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

[Headfullofdreams]

Clean and tidy, no clutter. White painted rooms always good.

[3boysandabump]

As blank a canvas as possible
Immaculate
Get rid of all the clutter
Make it smell lovely

[Petalflowers]

The house should be clean and tidy. Grass should be cut. Garden looks looked after. i don’t think the house has to be manicured, but it must look the house is cared for and looked after. Maybe get a trusted friend to walk around your house to point out obvious things that could need improving.

[RocketPockets]

Declutter, nice neutral colours, clean clean clean!! And nice smelling! I always turn our Reed diffusers & light candles for an hour or so before a viewing, leave the lights on as well so everything is nice and bright.
Having a good estate agent as well who can provide decent pictures & brochures. It really does make a difference the small touches a good agency will give.

[FaFoutis]

Make it look like you have a lovely life in the house.

[AWholeLottaRosie]

De clutter , even if you have to send things to storage for a while. Don't just pile it high in your own cupboards and wardrobes! Bathrooms and kitchens especially - you don't need five different shampoo bottles and ten different shower gels on display.
Bedrooms, give them a good airing, open the windows for a couple of hours the day of the viewing. Make sure each bed actually has a headboard (I'm surprised how many people don't bother with this, it makes a room look really unloved to me).
Remove any obvious weeds from paths.

[torthecatlady]

Make sure everything is tidied away and that every item has its own place.

A clean, tidy home but not a show Home. It needs to look lived in.

For shoes and coats to have a home.

Fresh flowers for the photos - they really brighten up the pictures.

All letters filed away, nothing piled up on counter space.

Nothing left out on the draining board.

Toilet lid down... personally, just one of my pet hates to see a toilet seat or lid up when looking at pictures.

[namastayinbed]

Diffuser sticks in bathrooms, flowers on kitchen table, take dogs and kids out for a walk when you have viewings.

Also have key documents available, e.g. council tax bill, any planning permission docs, etc.

This all worked for the family we bought from!

[nutellaontoastgirl]

Neautral colours.

Maintained gardens.

Get rid of the clutter.

Make sure it's warm (if it's winter) or nice and airy (if it's summer) as the viewers enter the house. The first thing i notice is how cold a house is and it puts me right off!

Light a candle or bake a cake!

[Treaclespongeandcustard]

Tidy up and make your home look as sparse as possible. Clean it well and make sure it presents as a bright and happy space by placing flowers, opening curtains, turning on lights, etc.

[Blazedout]

Declutter! This will show there is enough storage for stuff. Clean the windows inside and out. Turn all the lights and lamps on when its getting viewed.

[DragonScales]

Make sure the photos reflect the house. If your living room is teeny tiny then don't use one of those weird wide angle lenses photo to stretch it out (my pet hate as a buyer) .

Price it realistically.

Get a friend/colleague round to point out every day clutter you no longer notice.

[sharond101]

Declutter, bare minimal to the extreme! Create a mood, lighting,candles, Warmth, fragrance.

[Rosehips]

Declutter. Have a box you fill with crap and chuck in the car before viewongs

[ButterflyOfFreedom]

Depersonalise as much as possible, ie. tale down photos / clear the fridge of kids drawings etc Go minimalistic so rooms look bigger/ less cluttered Hide any washing!! General clean & tidiness I hear the smell of baking bread is good! And a red front door!?!

[CMOTDibbler]

Ruthless decluttering, a deep clean, and unless the house is a doerupper deal with all the little jobs like door handles, dripping taps, dodgy sealant etc.
Then get a brutally honest friend to come round and tell you what they'd think

[frogface69]

Make it smell nice. Put a pot of coffee on, put bread in the oven .fresh flower look lovely. Any frisky, noisy pets should be with a neighbour, or out of the house at any rate.

[MargoLovebutter]

Clean, clean, clean. We often don't see our own dirt, so you need to do a full spring clean - wipe down cupboards, walls, clear cobwebs etc.

Tidy - no one wants to see other people's crap everywhere, so if you are short of storage, get some under bed storage and put everything you can out of sight.

Make the beds - a made bed always makes a bedroom look nicer.

Plenty of mirrors up, so they can see themselves in your home!

Other than that, sell in a sellers market!!!! You could live like stig of the dump in a cluttered, filthy shithole in a sellers market and still sell!

[asuwere]

I haven't sold yet so I can only comment from a buyers viewpoint. Personally, I don't mind what colour rooms are but it should be clutter free so I can see the whole space. Kitchen and bathroom should be clean. Ideally front garden/path should be tidy as it does give a good impression.

[TrollTheRespawnJeremy]

Be within a good school catchment area. People will chew your hands off even if the place is a pit.

[wildbhoysmama]

Very clean, uncluttered and smells good: I hate the smell of pets and would never buy somewhere that smelled of animals ( I have experienced wee soaked carpets, even down to the floor boards underneath) it never completely goes away, even if u have clean animals, especially cats - I hate cats and am hugely allergic.
Not too neutral, it needs to seem like a home not just a house. I object far more to magnolia ( yeuk) than someone's taste. If you're going to paint anyway, do it white.

[WowOoo]

De clutter and get rid of as much excess furniture as possible. We used storage for a short time.
Make sure front looks clean and tidy - lawn mowed, windows clean etc.

[ShatnersBassoon]

Make sure every room is aired well. Open the windows and don't fill the house with fragrances.

[Mummymummums]

De-cluttering is essential, as is making the house smell fresh.
I think it's much better for the vendors to be out during a viewing where possible - when I've viewed with vendors present it's felt uncomfortable.

[prettygreywalls]

I'm addicted to houses , I live and breath them and think there's almost nothing better than to buy , sell and move into a new property . It's said to be one of the most stressful thins you can do but with careful well thought out planning it can be as easy as you want to make it

Lots of well planned preparation before attempting to sell

1. A good clear out

Declutter sell , bin , put in storage , give away anything that doesn't get put away neatly .
Empty cupboards and sort them out especially ones that are fixed and therefore part of the house as potential buyer could and will look inside them

1. Repairs and redecoration

Get all necessary repairs and diy jobs up to date , redecorate in a nice pale neutral colour ie white if needed , replace old worn flooring , give the garden / garage / drive/ outside spaces a through clean and tidy up

1. Paperwork

Get all relevant paperwork up to date and gathered together , there may be two sets
1/ documents that the solicitor will need ie gas cert , fensa certs , any planning permissions , building control certificates etc
2/ documents that go with the house ie instruction manuals for integrated white goods / boiler etc

1. Estate agents

See which local agents are successful in selling similar properties to your own and get at least 3 valuations then decide who you can have the best working relationship with and talk terms and marketing strategy

1. Conveyancing solicitor

Chose your solicitor carefully , they are usually the ones who can make or break a sale , someone who you trust and know will push the sale along is the best choice , if you don't have one in mind who you have used already often someone word of mouth is a good alternative

1. Cleaning

Clean the property inside and out very throughly & constantly be ready for viewings .

1. Viewings

When a viewing is arranged I give the estate agent the keys , I feel it's a better viewing if the owner isn't about , potential buyers are more relaxed and can take their time and can chat more freely that when a home owner is lurking in the background

Pets and pet paraphernalia need to be taken out of the way ( dogs go for walk etc ) cats lazing around are fine , but all bowls and bedding need to be spotlessly clean or preferably out of sight.

Personally I don't like cooking smells in a house that's for sale so try to have windows open to allow fresh air to circulate ,

1. Moving on

Make an ongoing list of tasks that will need to be covered once you find a buyer that will help you with your onwards move