We recently talked about the need to get an appraisal when selling your home, but how do you maximise the potential sales price? Preparing your house for sale is important, and it can make a significant difference to the end sales price. 

If you’ve recently decided to sell your home, we’ve put together a free home selling checklist to help you out. 

Start thinking of your home as a product

Presenting your home is extremely important when selling. Potential buyers want to walk in and see how their family and their life would fit in the space. A home that is clean and clear of clutter creates an emotional link with a buyer. 

If you have already moved out of the home, you can enlist the help of a professional stylist who can style your home with a range of furniture to give it that lived in feel. If you are still living in the property, there are plenty of ways you can present your home without spending a lot of money. 

External presentation

The saying “first impressions last” is true when it comes to house hunting. If a potential buyer comes to your home and the first thing they see is knee-high grass, plants growing out of your gutters and broken window panes, it isn’t going to bode well for their expectations about the rest of the house.  

Cleaning up the outside of your home is relatively easy and shouldn’t take more than a weekend, particularly if you enlist the help of a gutter cleaner. 

Here’s what you should be looking for outside your home:

  • Gates and fences – repair and clean/paint/oil
  • Driveway – repair major cracks and clean oil stains
  • Lawns – weed spray, mow, edge, rake leaves
  • Gardens and pot plants – weed, trim plants, remove dead plants, clean the pots
  • Roof – clean, repair and paint (if needed) gutters, eaves and roof
  • Garage – clean door, make sure door works, clean interior, paint walls 
  • Paving – weed spray, clean, repair major cracks
  • Windows – replaced damaged fly screens and windows, paint sills, clean glass 
  • Front door – clean and paint, if necessary. 
  • Door mat – if you have one, buy a new one.

Internal presentation

When it comes to your internal presentation, the first thing you need to do is walk through your home as if you were seeing it for the first time. What things do you pick up that need cleaning or repairing? If you are having trouble detaching yourself emotionally from the home, ask a trusted friend to come over and do this part. 

At the very least, you should do a deep clean and check that there is nothing broken or chipped that could detract from the look of your home. You may consider hiring a cleaner to do a pre-sale clean to ensure your home is looking its best. 

If your home is starting to look old, it’s not always a good idea to do a full renovation, simply because what suits you may well minimise the number of potential buyers. The best way to look at your home is that a potential buyer wants to style it to their own tastes. In this situation, you may want to consider painting, a deep carpet clean and replacing anything broken (blinds, taps, showerheads etc). 

When it comes time for open house inspections, a quick tidy up prior and lighting a lightly scented candle can make your home feel more welcoming. Remember to replace your bath towels and mats with fresh ones and clean the toilet and shower. 

Tips to keep in mind when presenting your home for sale

When presenting your home for sale, you want a potential buyer to walk through the door and think “this is my new home”. Remove anything that isn’t essential, and de-personalise your home so that buyers separate the house from someone else’s home – remember, they want to be able to see their own family living in the property. Plus, putting away your personal items is always a good idea to keep them safe. 

This is a great time to remove unwanted items from your home, and consider what you want to take with you to your new home. When your property sells, you may not have a lot of time to go through everything to work out what to keep and what to get rid of. 

Spending a little bit of money and time to bring your home up to standard is going to reward you with a higher sale price. It is important to not over-capitalise, though, as you may end up spending more than you get in return. 

Is it possible to get your home ready for sale in 30 days? Absolutely. But you need to spend some time planning so you can just get stuck in and get it done. 

If it’s time to sell your home but you aren’t sure where to start, come and see us at Established Property. We’re the experts in selling a home in Point Cook and surrounding areas and we can let you know what buyers are looking for. 

Book in an appraisal today to see what your home is worth.