Now that you’ve put your property up for sale, your focus should be on preparing it for sale. For some homeowners, it can be challenging to know where to start or what checks to make when trying to prepare their homes for potential buyers. Often, this is due to their emotional attachment to the space. However, the property market is incredibly competitive, in which everyone is trying to win.
To sell your property as quickly as possible and for the best price, you must view it as a product for sale instead of the home it once was – since this is what it has become. Here are a few essential checks to make when preparing your property for sale so that your property gets the attention it deserves and you get a better profit.
Pay Attention To The Garden
It can be easy for the garden to become an afterthought when you’re trying to prepare your property for sale. However, you must pay equal amounts of attention to the outside of your house as you would the inside. Properties with a garden are incredibly desirable for potential buyers, although not quite as much if your garden looks as though it’s seen better days.
Taking care of your garden exceeds maintaining the grass; if you want to sell your home for top market value, you’ll have to consider using a pressure washer to get the grime off garden tiles. You may also need this for pruning any trees or hedges, mulching your garden, inspecting the area for the growth of invasive plants, trees, or weeds, and much more.
The last check is essential when selling your property, as invasive plants, weeds, or trees can cause further complications that can be costly to remedy. One such weed you should be cautious of is Japanese knotweed, it’s the invasive plant that residential sellers are asked about on the required TA6 form. Japanese knotweed is a plant that cancause structural damage to your property and impact the value of your home.
Avoid Japanese knotweed affecting the sale of your house by contacting a a PCA accredited invasive weed specialists, such as PBA Solutions. They can assist homeowners with Japanese knotweed identification, surveystreatmentand removal. Visit their website, or contact one of their experts directly, to ensure that your garden is sale ready.
Make All Repairs
The next check you should complete to prepare your property for sale is making all repairs, no matter how minor they might be. Unfortunately, any small detail can deter a potential buyer, and what might be acceptable for some may make or break a sale for others. Much like the homes you see advertised in the pages of estate agency magazines – you should strive to make your own home equally perfect.
When potential buyers view your home, they will want to be able to envision themselves living in the property, which can be challenging after being greeted with cracked tiles and holes in the wall. Not to mention, failing to address these cosmetic issues before opening your property up to viewing might further make viewers question the property’s quality.
Minor cosmetic issues such as cracked tiles, holes, peeling paint, etc., may cause visitors to question whether the property has any underlying, costlier issues that the seller or estate agent has failed to mention. With the cost of the property being high, the last thing that potential buyers want is spending additional finances on repairing underlying issues that could cost you the sale.
To avoid any doubts, ensure that you check the house for any flaws and dedicate a weekend to remedying them. If you’re struggling to identify any, you could ask a friend for their opinion and make improvements based on their suggestions.
Declutter All Rooms
Especially if you’ve lived on the property for many years, you’ve probably accumulated a lot of items over the years, otherwise known as clutter. Whether we’ve kept these items due to emotional attachment or in hopes of passing them down to family members in years to come, there are probably items you no longer use and, therefore, no longer require.
Nothing can be more distracting than clutter when viewing a property, so it’s worth checking that your property is decluttered as much as possible before accepting viewings. You can reduce clutter by holding a car boot sale, donating to charity shops, selling on online marketplaces, or giving items to family or friends.
Once you’ve gone through everything and reduced as much as possible, you can organise everything you wish to keep into boxes or organisers so that they are out of view. Additionally, it’ll kickstart your packing process and give you a small amount of income on the side if you successfully manage to sell anything.
Ensure The House Is Clean
Another check that you should make is ensuring that the property is sparkling clean from top to bottom. Nothing deters a potential buyer more than an untidy property, so it’s well worth the effort of a last-minute sweep to ensure that everything is in order and suitable for visitors.
This includes vacuuming, polishing, and dusting daily to maintain it. If you don’t want to do the work yourself, you could consider enlisting the services of a professional cleaning crew.
