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

[EmmaMumsnet]

NOW CLOSED

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

[kateandme]

bleach the toilets.
no birhgt roomed rooms if u can.calming cream always works.
bake a cake or bread
fresh flowers.
lamps on.
clean curtains.
looks at the door frames and edges it where people see the scuffs and or marks and think there is something more at play like cracking or degrading
wipe windowsills and window frames.
mop floor.
hoover.
clean linen and made beds.
grab toys and clutter and shove in the car!
go through the house and be a new viewer and how you would want to see it if you were coming t oa house to view for the first time

[Giraffey1]

As a buyer, I want to be able to see the potential in any property I might be viewing. I dint need everything cleared away and all personal touches removed. It needs to feel like a home, comfortable, not clinical.

Yes, tidy up, clean well and ensure it smells fresh. But don’t waste time annihilating any personality!

[voyager50]

Take down photos of people so potential buyers can imagine their own photos , keep kitchen worktops clear of clutter, if you have lots of big plastic toys, put them in boxes in the loft or garage if you have one.

Make sure your home smells nice and don't have any pets left at home for viewings.

[Theimpossiblegirl]

We sold our last house the day before Christmas Eve. The house was clean and tidy and all set up for Christmas. The estate agent said it was seeing the tree with presents underneath that convinced the buyers that it could be their home. Obviously this won't work all year round.

[Dickybow321]

"As a buyer, I want to be able to see the potential in any property I might be viewing. I dint need everything cleared away and all personal touches removed. It needs to feel like a home, comfortable, not clinical.

Yes, tidy up, clean well and ensure it smells fresh. But don’t waste time annihilating any personality!"

I completely disagree.There's a reason property experts advise to go neutral and not personal. As a viewer I have noticed personal touches subconsciously put me off, even though I always try to look at the bigger picture.

[Hanworthdollybird]

Selling successfully requires a reality check. Become the buyer and be honest with yourself. Declutter totally, clean throughout remove pets and their bedding for visits . Remove worn and weary cushions and nets and thoroughly air the home, regardless of the time of year let fresh air in and open doors for full circulation. Artificial fragrances, fresh flowers etc can trigger hay fever and not everyone likes the smell of fresh coffee. Price your home sensibly, it is now a house for sale to interested parties not an example of your taste nor a work of art, check out prices of similar properties in your area and price a few thousand lower. It is interest amongst prospective buyers that will push up the price and the more that you attract promises you a better sale. Estate agents for all their experience are not infallible.

[Stoneshells]

Give the house a quick clean and hide any clutter. It should be a house you'd want to buy if you were looking - so a scrunched up tea towel in the corner should be out of sight. Pick a good time of day, if your house filters light throughout it, choose that time! If you have any pets, accommodate that, not everyone does, so tidy toys and keep them silent and behaved. Ensure there's no nonsense with neighbours. Get on with them? Brilliant! If not, perhaps do you best to have them not negatively impact the sell. Whatever tactic works, do that.

[Zoricthespaceman]

Oh the irony that this thread is sponsored by purples. Read this thread www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/3376590-Surely-everyone-checks-Rightmove Purple bricks. No-one on MN has a good word to say about you!!

[Zoricthespaceman]

*obv should read Purple Bricks

[Carriecakes80]

I was always told no matter how lovely your home, no matter how full of wonderful things you have garnered from your travels, when someone else is viewing your home, they want to be able to visualise THEIR items in the home.
So, my tip is to clear as much away as humanly possible, don't try to make your home warm and cosy, it needs to be able to be seen through a buyers eyes, with them able to mentally fill it with their own things!

[Gazelda]

Declutter. Then declutter some more.
Weed the front garden.
Clean the windows.
Open the windows for a blast of fresh air before the visit.

[Notsohorriblehistory]

Clean, free of clutter and reduce personal items such as photos as much as possible

[OrdinarySnowflake]

I've never actually sold a house, the only one we've ever bought rather than rented is this one! Interestingly, DH found it very hard to picture us in a house when the current owners had a very different lifestyle/furniture. Dress your house to your audience is a good idea.

And if you have a 3rd small bedroom that can fit a single bed in it, don't dress it as an office, put a bed in it to show one can fit in!

[ShotsFired]

Have your windows and door cleaned inside and out (you won't believe the difference, even if they looked clean!)
Turn all the lights on in the whole house.
Have your most beady-eyed friend critique your house.
Move your car/s off driveways or parking spaces to (a) given an uncluttered first sight and 9b) somewhere for your buyers to park easily!

