging hump when house hunting is a lack of photos. I see 500k houses with 15 photos. Really? No. I want to see that bedroom from at least two angles so I can see if I can fit my stuff in it. Don't let the agent be lazy and fob you off with minimal photos, they are just wasting buyers time. I want to see the kitchen from all angles too: I want to see what cooker is there or what I can fit, if it has under counter appliances or room for a big FF, if the sink is single or double, etc.

I also really appreciate properly made floorplans. I see loads with no measurements, I have to go to the description, thanks! Good floor plans will even include arrows from one wall to built in cupboards showing the size of the room with those existing cupboards in place.

Most people can really see past clutter but I would never see past a scruffy looking front of house photo - I don't even open them.

@KievLoverTwo thank you, all very good points to consider. The front of the house could do with a lock of paint and I may put out some lovely potted plants too

Declutter, take away family photos and personal belongings. Clean clean clean. If you can, neutral paint is the best money to spend. Clear out storage too, as people will look in cupboards etc.
And yes, start to do up your interiors now with things that you can take with you - new rugs, cushions, potted plants etc.
Thinking about first impressions to - front door needs to be tidy and welcoming, plants, new doormat.
Basically think of your home as a product. Any cleaning/chucking out you do now will save you stress on moving day and will hopefully boost interest/competition so you get a better price.

One EA told us to move lounge furniture back against the walls to show as much floor space as possible.
She also said bathrooms should have nothing on display - no cleaning stuff, no toiletries, no spare towels.
And nothing on the kitchen worktops except a kettle.

@Sevenbells we have family photos all the way up the stairs!

You have to take them down! People need to walk into the house and imagine it as their own. They can't do that with you staring at them from the walls.

Keep the frames in place, but take the family photos out.

Maybe replace with photos you have of landscapes/places. Or if you have a printer you could just print off nice but bland things from google images.

That way you keep the lovely picture/gallery wall effect, but take the photos of family away.

@acupofteamakeseverythingbetter Something like this. You could print things like this off if you have a printer.

De clutter, freshen up areas you can with a bit of paint. Clean it really well, make it look like it has storage space by keeping kitchen tops free from unnecessary clutter.

For photos, make the beds properly no flat as a pancake cushions on the bed or the sofa and take out your toiletries from the bathroom, nothing worse than seeing a shower full of shampoo/shower gel etc.

From experience people don't really want to see how the current owners live they want to imagine how they will live there so remove anything hugely personal but don't make it clinical.

I find this so odd. I have never once been put off by a house with family photographs.

However, it's fair to say nice artwork will make it a bit more attractive than bare walls though.

Declutter and cleanliness obviously at the top. I'd clean the walls too and paint over any marks.

If you have the time/money then I'd repaint the whole house in a neutral colour, unless your walls are pretty neutral anyway.

I'd say no to cushions and pots in the garden or anything like that. I personally don't like pots in the garden and would just be trying to picture the garden without them.

I think the odd family photo is fine.

We are on the market. The advice we've had from our EA is:

• People buy houses on the strength of kitchens and bathrooms, so make sure these rooms are finished and decorated
• Make good on everything, even if its only cosmetic. People want to see 'nice' rooms but won't look closely at anything
• Focus on the inside of the house before doing anything major in the garden
• Do declutter but don't go overboard - you do still live there
• Think about what you need to get done before photography as getting photos done is easier than doing viewings! You can move things around easily for photos, hide stuff, there's no smell...once viewings start the whole place needs to be spotless (this is exhausting)

As a buyer I would not be put off by furniture, clutter, family photos or anything like that personally. The most off-putting experience I had viewing a house was that it was freezing (no heating on in mid Jan) and it STANK of damp except for the bathroom which STANK of piss.

I still bought that house. But I had to be severely persuaded by DH and it took me a long time after we moved in to love it.

TBH if you are in a good location your house will sell...even a damp freezing pissy house.

Check out some episodes of The House Doctor! I remember there being loads of good tips for this. And a very charming Alistair Appleton

declutter or consider renting storage if you have a lot of stuff. Clean very thoroughly and tidy garden but don’t worry about anything else. You just need to price it accordingly as buyers will likely mention renovations etc

Rugs and cushions you can take with you so not a lost expense. I like to think I look at the bare bones of a house, rather than the clutter, but tidy does help. And odd odours, musty, damp and toilet smells are a real off put (as said above), damp can also be difficult to get rid off so doubly off putting. Obvious damp on walls and black mould anywhere really bad.

Declutter, clean and emphasise storage.

I seem to remember reading that you should spend about 1% of the asking price on necessary repairs/staging etc.

I also very much agree that it has to have kerb appeal, so tubs or hanging baskets and make sure front door is fresh and welcoming. Not going to sell it if you can't get them over the threshold!

I've just completed on my FTB and looked at about 15 or so houses I think. I put offers on 4.

Obviously everyone wants different from a house, but I went in with the view that for every 'fault' I'd see, there's at least another couple I've missed- and double it again if the place was in a state. So, the better presented the more confident I was that it was cared for and I'd have fewer shocks. Things like jet washing the outside / having clean guttering etc did indicate to me a house-proud owner. Whether short lived or not, I was taken in!

I guess the thing is to try and make the house feel 'aspirational' - somewhere where life is stress free and amazing. So, clean it thoroughly and I'll think it's easy to maintain, have the coffee machine out and I'll think I'll spend all my mornings with a latte and a crossword, have some nice flowers in the garden and I'll think I can become Monty Don!

As it was I went for one of the most 'perfectly presented' houses out of all I saw. I've got in and they didn't paint behind the TVs they had in 3 rooms and left ENORMOUS holes in the walls so I have to redecorate everywhere! But I still bought it, because I didn't know ;)

I used to LOVE that programme - it was fab!

Thanks for all the replies. I can't think of anything that is broken that needs to be fixed we're always on top of keeping the house nice but some room could do with a lick of paint.

One thing we were planning to do (before we decided to sell) was having the back of the house re rendered. Would it be worth painting the patchwork pebble dash at the back or leaving as is?

When we're in a position to have photographs taken I'll have my mum come round - she's very honest!!

I wouldn’t bother with re-rendering! Although it would look better, I don’t think it’s necessary.

Decluttering and making your house aspirational are my suggestions. Make your house that someone walks into and wants to live in.

Good luck!