Preparing your house for sale

If you want to prepare your house for sale, presentation is key. You want your property to make an immediate impression, making it easy for a prospective buyer or property investor to want your house.

A well-presented home is far more likely to sell in a shorter timeframe and for a better price, regardless of market conditions. Buyers get inspired by a beautiful presentation. It gives them confidence in the quality of your home and it will help them to fall in love with it.

Preparing your property: the importance of presentation

If you want to prepare your house for sale, putting effort into presentation ensures your property looks its best, with the greatest features highlighted and any drawbacks minimised. It also demonstrates to buyers that you’re a serious seller, which is important in today’s changing market.

Engaging photographs

A well-presented home will photograph better. This is important because prospective buyers will decide whether to inspect your property based on how good your home looks in the advertising. If the photographs are engaging, buyers will want to take a look at your property.

Buyers linger longer

If your property is nicely presented, buyers stay longer at open homes. This is important because you want them to be able to imagine themselves living in the house, picturing what they’d do with the space. The more time they spend, the better chance they’ll form an emotional attachment with your property.

First impressions matter

If you’re preparing to sell, you want to make the best first impression you can. Potential buyers start forming opinions the moment they pull up outside your home, so make sure the inside and outside are welcoming, tidy, and clean.

How to prepare a property for sale

Follow these steps to prepare your house for sale, making it attractive to prospective buyers.

Step 1: Clean and declutter

Decluttering your home is the first thing you should attend to. When potential buyers are inspecting your home, they are imagining what it would be like to live there. If they’re confronted by an overcrowded and untidy home, they can’t do that. This will put people off and can make selling your house difficult.

Go through your home room by room. Remove everything that detracts from the look, feel, and dimensions of the space. Pack away personal possessions and replace them with neutral art, plants, and decor.

Remember: the key is to let buyers see your home, not your belongings. It’s better to have an emptier space than a cluttered one.

Next, make sure you thoroughly clean the following:

• Kitchen
• Bathrooms
• Windows
• Floors
• Doors, including frames and especially around the handles
• Driveway and paths
• Skirting boards and mouldings.

Hiring professional cleaners is a sound investment. They have the equipment, knowledge, and manpower to get the job done quickly and effectively.

Step 2: Fix essential repairs and maintenance

Make sure your house is clean, tidy, and in a good state of repair. Some of the wear and tear repairs that you should do to prepare your house for sale include:

• Roof issues
• Dripping taps or leaking pipes
• Faulty electrics or lights
• Squeaky floorboards
• Chipped or fading paint
• Cracked tiles.

Again, when preparing to sell, impressions matter. If your house looks like it’s been well-maintained and is in good condition, that will help increase your property valuation.

If there are repairs you are confident doing yourself, go ahead; it may save you some money. However, other jobs such as electrics and plumbing should only be carried out by a qualified professional. They can also sign off the work with a certificate of compliance, which will be appreciated by prospective buyers.

Instead of investing in updating fixtures or appliances, focus on simple, impactful changes. Buyers often have their own vision for a space and may want to replace appliances or remodel entirely, regardless of your efforts.

A more cost-effective approach (that is also more universally appealing) is to refresh the property with a neutral coat of paint. This subtle improvement creates a clean, inviting canvas that allows buyers to envision their own style. It’s a smart and easy way to enhance your home’s appeal.

Curb appeal is also important. People begin judging the property the moment they pull up outside. Make sure their first impression is a good one. Tidy the garden, mow the grass, and repair or paint the fence.

Step 3: Stage your home

A well-staged property can spark an emotional connection with buyers. It allows them to visualise living in the property. By highlighting the home’s positive elements (and minimising the less appealing features), staging can help sell your home faster and raise the final sale price.

If you want to stage your property yourself, there are some basic techniques to follow.

• Declutter and depersonalise to allow buyers to imagine living in the property.
• Deep clean everywhere. Your home will feel and smell fresher.
• Arrange furniture for good flow-through in each room.
• Maintain the original purpose of each room (if you turned your dining room into a home office, revert it to a dining room).
• Keep decor neutral with splashes of colour from plants, cushions, or art.
• Let in as much light as possible (both natural and artificial). Use mirrors to augment the available light.
• Don’t neglect the exterior. Mow the lawn, paint the fence, and add some flowers along the path.

Hiring a professional company to stage your house is optional, but their expert touch has the potential to help your house sell more quickly, and it may increase the amount you’re able to sell your property for.

Professional home staging companies understand what buyers are looking for and will prepare your home for maximum appeal. If you have an empty property, home staging can make it feel cosy and warm rather than vacant.

