Tips for selling your house

goofy141

HI

For anyone who has sold recently, what would be your best tip?
We are not great at DIY and would need to employ someone and want to keep the costs down. I will be getting the house painted but what else would you advice?

Many thanks,

Samuel T. Cogley

Dress the house, have the table set best linen out that sort of thing. Basically just look at show house pictures.

Vim Fuego

Get rid of anything you don't actually use/need and put it into storage. We cleared out a load of stuff so cupboards and wardrobes didn't look absolutely crammed with stuff.

LirW

If your paint and wallpaper is in okay condition, you don't need to do anything. If it's outdated, focus at least on living room and kitchen. Clean the space, spotless. Don't let any clutter out, especially not in the kitchen. Keep sheets, cushions rugs and any decoration show house like, it makes a bit of a difference.
That said, if the house is in a good location it would sell regardless, there are some proper dumps getting snapped up in no time for crazy money. Location is key.

com1

Ask for advice from your Estate Agent - they will generally have a very good idea about good selling points in your area. Take a look at the EA's photos before they put them up on the site. Photos should be taken with all the lights switched on and during a bright day. Nothing put me off more than dark blurry photos when I was looking to buy. Also don't be afraid if the EA omits the 'best' room from the photos it is often used as a hook or talking point when viewing.

You may not even need to paint. Unless the paintwork is very grubby or personal (colour-wise) it should be fine. Remember the buyer will likely repaint and re-floor the house themselves. Just make sure everything is spotless and very tidy (think walking into a suite in a 5-star hotel) a place for everything and everything in its place. Also, really important, beds should be perfectly made (no creases on bed linen and no clothes on floor). And the bathroom(s) should also be spotless - use clean towels and hide the toothbrushes etc for the viewings.

De-clutter and depersonalize the house, less is more and the prospective buyer needs to be able to visualize the space with their stuff in place (not always easy when it is full of your stuff (remove all photos, nick-nacks etc)). Also get rid of any extra furniture if you can - try not to have potential buyers having to squeeze past tables and chairs to get through a room.

Make sure all kitchen surfaces are clear and spotless - remove everything you can from the surfaces including toasters microwaves etc, makes the kitchen look bigger.

Oh yeah, and to end my essay (was going to be a quick one liner), tidy up the garden if you have one! Prune trees, cut grass, clean paths, patios etc. and weed everything.

Baybay

We've recently sold two houses & followed the advice of our agent before going on sale.

Exterior repainted including gates.
Gutters cleared.
Windows & frames washed.
Garden kept mowed & trimmed back.
Colourful planters at front door.
Patios power washed.
Good patio furniture.

None of these things were too onerous as we'd be doing them anyway.

We didn't need to do any redecorating inside as it was in good order & recently done.

We did declutter which was good as it made the houses & rooms look bigger & tidier but also because there were many things we didn't want to bring to our new house so it made packing easier!
I used plain cream bedlinen to keep things simple in the bedrooms but also not to distract from the room in terms of size & view. This was for the photos & the viewings.
I also kept kitchen & bathroom surfaces fairly empty.
Lights, heat & fires on.
Clean, dusted & vacuumed.

PauloConn

Declutter the house and give a sense of space. This makes such a difference.

goofy141

Thanks everyone, appreciate all the tips.

ArtyC

Please make sure you have a cert of compliance ready, as a buyer it's totallly frustrating getting delayed due to boundaries , planning, etc

Samuel T. Cogley

Oh and don't forget to put it up for sale :pac:

Viewed two duplexes in one building being sold by same agency recently. A friend was looking to buy and asked me to come along to help her.

The first was cluttered, messy and the surfaces, walls and kitchen were not clean. There was clearly a young family with children living there and they must have been looking to trade up.

Next door, the place had been scrubbed, the beds were dressed nicely, the surfaces were all shining and there was no clutter anywhere.

Afterwards, my friend was buzzing about the second one, remarking on how nice it was and how she could see herself living there. In her own words, she 'hated' the first one.

Both houses were the exact same apart from how they were presented. I thought it was a real insight into how people can be put off some places and turned on to others so simply.

She put a bid on the second one, though she missed out in the end, and wouldn't consider the first.

The Princess Bride

Might sound silly but something as simple as flushing toilets and lids down.
When I viewed my current home for the 1st time, the downstairs bathroom was a tip.
Luckily I saw the potential in the house and it didn't put me off buying but still.

A good clear out and clean up makes such a difference.
No need to repaint really, but make sure it's bright and airy.
Clutter free and plenty of available storage.

And most of all, a sense of home.

tricky D

Staging a house is the term to search for.

Declutter like hell, especially personal items and leave more generic items in instead, so that a prospective buyer can get some idea of what they can do with the rooms and spaces.

Beware of skimping - a few hundred saved on this or that, might lose you thousands off the selling proce.

Professional photos are a must and a deep clean recommended. Make sure there are no dodgy odours but beware over doing it with the wrong chemicals.

Heat and lights on. All light bulbs must work - have a few spare.

For our market, the best time to start selling was March/April with a view to having a final bid early June before holidays, which is exactly what happened. Apartments are better put up after Sept. (Our experience, so open to correction or other recommendations)

A decent paint job but no need for perfection.

Assume that any and all closets, cupboards etc. will be opened. Some viewers are awful snoops.

Get out of the house completely before any prospect arrives and let the EA do the showing.

Moss of the driveway. Don't know about using chemicals for that, they might mess up with discolouration. I just shuffled it all off with my feet wearing builders boots.

Locate your BER docs.

hth
Good luck.

TeaBagMania

Have some potato soup simmering on the stove or something baking in the oven. the aroma makes the house feel cozy and homely. exploit all five senses

goofy141

some super tips there thanks

GingerLily

TeaBagMania wrote: »

Have some potato soup simmering on the stove or something baking in the oven. the aroma makes the house feel cozy and homely. exploit all five senses

Someone cooking in the kitchen would be weird, you'll make the buyer suspicious.

TeaBagMania

hence the simmering and baking, you don't need to be there

iamwhoiam

Make sure its warm if someone is viewing in winter . Nothing worse than a freezing house

GingerLily

TeaBagMania wrote: »

hence the simmering and baking, you don't need to be there

So what happens when it burns? It's just weird and too risky

xalot

some good tips here
https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/selling-your-home-in-2018-our-top-20-tips-to-help-you-prepare-1.3343021

uck51js9zml2yt

xalot wrote: »

some good tips here
https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/selling-your-home-in-2018-our-top-20-tips-to-help-you-prepare-1.3343021

Good article!

j2dab

Some good blog posts here which may be of help:

https://www.moovingo.com/news-guides/news/worlds-stage-home/

https://www.moovingo.com/news-guides/news/make-home-insta-hit/

badboyblast

Paint everything white , makes the place look bigger and neutral