Preparing property for sale and home staging have both been added to the ‘must-do’ list when you are selling your home. With more people now involved with property investment, the different aspects of preparing property for sale have gained importance.
When you invest in property, you generally have three options; buy a house to rent out, buy a house to sell for a profit, or buy your ‘forever home’. If your option is to buy and sell for a profit, then this post is for you. I’ll be going through five areas for preparing property for sale and selling in a smooth and swift manner.
Preparing Property for Sale: Cleaning
The start of this journey is cleaning. People won’t want to buy a dirty home and, of course, first impressions count. If potential buyers see a property for sale that’s in a messy state they may not see past the dirt. This means you’ll have some work to do. Cleaning your home for visitors of this nature will require some deep work. It may not be easy and it’s required to be done thoroughly. Potential buyers will look critically in cupboards and behind doors. There are loads of companies out there that offer cleaning services for your home. The people that do this work are professional cleaners. This means that they will be able to do the job to a much higher standard than you will yourself. And, they will already have all of the equipment you’ll need.
Ensure carpets, drapes, paintwork, tiles (especially grouting), gutters, and pathways are meticulous.
Preparing Property for Sale: Decluttering
You will have heard this like a mantra; declutter! declutter! declutter! You may wish to live with more ‘stuff’ but when you are selling a home you want buyers to see two things;
- for rooms to appear larger and more spacious than they are
- for them to imagine their own belongings in the home
So pop down to K-Mart and buy super cheap plastic storage boxes with lids. Clean up bookshelves, drawers, cupboards, and vanities with items you really don’t need right now.
If you have large furniture, consider removing some items from rooms. Clean up toys from the floor and place them in a toy chest. If your children have too many toys then consider donating some to a charity shop or storing some for later. Pack up everything you need to move from the house and rent a short-term storage unit. Try NOT to store everything in your garage as buyers will want to see an uncluttered space there too.
Preparing Property for Sale: DIY
Now, think beyond cleaning and decluttering. Some people will deliberately buy a poorly maintained home, to restore and sell for a profit. If you have done this before then you’ll understand what’s in store. There are loads of forums and message board designed to help people with this sort of DIY work. Additionally, you can enlist the help of some professional contractors. Painter and decorators can be found in most places, even check the notice board at your local supermarket as local contractors will often put their details there. Doing some DIY and hiring professionals to help can make the value of your property skyrocket. Even homes that are beautifully decorated can usually have some touch-ups.
Preparing Property for Sale: Your Real Estate Agent
Having these jobs complete marks the time for you to get the property onto the market. For this, you’ll definitely need some help. Unliking renting, most people don’t want to buy a house privately. The legal documentation alone will be too hard for most people to create. The obvious choice is to use a real estate agent. These businesses make their money by selling homes. So, you can be confident that they will put in the work to get your home sold. This is the easiest way to exit this sort of investment.
Preparing Property for Sale: Home Styling
Home styling or ‘home staging’ is as popular as a seagull with a hot chip. This has raised the bar on how your home is presented. Gone are the days when properties were shown to buyers in the way the owners live; with all their own furniture and accessories. To ensure your home reaches the same high standards as the competition, then give serious consideration to hiring a home stylist or home stager to help you.
Generally, a home stylist will work with the items you already own, declutter, rearrange furniture, suggest some minor redecorating to enhance your home, and add on-trend touches. A home stylist will ensure your home is highly presentable and beautiful without huge expense.
A home stager will, generally, have a warehouse full of furniture and items you can ‘rent’ to enhance your home. This is a great option if you have to ship your belongings to a new destination (perhaps an interstate transfer), if your own furniture doesn’t create the right impression for the listing price you are asking, or if you need to place items in empty rooms.
Aside from the interior, most people today are turning to the outdoors to expand their living space as they spend more time at home. Paying attention to the home’s exterior can also increase its value and sell quicker. Real estate market experts say that a property’s outdoors can urge buyers to step inside for the first time, so consider ways to make your landscape attractive. Fortunately, experts like Dose industries mowing and slashing services can help meet your property’s outdoor maintenance needs to make the right-first-time impression.
These tips should give you a good idea of what needs to be done to make sure that you get the best price for your home. This sort of work will make a big difference in the return that you get on your investment. And, it will likely make the sale happen faster.
In addition to these tips, you might like to read about how to avoid renovation frustrations, a beginners guide to styling your first home, and when house hunting here’s how to look past bad design.
Home Styling + Decluttering Services
Please feel free to contact us if you need any help to style your home for sale, declutter, or you need an expert eye to help you redecorate.
