7 Low Cost Ways To Prepare Your Home Before You Sell

Is it a great time to sell? In the UK, many homeowners believe it is and they want to take advantage of the Stamp Duty Holiday before it ends on 30 June 2021.

You, too, may well be thinking about moving on from your home to either upgrade or move to another area.

Naturally, there is plenty of competition in the sales market for traditional homes, so you’ll want your property to look its best for listing photos and open houses.

In this article, we share a few tips on how to to get a great sales price without spending up large on extensive, costly renovations.

Are you ready to increase the value of your home with these clever hacks?

1) Get ready to sell the dream

When prospective buyers walk through your front door, they will be looking around and imagining the home as their own.  Our homes are not show-rooms as living gets in the way.  However, we need to turn our homes into showrooms for homebuyers who don’t want to be distracted by our everyday living mess and stuff.

Prospective house buyers have a tick-list of what’s important to them when they view a house. With clever planning, you can ensure that your home is desirable and that there is plenty of interest in its purchase.

2) First impressions count

We got some input from UK home buyers, Housebuyers4u, who say before selling your home, focus your efforts on creating a good first impression. To get this right, put yourself in the shoes of a homebuyer, i.e. ask yourself, what do I see when I arrive at my property?

Exterior

Stand across the street and take in the exterior of your home. How’s it looking? If you’ve not ever taken much notice of the outside of the property, over time, the weather degrades it.

Check that the paint on your front door and garage door looks in excellent condition – if it doesn’t, get out your paintbrush! The same applies to window frames and windowsills. If you have a gate, check that it looks smart and check your drive is free of weeds.

Your front garden should look tidy so ensure that the grass is kept regularly cut. Give hedges and bushes a prune to tidy them up too. Finally, dig over the flowerbeds and remove any dead plants.

Add extra colour to your front garden with some brightly coloured bedding plants and a lovely hanging basket by the front door. Try and conceal your rubbish bins by parking them behind a hedge or rattan screen.

If your house number is looking old or dated, invest in a smart new replacement.

Objective feedback

Don’t be afraid to get the opinions of other people. You really need objective feedback and do as many of the changes suggested to you as possible.

Why? Well, the feedback from objective observers is as close as you can get to understand how your prospective homebuyers will rate your home, both its exterior and interior.

3) Clear the debris

Make your home look bigger and brighter by having a significant de-clutter of every room. It is incredible how old papers and magazines pile up in the living room, and half-empty shampoo bottles breed in the bathroom!

Storage

If you need more storage space, invest in under-bed boxes or colourful giant hat boxes as both hold a fantastic amount of kit. A spring clean is essentially what you’re doing not just in your home but also with your ‘stuff’.

Plus, this is a great time to give back – take what you really don’t need to your nearest charity shop so that it can have a new owner.

4) Deep clean every room

Nothing appeals to a house buyer more than a clean, tidy house that is well cared for. Every room needs a good spring clean from top to bottom, including light shades, windows and walls. Wash paintwork and light switches to get rid of dirty finger marks.

Thoroughly wash all the floors and get carpets professionally cleaned so that they look their best. Tidy all the cupboards so that they are ready for inspection. Thoroughly air each room and then buy a collection of air fresheners with the same fragrance and place them in the different rooms.

5) Get out the paintbrush & tool kit

There is no point decorating your house throughout unless the paintwork is in a bad way. It is best to paint any badly marked walls. Start with a deep clean and if marks are stubborn, then resort to repainting the walls.

Choose white or a neutral shade like the current favourite, dove grey,  on walls and ceilings in every room.  Plus, also clean the grouting between tiles in the kitchen and bathroom.

If your kitchen cupboards look dated, paint them with one of this season’s trending colours like any shade of blue. Also, buy some smart new knobs and handles for drawers and cupboards to make a huge difference.

If the bathroom tiles are in good condition but do not look great, consider re-painting them with one of the special tile paints available from DIY stores. Clean taps and showerheads to get rid of all limescale.

Check every room, in turn, to ensure there are no little DIY jobs that need attention as loose door handles and broken light switches are very off-putting to housebuyers.  Plus, now your stuff is no longer on show, stage the rooms to appeal to your prospective homebuyers.

6) Sort the back garden too

Give your back garden a big tidy up! Cut the grass regularly and trim the edges.

Prune hedges, bushes and trees so that they are tidy. Give a coat of paint to decking and create an attractive sitting space with a small table and a couple of chairs.

Since the pandemic, gardens are really ‘must haves’, and potential buyers will pay more if you have one in good order.

If you have a garden shed, give it a perfect tidy up.

7) Repurpose a room

If you have electricity in the shed, is there any way you can quickly and cheaply convert it into a home office with a desk and chair? With many people still working from home, this could be an excellent feature for your home. If not, is there anywhere indoors you could create one?

If you complete this checklist, you will certainly have a home that is attractive to buyers.

There are larger projects to tackle if you have extra time and money, such as bathroom and kitchen improvements and installing smart technology.

However, as time is running out to get your home sold before the Government incentives end.

Focus on our tips to give your home a fighting chance of attracting a good sales price.