What are your top tips for selling a home? - £300 voucher to be won

[EmmaMumsnet]

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If you’ve sold your home before, or nosed around someone else’s, you’ll know that first impressions count. There’s a load of advice out there on how to get your house market-ready but Purplebricks wants to hear from you with your top tips for selling and what you look for when you view houses.

If you have children...how do you hide store all the toys?! What about redecorating? Is there a go-to paint colour? Maybe you do small things like having fresh bedding and flowers for house viewings? Or do you clean clean clean and clean again?

Here’s what Purplebricks has to say: “MNers, let’s talk kerb appeal. What gets you going or just gets your goat when you’re looking round a potential new property? Have you got any advice you could share on how to present your property for maximum impact? Share it with us.”

So, whatever your tips are for selling, share them on the thread below and everyone who comments will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

Declutter massively and clean from top to bottom. Make sure every room has a clear purpose i.e. put a desk in to make a box room into an office.

Having a good clear out and de-clutter, and keeping things tidy and minimal.

Rent a small storage locker and declutter the house! I used to kick my partner and dogs out of the house at least an hour begore a viewing so I could put biscuits to cookie (just plain vanilla/sugar cookie so the house would smell good), while they were cooking I wiped all kitchen and bathroom counters, emptied every bin, vacuumed every carpet, made sure every toilet and mirror was clean. We always had very good feedback from the estate agents.

Tidy, clean, pleasant-smelling.

Not 'dressed', not life-styled, not fragranced.

You don't need to put everything away. As long as I can see the whole room, visualise where my furniture would go, and not suspect that you're trying to hide something (like a damp patch or missing skirtings), I'm nit bothered if Toby's toys are out or he's drawn on the wall. I am bothered, though, if I can smell his nappies.

If it's cold out and you have a fire - light it for viewings.

Nice plain photos for people to project their opinion on. Redo neutral decor if possible. De clutter. Tidy garden. Clean everywhere.

Paint every wall the same neutral colour, off white if possible. Makes house look bigger, brighter & fresher. A repaint really helped my house sell quickly (within days). Prospective buyers all commented very positively on it.

Have a good estate agent who knows the market. Tidy and declutter appropriately to condition of house, make sure photos look good with a splash of colour and no ugly household items. Only need to repaint very lurid themed/personalised rooms. Follow through by being a proactive helpful vendor with your legal stuff all in order.

Completely remove all clutter. Remove stuff from above wardbrodes/sides of cupboards etc or it looks like there’s not enough storage. Make everything clean and neutral. Make sure all rooms have a clear purpose, ie don’t have a random crap room. We used to shove toys in the car on viewing days!

Declutter, and then declutter some more. Include tops of kitchen cabinets, kitchen worktops, inside wardrobe. Lots of people move house because they want somewhere bigger but don’t make viewers think they’ll outgrow the house. And make the beds including ironing the bedding. Nothing irritates me more than crumpled bed sheets in property photos/viewings!

Walk through each room and note down everything that needs doing. Even if it's something you can't sort out. Hire a skip and clear out the junk. Tidy up the garden/backyard, touch up grotty paintwork and give the wheelie bins a clean. Make sure the doorbell works and the door number is clear. Get rid of junk mail and put recycling in the bins. Wash windows, get a damp cloth and wipe down light switches, door handles picture frames etc. Put all laundry away or out of sight (we hid stuff in our car ). Remove anything too personal like photographs and kids drawings. Buyers like to imagine themselves in that space and these are distracting. If you can afford it then consider hiring a company that does end of tenancy cleans. Otherwise have a look at boards on Pinterest or Youtube for ideas. I watched a video of how to fix a double glazing window handle which saved me £45. Consider putting a made up (preferably double) bed in any spare bedroom to show potential space. I borrowed a bed from my mum. Don't be cliched by brewing coffee or baking cakes. Buyers are wise to these tricks. Just open all windows for an hour or so and make sure all curtains are fully drawn back. Plus switch all lamps on. Houses that feel light and airy seem bigger. If time is an issue then at the very least make sure everywhere is clean and tidy.

I think let the pictures talk for your property. Hide the toys in creative/cute ways like get a nice wicker basket to put them in and put them in other rooms while pictures are taken. Put fresh flowers in the kitchen, something colourful that will pop in the pictures like tulips. Make sure all ugly loose wires are hidden, even if that means unplugging for pictures and viewings and shoving out of sight. Hide rubbish bins. Get an estate agent who does good photos with blue skies. Make the beds like you would expect them to look in a hotel with plenty of cushions. Bake something for viewings or just at least make sure it smells nice. Highlight every feature of the property even if the EA doesn't think it's important (lighting fixtures, ceiling fans, garden features, CCTV, broadband speed, shower over bath, etc) little things that are nice add up in the buyer's mind. If you know that you have a room that is versatile (extra bedroom vs extra lounge) list it as a bedroom and let the buyer decide what they'd do with it. If you have NHBC or other warranty, say that. If you have replaced a boiler or roof recently, say that. If you have a new kitchen, bathroom, whatever, say that. Make sure you have a nice floor plan to look at and measurements for rooms should be included. Make sure the house is clean and a place that you would want to buy now. Put up a pretty lamp shade or put down a colourful rug on hard floors to make it look luxurious.

