10 Top Tips to Make Your Home More Sellable
Wed 01 Sep 2021
Ian Woodhouse-Smith, Lettings Manager
Declutter your home
A cluttered home is an unattractive one; clutter makes your property seem smaller than it really is and makes it hard for viewers to envisage themselves living there.
Thoroughly declutter all rooms in your house, putting excess things in storage, donating them to charity or throwing them away. Remove unnecessary or overly large furniture to show off the living space your property offers.
It can also help to depersonalise your home, removing some personal items like family photos, trophies, holiday souvenirs and children's artwork so that buyers can picture what they would do with the space.
Deep clean your home
It’s essential to deep clean your home to make it appealing to buyers. Clean every surface in all rooms, including carpets, floors, windows and appliances.
Get rid of dirt, remove limescale, eliminate mould and clean tile grout. You may wish to hire a professional cleaner to save yourself time and ensure that your home is sparkling clean.
Repaint the walls
Repainting the walls in a bright, neutral colour can help to boost your home’s appeal. Neutral colours like white can make your home seem lighter and larger and also gives viewers a blank canvas to envision what they would do with the space.
Removing wallpaper makes it easier for buyers to move straight in without the urgent need to redecorate.
Tidy your garden
Give your garden some TLC to show off its size and make it seem manageable – buyers will be put off by gardens that require lots of work.
This includes trimming bushes and trees, keeping the grass cut, cleaning patio, decking and furniture and adding some flowers to enhance its attractiveness.
Enhance curb appeal
First impressions matter, so optimise your home’s curb appeal by making it appealing from the outside. Keep your front lawn trimmed, the front of the property clean and the front door painted. You can add flowerpots or hanging baskets for a nice extra touch.
Update your kitchen
As one of the core rooms in any home, an unattractive or dated kitchen can put buyers off. It likely won’t be cost-effective to fit a brand-new kitchen before you move, but you can reface your kitchen cabinets and wrap countertops to give it a budget-friendly facelift.
Don’t forget to declutter your surfaces and remove bulky appliances.
Make your home bright and airy
Ensure every room looks bright and airy by cleaning windows, putting up mirrors and replacing lightbulbs.
Make your home smell nice
Eliminate bad odours by taking out bins, clearing drains and removing furniture saturated with cigarette and pet smells.
Give your home a pleasant smell by opening windows, banishing pets to one room, lighting a fire or scented candles, baking cookies, brewing coffee and putting out fresh flowers.
Dress up your rooms
Make your rooms more attractive by adding plants and neutral soft furnishings like curtains and cushions.
Fix anything broken
Make your home more sellable by fixing anything broken. This might be chipped tiles, holes in the wall, broken door handles, roof leaks, broken gutters and chipped paint. The fewer problems potential buyers would have to fix, the more appealing your property is to buy.