[DrZoidbergsTentacles]

The less stuff on display, the better. We put so much of the kids stuff in the shed ( all the big toys) and also made sure the house was super clean for viewings. We also did a refresh of paint before selling. Sold in a day!

[SizzlingFoil]

You need to declutter and depersonalise.

You don't want the place full of your family photos and personal taste in art and posters and stuff.

[Jayfee]

No pet hairs,smell or poo!( hamsters,dogs etc)

[ItsJuneDad]

Declutter for the photos and wait for a bright (ideally sunny) day to take the photos.
Make sure the photos are good quality - not of the floor in each room, why do so many agents do this?!
If you have small children it's so difficult to keep the property tidy all the time so when we went on the market I did a big clear out and put big furniture etc in storage. For viewings all I had to do was pile toys and other messy bits into a big box which I then put in the car.
The thing I find most frustrating is when a listing doesn't have a floor plan.

[legocardsagain]

Agree with pp's. Clean clean clean.

Then rent a storage unit and start shifting your crap out.

Always keep a jam jar, clearly labelled, of paint for each room you have decorated. Then it's so easy to freshen up a room and get rid of crayon walls and sticky hand prints.

If your house is difficult to sell for some reason (I know someone who had a swimming pool in the garden. They couldn't understand why it was not seen as a positive feature by buyers.) try to build a good relationship with your estate agents staff. Drop in with Krispy Kremes and a gentle nudge. Get every person there on your side and they will actively work in your favour.

Don't hide kids toys if your home is a family home, they need to be able to imagine bringing up kids here. But don't allow it to be cluttered. Nice storage boxes and the toys thinned down to the minimum.

Hide your laundry pile in the shed. If you have nowhere for your vacuum and mop to live, put them in the shed too. Or the boot of your car!

Stage your home, every room needs to look perfect.

[Jeffingandeffing]

We’ve alway bought houses that have been massively neglected. They often still have their original features because they have never been ‘modernised’. We can then strip out the scruffy and tired but preserve the character. Other people’s clutter and decor wouldn’t put us off if the house itself was sound, attractive and in the right area.

[junglie]

Tidy the garden, cut the grass, pull weeds from the drive, clean windows. Take down excessive pictures and ornaments. De clutter as much as possible. Fresh coat of paint where needed. Cheap to do it'll only cost you your time really.
Make the beds. Put toilet seats down. Remove excessive bottles of shampoo. Replace the mouldy sealant around the bath and scrub the grout inbetween tiles. Clear work tops in the kitchen and clean every surface you possibly can. Take stuff down from the top of fridges and units, anything that indicates you've not enough storage space.
Give the house a good airing by opening windows as much as possible. Try and minimise the smell of dogs/cats.
Open curtains and blinds to let the light in.
Middle of winter light the fire and make it warm and cosy.

[starlight36]

Declutter, clean and get any minor snags mended. Ask a friend to come around and get them honestly to point out anything they would improve. I think we all get a little blind to faults in our home or learn to live with problems which might put other buyers off!
In the garden cut back over growing plants and cut the grass - for a relatively short time of work it makes any space look bigger and nearer.

[LemonLadybird]

Recently sold our house and this is what we did (not sure it's what sold it but I'm sure it helped!)?:

• Paint everywhere bright white (made the rooms huge!) plus it's a blank canvas for your buyer.
• Kerb appeal - we planted a few plants, added some fencing, mowed the lawn; scrubbed the windows etc etc
• Declutter and just necessities on show
• Couple of candles on (if evening viewing) it really sets the scene and makes it cosy
• Windows slightly open to let in fresh air
• Any pet stuff (bowls, litter trays etc) cleaned and stored out of sight
• Obviously make it clean and tidy
• White bedspreads
• If you have time tidy a bit inside cupboards etc I found buyers liked to look through them!!

We did the viewings ourselves so we could tell the buyer absolutely anything they needed to know but I appreciate some people prefer agents to do it

[MakeTeaNotWar]

Make sure the house is clean, tidy and that it looks comfortable and inviting. A delicious smell of baking definitely gives the yum factor too!

[ThanksHunkyJesus]

Aside from general sprucing up, my biggest tip would be to do an open day. Viewings over and done with in one day and if there are people wandering around at the same time it creates a nice sense of rivalry!