It is said that a sale is made within the first 5 minutes of walking through the door so if you are selling your home, a first impression is everything! So here are my tips and tricks to keep those first impressions positive. None of these involve major improvements, just a little attention to detail is all you need!

 

1. De-clutter

2. Fresh lick of paint

Have you got a wall which looks a little scuffed. Just give it a fresh coat of paint and the space will look a thousand times better than it did before.

 

3. Keep up with the kerb appeal

The very first impression of a house is what it looks like from the road. This is when we first see the house and the buyers will get that ‘feeling’ as they walk up. So let’s not let them down! Dig out those weeds, cut the grass and tidy up any flaking paint. Some buyers will see this as a task to be done and it can often look like a bigger job than it really is which can sometimes put buyers off who are not looking for a 'project'.

 

4. Fix and clean

Dripping taps, dirty worktops or pet hair can make people feel uneasy in your property, just give everything a once over before a viewing to make sure everything is sparkling and the dirty dishes aren’t in the sink.

 

5. The kitchen is the heart of the home

I would say here that replacing a kitchen completely is normally an unnecessary expense. Though it can add value to your home, a buyer will often look at replacing the kitchen according to their taste much like they would the colour of paint. However, that being said, if your kitchen is falling apart completely then this can influence lower offers to account for the cost of repairs. Very much like in the previous suggestion, look at fixing things that are broken and having the kitchen deep cleaned if it is in a really bad way before spending money on a new kitchen ask your estate agent if they think it might be worth replacing the worktops with a basic laminate or changing the handles etc in order to help obtain your asking price. But keep the changes small or you may not get back what you spent on the changes.

 

6. Open spaces

We all like to feel like we have lots of space and there are lots of tricks that can help you achieve the illusion of space and light. Hanging a few mirrors or painting your dark room in a lighter colour could be all it takes to achieve this!

 

8. What’s that smell?

This can work both ways! Bad smells can put people off somewhere particularly if it’s the kind of smell which might be hard to get rid of. Cleaning before each viewing is going to help eliminate the bad smells and as I mentioned earlier, it’s probably worth chucking out and out of date or funky food in the fridge and cupboards just to be on the safe side. On the flip side to that, grab yourself a few scented candles or oil diffusers and dot them around the house to give pleasant, homely smells in every room. Cheap and easy!

 

Essentially most people buying a home will be trying to imagine themselves living there, cooking dinner, getting the children ready for school or relaxing on the sofa with a glass of their favourite drink. So the easier you make it to imagine for a potential buyer, the more likely you will be to sell your home! While these are my suggestions, it is always worth speaking to an estate agent to see if there is anything you can do in your home to significantly increase the value of your home or just make it a tad more saleable.

 

If you would like to get in touch with us regarding your home project, please do feel free to contact us