Making simple improvements to the inside of your home can be the difference between a sale or not. Or whether or not you receive your asking price.
1. Remove excess clutter. If your home is small, then you can’t afford to make it appear smaller with lots of bits and pieces, even if you are proud of them. Store excess belongings and clothes.
2. Clear out your garage. You will have to do it when you move so why not do it now.
3. Clean out your pantry, clean behind your fridge. It is easy to become used to a certain level of grime in our homes. We stop noticing it. Most of us have busy lives and our homes have a lived in feel. But this becomes instantly noticeable.
Your potential buyer will be subconsciously turned off. They might think if I can see this untidiness, what is there that I can’t see.
4. If there are marks or dints in the walls you need to repair them properly. Use a hardware store recommended filler. Sand it smooth once dried. Paint over the patch with some light strokes from a paint brush, now you must roll the entire wall.
You cannot just paint the patch. Firstly the paint you have stored away will not be the same colour as the paint that has been on the wall for even a year. Secondly the light will highlight these patches. Just do a quick cut in around the edges and roll the wall. I t will look fresh but it will complexly blend in.
5. Areas that interest female buyers the most are the kitchen and bathrooms. Make sure they are clean, tidy and smell pleasant. The only time you can get away with these areas being shabby is if someone is looking for a bargain.
6. Having said all these things about being clean and tidy don’t put yourself and your family under undue stress. It can be extremely stressful for a family to keep a house looking spic and span knowing that there could be an inspection any day.
I was building us a new house and our home was on the market. I would leave early each day and my wife who was pregnant was left to tidy before she went to work. Our stress levels were through the roof. You don’t want to say no to an inspection so you just do too much. Just do your best.
7. Turning you lights on during a day time inspection can give a nice feel to the home, but I think we are passed the fresh bread and coffee smells that were once recommended. Fresh flowers especially it is obvious that they came from the garden.
8. If the house is going to be vacant during the sale it may pay to hire some nice furniture. This can lift it and help people imagine what it would be like to live there rather than being empty.