How To Sell Your Home for It's Maximum Potential

Want to sell your home for the highest possible price? So does everyone!  But after working with hundreds of property sellers, we have seen it all, and there are home presentation strategies that work and those that don’t.

Many people spend too much time or too much money preparing for a sale.  Don’t make this mistake.  Follow these 5 simple and low-cost tips to a quicker sale at a higher price.

Landscaping:  Declutter your entrance

  • Prune back unruly shrubs
  • Clear away dead leaves
  • Weed the flower beds
  • Mow the lawn, and use an edger to tidy up any messy lines
  • Waterblast pavers, driveways and the outside of your house
  • Buy some new soil or mulch, for a fresh looking garden

Time:   Half a day to a weekend, depending on the garden.

The key here is to work smart, not hard.  Do: Work on the things that will have a big impact, such as clearing away mess.  Don’t: Spend a lot of time and money on re-designing the space.

Repair:  Show buyers a functional, well looked after property

  • Check the lights work and replace any blown globes
  • Tighten up loose hinges and wobbly doors
  • Spray WD40 on creaking doors and fittings
  • Fix any cracked glass on windows
  • Remove broken and old flyscreens
  • Paint over cracks and patches on the walls

Time: Half a day to a day.

The little things matter because they indicate to a potential buyer the condition of the overall property.  A buyer who sees a well-functioning surface feels comfort that the things they can’t see are also well-functioning.

Freshen up:  Modernise your look with a few low cost upgrades

  • Check your light fittings: are they cracked, old or outdated?
  • Look at light-switches and power plugs: do they take you back to the 90’s and have a yellow tinge to them?
  • Next is door handles: all the same in a classic or modern style?
  • What about your cupboard and draw handles?
  • Check your bathroom fittings: are they in desperate need of upgrading?

Time: one day.

Get organised, arrange a handyman ahead of time, and then go to a large hardware store to buy everything you need.  These simple upgrades can turn rooms and spaces that are outdated into charming and fresh looks.

De clutter:  Maximise the feeling of spaciousness

  • Remove all excess furniture – think chests of drawers, filing cabinets, bookcases, additional seats, etc
  • Clear away all ornaments, piles of paper, books by the side of the bed, appliances that sit on the bench etc
  • Inside your cupboards, drawers and storage areas take the excuse to have a good cleanout and remove at least 50% of what was inside!
  • Everything you are able to remove makes the space look bigger to prospective buyers, so be ruthless and clean out all those things that are “practical” but take up floorspace.

Time: No more than a weekend if you are ruthless with yourself (it shouldn’t take any longer than moving a house will).

This tip is the one that is so often neglected, because it isn’t fun to go through your things and throw items out.  That said, if you’re successful in selling your house then you will have to do this anyway, and you may as well do it earlier and benefit from a better looking Open Home.

The rule we use is:  If I haven’t used this in the last 12 months, I don’t need it.  That is a lot easier said than done, so another good trick is to rent some storage space ahead of time, and just store everything to get it out of the house.  You may find even a couple of months later you are a lot less attached to items that before you “simply could not live without”.

Spring Clean:  Have buyers feeling ready to move in

  • Once you have decluttered (or during), it is time to give the place a thorough spring clean
  • AS you are cleaning out the linen cupboard, wipe the shelves out and refold the linen so it looks neat and tidy
  • In the laundry, wipe down all the shelves and clean the dryer filter as well as the appliances themselves
  • Vacuum all those hard to reach places under the bed, behind the couch, underneath the rug etc
  • Clean out the pantry and wipe down the fridge as well as all the cupboards and drawers in the kitchen
  • Give the bathrooms a solid clean so that the shower, basins and tubs look fresh and sparkling, don’t forget about any air vents and/or fans
  • Give all the windows a good clean inside and out

Time: Half a day.

Think about what you would expect if you went to a 5 star hotel.  Clean sheets, no dust anywhere, impeccably clean bathroom, right?  The same is true of people coming through your home on Open Home day.

So for the sake of four weekends, put your best foot forward to potential buyers.  You will sell in less time and for a higher price (and we wall want that).  Also, if you get organised then this will make life less stressful later on when you need to move.  You’ll be celebrating with champagne and searching for your next dream home instead of madly packing and cleaning.