your tips for freshening up house before putting on market?

[redmapleleaves1]

I'm in what I hope is 4 weeks of diy and primping before getting estate agent in, and putting house on market. Currently in operation paint two bedrooms; re-paint the fence; tidy up garden; declutter and move lots to storage. Had thought I would change the handles on cupboards in kitchen, but have just discovered that removing them and soaking them in soda crystals has massively revived them. Also found this book Sell High, Sell Fast: How to sell your home for the best possible price, in the quickest possible time eBook : Penhaul, Elaine: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store had some useful tips.

What did you do, or tips would you add? Thanks

This was me two years ago!

Try and think about your house as a stranger would, or see if you can get an honest opinion from a friend. Ours was quite full, probably looked 'cluttered'. We put two armchairs, two wardrobes, several bookcases and their contents and a load of hobby stuff into storage to make it look more spacious. You want it to look like storage isn't a problem.

Use that opportunity to declutter anything you no longer need or want and get rid of it via charity shop, tip etc.

Clean everything really thoroughly. We repainted dingy bits where corners had got chipped or where the stairgate had been.

Clear up outside - what does it look like as a drive by? Keep leaves swept up and grass cut.

Get your paperwork together - FENSA certificates, guarantees for work done on the house, research local solicitors and decide which one you want to use.

I wouldn’t do much decorating wise. Main thing for me is clean, declutter and make sure it smells nice

The main thing is to price it competitively, sure it should be as clean and uncluttered as possible too - so that potential buyers get the right feeling.
It's a hard time to sell, especially if your goal from the book you bought is to "sell high, sell fast". Not many managing that currently... if you have a relatively ordinary property with similars available in your area its mostly going to come down to your price I'm afraid.
Be careful of chasing the market down by starting with a price that's too high and then dropping small amounts at a time. If you really want to sell, and your starting price doesn't attract a healthy number of viewers, cut hard and fast and get a deal done. Prices are likley to continue to fall for a while imo.

Really helpful points, thank you all and reassuring. Good points @DrySherry , its not I'm expecting to sell high or fast, (but please selling one day) but that is the title of the best-rated book on house staging. (I'm bad at visualising, so thought getting some additional ideas on how that might work would be helpful) :).

Clean and uncluttered is the way to go. Get rid of surplus stuff and get everywhere looking clean - nothing grimy or hinting at mould - don't sweat the small stuff. Keep outside looking tidy. I'd repair a fence if that was needed but not repainted. Don't bother with kitchen fittings, it'll probably be replaced first thing.

We have spent a lot of time trying to get a flat looking decent. Usually advice is not to bother, especially if lots of modernisation is needed (which it definitely is), but there was no way we could advertise it on t'internet looking so bad. We've left single glazed timber framed windows as they are, but cleaned. Terrible tiny kitchen as it is, but cleaned. Victorian bathroom, as is but cleaned. Treated mould and repainted walls to freshen it all up. Run the vacuum cleaner over the carpets, and job done. You can see how much needs doing without being repelled.

As for the Sell High Sell Fast: in this market, very very unlikely. Sell Low To Sell At All. Don't worry about staging, most people don't need that.

Don't decorate, looks like you are hiding mould or something.clean tidy,curb appeal, again, nothing fancy. Make it look cared for. De-clutter yes,put away personal items, wedding, holiday photos. Don't spray fancy stuff, scented candles, just fresh air.

I decluttered and cleaned until it shone. But the thing that got it gone was a realistic and fairly low sale price.

Some of the houses I've seen are neither clean or priced to sell.