Presenting your home for sale

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Presenting your home for sale

May 11, 2017 | by DiJones

Getting your home ready for sale might just seem like it’s about sprucing your property up for photographs and open homes, but it can be a detailed process that requires a bit of preparation. As a seller on the upper north shore, you need to understand the efforts you put into making your home more attractive and more appealing will pay off in the long-run.

Here is our step-by-step process for getting your home ready.

Repairs and renovations

Firstly, you need to consider any repairs, cosmetic improvements and renovations. These should be thought about well in advance of listing the home for sale, depending on the extent of work you want to do. While not all renovations will add value, some carefully chosen improvements can do wonders for attracting buyers. This could include basic landscaping, replacing worn out kitchen cupboard doors for a modern look, or simply painting the home.

Even if the repairs or improvements are minor, they can be a major sticking point for home buyers at an open for inspection. No one wants to buy a home where there’s work to do before they move in, unlessthey’re intending to extensively renovate in the first place. For this reason, you should do your best to make your home shine.

De-cluttering

At this stage you should also consider ‘staging’ your home – where experts bring carefully selected soft furnishings to your property to show exactly how each room could be used. If you decide to have the entire home staged, perhaps because you have already moved out, then you will want to organise storage for your own furniture and belongings.

At any rate, a major de-clutter is usually in order. Any personal effects, such as family photos or children’s artwork on the fridge, should be moved into storage. If you’re still living in the home until it has sold, you should try to put away any items that you won’t be using on a day to day basis.

A deep clean and finishing touches

You should now be ready to thoroughly clean your home. Consider this a more extensive clean than a ‘spring clean’. You need to wash the outside and inside of your home, potentially including the driveway, windows, internal and external walls, and all those little places that you never get the opportunity to dust and clean. You can hire professionals to do this if you’d prefer.

In addition to cleaning up the property, and any staging afterwards, you may want to consider small changes that can dramatically improve how your home appears. Switching out your lightbulbs to a high wattage.

On the day tasks

While your agent may be able to assist with advising you on what to do on the day, it’s worth bearing the following tips in mind.

  • Open your blinds and curtains

  • Put lights and lamps on, particularly in dark areas

  • Consider air freshener or some other scent for the home

  • Hide unseemly items (last minute things you need until the day – for example, wheelie and household bins, pet bowls, toilet brushes, cleaning products, shoes)

  • Clean down any surfaces you have been using and do a final tidy

Disclaimer

DiJones Real Estate, together with their directors, officers, employees and agents have used their best endeavours to ensure the information passed on in this document is accurate. However, you must make your own enquiries in relation to the information contained in this document and seek advice from your financial advisor, broker or accountant to ascertain its application to your circumstances.

This information is provided subject to our Terms and Conditions.