Property Advice: how to prepare your home for market. Spring has finally announced itself with budding flora, longer days and with the promise of warmer temperatures ahead. It’s a perfect time for getting your house in order, especially if you are looking to market your property in the coming months.
Nicki Perrin, assistant sales manager at Jackson-Stops Dorking, gives her advice on how best to prepare your home for market.
Complete any maintenance jobs
Boring jobs they may be, but clearing gutters, removing the winter’s dead leaves from around the exterior of your home and weeding the driveway will instantly lift the appearance of your home and show potential purchasers that it is well maintained.
Garden time
Winter makes the even the best of gardens look tired, so step back and take a critical look at yours. Trim the hedge, mow the lawn, plant up that shady border and touch up gates and fences to give your garden a spring makeover.
Banish the surplus
Remove unwanted items from your garage and cellar – do you really need those boxes of magazines from the 1980s or two lawn mowers?! You’ll be surprised at the space you create and you’ll have the impetus to tackle larger clearing projects.
If your counter tops are full of books and gadgets consider removing them temporarily. Buyers want to get a sense of space and by clearing out the clutter you allow them to visualise their own furniture in your home.
Paperwork
Conveyancing, insurance, certificates, deeds – there’s a lot of paperwork involved in selling a home, so stay one step ahead and arm your estate agent and solicitor with all of the paperwork they’ll need to make sure your sale is a speedy one. For instance if an extension/loft conversion has been carried out ensure you can lay your hands on the planning consent(s) and building control sign off documents.
First impressions
Buyers make up their mind about your property in a matter of minutes. Walk to the edge of your property and turn around: does your home look appealing?
Spring is a time to clean!
There’s no better time to spring clean your home, and the prospect of several viewers walking through your home should spur you on to tackle the big clean. Clean all windows inside and out, launder the curtains, invest in a professional oven cleaner and run a feather duster over the picture rails.
A critical eye
We can become blind to the small issues in our homes, so ask a friend, relative or trusted estate agent to visit your home with a note pad and pen and makes notes room by room.
Photographs
When you’ve spruced up your garden, that’s the time to consider having some external photographs for estate agent particulars. Gardens start to bloom into life in late March, so take advantage of mother nature.
Choose your agent wisely
A good agent will give you property advice on how best to market your home. A great agent will work with you to identify any issues and offer advice on how to fix them.
Take a balanced view regarding no fee agents – recent news suggested that internet property agents manage to sell a mere smidge over 50% of properties on their books.
Paying for a professional service with experienced staff who can steer your property to a successful sale is invaluable.
Property advice: how to prepare your home for market. We hope that these tips give you some ideas for when you’re ready to sell your. Our experienced team would be delighted to speak with you about your home and requirements – contact our Dorking office on 01306 887560 or email
dorking@jackson-stops.co.uk.
