Preparing your home for sale usually involves doing some fixes in order to make your property more appealing to prospective buyers. These can range from the minor repairs and renovations such as painting, fixing broken tiles, fixing broken door knobs and doorbells among others. In some cases, it may require a major upgrade or a little fixer-upper.
The kind of upgrades that you wish to carry out on your home ultimately comes down to your objectives, budget as well as time. If you have a short notice and a limited budget, it may be a good idea to zero in on those fixes that will give you the best value for money or the most bang for buck. In this case, you will be optimising your finances in order to have the most impact on your prospective buyers. Here are some tips on how to prepare your house in readiness for a sale.
Hire a Professional Consultant
Unless you have some experience in doing fixer-uppers or in appraising your property, you will need to hire some professional hands to help you through the process. Hire a professional building inspection service that can give you competent counsel before you launch your house into the marketplace. They can help you identify potential issues that might reduce the selling price of your property, and give you time to fix before it’s time for the auction.
Make a checklist
Create a checklist of all the renovations and problems that you want to fix before you roll out the property into the market. It is easy to be overwhelmed by the numerous small fixes that you may wish to add to your house so it makes sense to break down the tasks into small manageable chunks and then prioritise on the most important. Have a written plan on what you want to achieve and then prioritise them.
Declutter
This is one of the most important steps that you should undertake when preparing your property for a sale. Get rid of all the unnecessary items and leave only the essentials, ensuring your spaces are well organised and free of items ahead of the sale. Perhaps you could rent a space temporarily to put the items you want to remove from the house. When the house is packed and stuffed with lots of items, it tends to look smaller. When showcasing your house for sale, you would want to put your best foot forward. Creating more spaces through decluttering allows aspiring buyers to visualise themselves living there and filling up all the large empty spaces with their possessions.
Organise your storage areas
Potential buyers will not just be looking at the usual areas such as kitchens, bedrooms, living areas and bathrooms but also the storage spaces available in the house. Take time to clean out all the storage areas in your home such as the storage sheds, garages and closets. Decluttering creates the impression of more space and an aspiring buyer is likely to consider bigger spaces a huge plus in their buying decision. If some of your items are left in the house for lack of storage options, you can use matching storage, shelving or wall-mounted storage to organise your storage and ensure everything is neat and orderly.
Add some touch-up paint
A quick touch-up paint job can have a massive transformative effect on the look and feel of your spaces. If you feel your home needs some touch up, do it room-by-room. Every space in the house will have unique paint requirements. While the bedroom may need full repainting, your kitchen may just need a quick touch-up. When painting, avoid over-personalising. Instead, go for the neutral hues.
Do a few upgrades and repairs
Are your surfaces, structures and fixtures in excellent shape? Take time to do the upgrades that will have the most impact such as fixing the light fixtures, faucets or shower heads. Not only are these quick and budget-friendly upgrades but they are also high-impact renovations that are likely to appeal to a prospective buyer. Make a checklist and prioritise the most important upgrades that you wish to make.
Work on the landscaping
Good landscaping can create a wow effect and a good first impression. Spend a little to improving the curb appeal and the overall landscaping of the property.
Work on bad odour
Bad odour may be due to dirt, litter, mould growth or even poor ventilation and poor waterproofing. If your home has a bad odour, do some thorough clean-up and dig up into the root cause of the problem. You can also fill the house with some inviting scents ahead of the open house.