Declutter and CLEAN. The amount of grotty dirty smelly houses that I had the dubious pleasure of viewing on our last move has scarred me for life. Untidy isn’t that much of a problem especially when selling a family home with kids present, sticking to the floor on manky carpets is. Opening windows also a good idea rather than spraying aerosols and stinky reed diffusers. Rant over, that was cathartic

Declutter as much as possible. Car boots are handy for hiding stuff just before a viewing. Get rid of all evidence of pets eg bedding, bowls - not everyone loves animals. Don't leave shoes by the front door - screams lack of storage. Put toilet seats down! Open all windows an hour or so before the viewing. If doing the viewing yourself let the viewer lead you into a room - that way it will feel bigger to them. If you have a large bed (eg superking) point this out, that way the viewer knows what can fit in the room, and knows there will be more space around the bed if they have a smaller bed.Turn all lights on, even in the daytime. After showing them around offer them some time on their own. If you've got somewhere to put the ironing board / hoover / mop etc then do so - again screams lack of storage if they are out. Do not - as one house we viewed did - leave dog poo in the garden

Make it look tidy. I'm always amazed at house photos on selling sites where they haven't just moved stuff out of the way at least. People need to see the space and they can't if its full of junk.

Declutter, declutter and declutter. And when you've finished decluttering, declutter some more. As you go through each room have 3 bags - charity, storage until you move, bin. Get rid of charity/bin stuff quickly and find somewhere to put anything you can put into storage until you sell/move. Deal with any repairs and paint touch up needed. Make sure your cupboards are tidy and not too full.

Work tops clear, bathroom clear, tidy rooms so you can easily visualise space. No bad smells so empty bins etc. It's obvious really. But the main thing is if you've not got the house someone wants them no matter what you do won't help. Sometimes you may have to invest more, removing odd bits of wall/cupboards, new doors, flooring. Even laying boards in attic or adding an extra loo. Can help make a property more desirable even if it's not in prime condition.
Dogs and cats in a house bothers me a little...I don't mind animals and have 2 dogs and a cat myself but always have thoughts that the owners have not treated for fleas properly and it puts me off a little. When I rented the amount of time I'd have to treat the houses for fleas. I react badly to flea bites and am readily bitten. It is very common for people to not bother because they don't think their animal has them. I have someone take my dogs out and put the cat in his crate in the car for viewings where possible.

Before you even speak any estate agents, do your research - see what's for sale, what the asking prices and presentation are like in your area. Check recent sold prices. Expect agents to by able to demonstrate they have sold similar houses in area. Take a critical look at your house from the outside and all the way through - try to look at it as someone would the first time and make a list of everything which could be improved or fixed and tackle those jobs before you have any viewings. Make sure the place is clean and tidy and declutter then declutter some more. Yes to depersonalising the place, but don't remove all homely touches or it'll feel too sterile and bland.

Take EVERYTHING off the kitchen surfaces except toaster kettle bread bin and coffeee maker. Empty all bins. Turn lights and lamps on. Bleach in all loos and flush just before they come. Dry chrome taps etc. Cut the grass in lines. Just sold our house to the first viewer 👌🏼

Here are my top tips for selling. Do your research. Make sure that the property smells good too. Look at prices of properties currently on the market. Identify what’s for sale and view properties. Critically take a look at your property. But don’t remove every single personal touch either. Remember good lighting is basically a essential part of selling any property. Design a mini leaflet on your house for the buyer to read. I also recommend that any toilet seats are up not down. Declutter. Ask for recommendations on estate agents. Show pictures of your property to the buyer.

Clean and neat as above. And fix stuff. You don't nevessariky want to aim for show house standards but you're not doing yourself any favours if none of the bulbs in your bathroom work (canny potential buyers wonder whether the problem is the bulbs or the electrics) or the bifold doors to one of your reception rooms are stuck.

Similarly, if you feel the need to give the walls a lick of paint, then paint the walls. Not the light switches. Don't daub it all over the window frames. Don't stop an inch from the edge of the wall. It looks dreadful and we will wonder what else you've bodged.

Speak to several local estate agents. A common theme emerged as to what was /wasn’t worth doing to our house - decluttering was worth while, redecorating wouldn’t be. So we shoved lots of stuff in the loft and got rid of other stuff. I also paid our cleaner to come in and do a really massive clean and sort before the photos were taken, and another clean before the viewings (we sold within 72 hours of it going on the market!) .

When I was selling my flat I completely decluttered, took down photos and pictures that were on the walls to make the rooms look as big as possible. Always made sure it was as tidy and clean as possible for viewings. Also when the estate agents took the photos for rightmove it was a sunny day which really made a difference as to how bright and airy the rooms looked.

If selling with baby and/or toddlers, pick out all their favourite small toys. Put them in a discreet basket and stash down the side of a sofa. When you're tidying up for a viewing, bring out the special basket of favourite things and that will keep them occupied while you blitz the tidying. Very last thing, sweep special toys away into the basket and sweep children into buggy. Leisure centres and soft play are good places to occupy and feed them at 5-6pm on a dark winter's weekday evening. Also clear one kitchen cupboard as an emergency stashing place for any last minute piles or clutter. But the biggest thing really is not to overprice your house.

First impressions count, so I check out the kerb appeal. Wash the front door, clean windows and cut grass. Polish letter box, and if it's summer, make sure the hanging baskets are blooming and freshly watered. Indoors, I get contract cleaners in to do a deep clean - especially doors and skirting boards, and check for cobwebs. Then touch up paintwork and declutter, and put family photos away. Tidy animal dishes away and send yappy dog next door. A quick swish round with air freshener and open the windows.

Place it in an extremely desirable area.