Step 4: Market your property effectively

This is where an experienced real estate agent is worth their weight in gold. They understand the local market and have a deep knowledge of trends, buyer preferences, and the sale process.

A good real estate agent knows the importance of high-quality photos and videos when showcasing your property. They will also leverage the potential of digital marketing and be up-to-date with the latest techniques, such as 3D walkthroughs and virtual tours.

They can also help you price your home competitively, which is a balancing act. If you overprice your home, you risk putting buyers off. If you set your price too low, you’ll reduce your equity. A low price might also make prospective buyers suspicious. Recent sales of similar properties in your local market are a good guide.

Open homes and virtual tours are both excellent ways of showcasing your property for sale. In-person events allow buyers to form an emotional connection with your home, while virtual tours provide access to a much wider buying audience. Using both is ideal.

14 tips for preparing your house for sale

Make your home look inviting

1. Declutter as much as possible. You want your home to be open and inviting.
2. Hire a professional to stage your home. They can create a cosy, appealing impression, amplifying your property’s positive features.
3. If you have personal framed photos on display, pick the best ones and leave them in place. They can help create a happy, homey ambience for buyers.
4. Fresh flowers always look great. Place them on the dining table or kitchen bench.

Make any repairs and maintenance

1. New paint and carpet can transform a tired property into a fresh, new-look home. Alternatively, consider steam-cleaning the carpets and washing painted walls with sugar soap to brighten them up.
2. Go room by room looking for items that need small repairs, such as cracked tiles, peeling or chipped paint, carpet stains, broken blind chains, torn flyscreens and windows or sliding doors that stick.
3. Cleanliness is essential. Pay particular attention to bathrooms and the kitchen.
4. Cleaning the windows will make a significant difference, allowing more natural light in.

Update what you can

1. Update old lighting fixtures to immediately jazz up an uninspiring room.
2. Consider small updates, such as replacing old handles on doors and kitchen cabinets with sleeker styles, or adding a new shower head or switch covers.

Tidy up the exterior

1. Mow the lawns, weed the garden beds, prune the plants, and add a few flowering shrubs. This will help with curb appeal.
2. Clear the gutters and do some pressure cleaning. Use a high-pressure hose to clean tiles, bricks, and paint.
3. If your roof eaves are stained, paint them. (Stained eaves can give the impression that the roof is leaking.) Also, consider re-painting the gutters and fascia boards if they are faded.
4. Wash outdoor furniture and pressure-clean the driveway and paths. Add a new coat of timber varnish on decking.

In summary: preparing a house for sale

The key to preparing your house for sale is to remember that a little attention to detail can make a big difference. Presenting your property in the best possible light will help you achieve a successful outcome.

To do this, you should declutter, deep clean, and depersonalise. Tackle any repair jobs and consider hiring a professional staging company to maximise your chances of selling quickly.

You also need an experienced real estate agent who will work with you from start to finish, preparing your property for sale and seeing it through until the sale is complete.

At DiJones, we have decades of experience helping sellers, buyers, and investors. We are here to help you. Contact us today.

FAQs

How long does it usually take to prepare to sell my property?

Preparing a house for sale or auction day depends on its condition. Take a look at your preferred timeline and budget and work backwards from there. What steps can you take? Decluttering and tidying up the exterior takes time, but little financial investment. Refreshing your home with a neutral coat of paint is a smart, simple step that can create a big impression. Hiring a professional company to stage your house may help your house sell more quickly. Map out a plan with your real estate agent and follow your steps from start to finish.

Is it worth hiring a professional stager?

If you don’t have an eye for interior design, if your property is vacant or your furnishings outdated, then yes, hiring a professional stager is worth it.

If you’re confident in your ability to successfully stage the property yourself, give it a try. Focus on decluttering and cleaning so your home smells and feels fresh. Keep decor neutral and let in as much light as you can.

Is it worth upgrading my kitchen or bathroom before selling?

Small repairs and touch-ups in the kitchen and bathroom are a good idea. A fresh coat of paint and perhaps some new handles or taps can address wear and tear and immediately lift the overall impression.

However, undertaking a full upgrade or renovation probably won’t be worth the investment. Kitchens and bathrooms are subject to personal taste, and what you like may not be what a buyer wants. You’re unlikely to add much value to your home and won't dramatically improve the final sale price.

What is the most effective way to market my home?

Digital marketing is the most effective method of marketing your property and attracting potential buyers. Social media, high-quality images, virtual tours, and 3D walkthroughs showcase your home at its best. You’ll also reach the greatest number of people in the property market.

At DiJones, we have our own social media marketing product that provides a competitive edge, generating leads and effectively targeting prospective buyers.