Presentation is everything. Home buyers are attracted to clean, spacious and attractive houses. Your goal is to dazzle buyers. Brighten up the house and remove all clutter from counter tops, tables and rooms. Clean the house from top to bottom and make it sparkle. Simple aesthetic improvements such as trimming trees, planting flowers, fixing broken tiles, cleaning rugs and carpets and even repainting a faded room will greatly enhance the appeal of your house. Also make sure your house smells good. Clean out the cat box and light some mildly scented candles. Invite a trusted friend or neighbour to walk through your house as a buyer would, and get their opinion.
In preparing your private property for sale, consider:
• how much should I spend?
• exterior and curb appeal
• preparing the interior
How much should I spend?
In preparing your home for the market, spend as little money as possible. Buyers will be impressed by a brand new roof, but they aren't likely to give you enough extra money to pay for it. There is a big difference between making minor and inexpensive "polishes" and "touch-ups" to your house, such as putting new knobs on cabinets and a fresh coat of neutral paint in the living room, and doing extensive and costly renovations, like installing a new kitchen.
The simplest way to think about how much to spend is to divide your spending into two categories:
• What things, if left unchanged, are going to bring the price down by more than it costs to fix or change them?
• What new changes can I make that will definitely increase the price by more than I pay for them?
The first category tends to be all your 'touch-ups' - fresh coats of paint etc. The second category requires careful thought before you spend - new bathrooms or kitchens or carports. You need to be convinced that (a) you will definitely get a significantly higher price for this effort, and (b) that you don't decrease the pool of people who are potential buyers. (In other words, not everyone wants a pizza oven in the back yard, so your potential buyers pool is decreased.)
Focus on curb appeal
The age-old observation that "you never get a second chance to make a first impression" certainly applies when it comes to attracting buyers to a for-sale home. Estate agents understand the power of 'curb appeal;' that initial impression a buyer gets driving up outside your property.
Ever noticed how, after living in a house for a while, you become 'blind' to those niggling details that other people see? To maximize curb appeal, you need to see the exterior of your property with 'fresh eyes;' perhaps ask a good friend for their opinion.
Tips to enhance your home's exterior and curb appeal:
• Keep the lawn edged, cut and watered regularly. (Buy 'Bounce Back' from your local nursery to apply it to make your lawn greener.)
• Trim hedges, weed lawns and flowerbeds, and prune trees regularly. Cut back overgrowth on pathways.
• Consider planting a few lavender bushes around the outside of your garden gate.
• During spring and summer months consider adding a few showy annuals, perhaps in pots, near your front entrance. (Two large pots either side of an entrance always looks good.)
• Basic intercom systems are pretty cheap nowadays; consider installing one at your gate if appropriate.
• Store toys, bicycles, roller-skates, gardening equipment and the like out of sight.
• Have at least the garden gate, the front of your house and the trim painted, if necessary.
• Check the foundation, steps, walkways, walls and patios for cracks and crumbling.
• Inspect doors and windows for peeling paint.
• Sweep the porch and the front walkway.
• Repair and replace loose or damaged roof tiles.
• Re-seal an asphalt driveway.
• Keep your garage door closed.
• Store old and beaten up cars elsewhere while the house is on the market.
All in all, your attention to curb and exterior appeal should translate into excited buyers by the time they enter your home. With no 'cringe factors' outside the house, they are in a great frame of mind entering the house and fully expect a positive experience.
Maximizing interior appeal
There is a lot that you can do to improve the impression the interior of your home gives potential buyers, without getting into major renovations. In general, don't underestimate the power of paint! While we all have different tastes, please be aware that if you have outlandish taste in interior colour, you will be decreasing the pool of potential buyers. In other words, this is not an exercise in expressing yourself creatively; rather it is an exercise in creating an interior that appeals to as many buyers as possible. If necessary, repaint dingy, soiled or strongly colored walls with a neutral shade of paint, such as off-white or beige. The same neutral scheme can be applied to carpets and linoleum.
Here are some of the other 'insider tips' that estate agents use:
Clear out the clutter
Real estate agents say buyers won't purchase a home they can't see. If your home has too much furniture, overflowing closets, crowded kitchen and bathroom countertops or lots of family photos or collectibles on display, potential buyers won't be able to see your home. Get rid of anything you don't need or use. This alone will make your house appear bigger and brighter. Some homeowners with crowded rooms have actually rented storage garages and moved half their furniture out, creating a sleeker, and more spacious look.
Removing less frequently used items from kitchen counters, closets, and attics make these areas much more inviting. Since you're anticipating a move anyhow, holding a garage sale at this point is a great idea.
Use your nose
Many people are oblivious to scents, but others are extremely sensitive to offensive odours. To eliminate bad smells, bathe your pets, freshen the cat litter box frequently, shampoo your carpets, dry clean your drapes, and empty trash cans, recycling bins and ash trays. Place open boxes of baking soda in smell-prone areas, and refrain from cooking fish or strong-smelling foods. Introduce pleasing smells by placing flowers or potpourri in your home and using air fresheners. Baking a fresh or frozen pie or some other fragrant treat is another common tactic when expecting buyers.
Make all necessary repairs
Buyers expect everything in their new home to operate safely and properly. Picky buyers definitely will notice - and likely magnify - minor maintenance problems you've ignored for months or even years. Leaky faucets, burned-out light bulbs, painted-shut or broken windows, inoperable appliances and the like should be fixed before you put your home on the market. These repairs may seem small, but left undone they can lead buyers to question whether you've taken good care of your home.
Here are a few examples:
• Check for cracks, leaks and signs of dampness in the attic and basement.
• Repair cracks, holes or damage to plaster, wallboard, wallpaper, paint, and tiles.
• Replace broken or cracked windowpanes, moldings, and other woodwork. Inspecting and repairing the plumbing, cooling, and alarm systems.
• Repair dripping taps and showerheads.
Keep it spotless
This is often a tricky point for estate agents to make - different people are comfortable living with different levels of cleanliness. To appeal to as many buyers as possible, it is imperative that every inch of your house is clean and grime-free. Giving every room in the house a thorough cleaning. Hiring a professional cleaning service, once every few weeks while the house is on the market. This may be a good investment for owners who are busy elsewhere.
Focus on the 'hotspots'
While all rooms in the home are important, estate agents know that kitchens, bathrooms and master bedrooms are the 'hotspots.' These rooms require special attention. Assuming that you don't do major renovations, here are some ideas:
• Kitchen cabinet and general cupboard doors can be spruced up with a paint technique and new handles.
• Repaint the kitchen and bathroom walls in neutral colour, if necessary.
• Clean all tiling grout using a grout cleaning product. (You can buy grout cleaner from your hardware store.) You'll be amazed how much better your tiles look!
• If your lights are dated, consider replacing them.
• Consider retiling your kitchen and bathroom, if appropriate.
• New curtains in these areas may be a worthwhile investment.Buy new towels for the bathroom, to be brought out only when prospective buyers are on the way.