How to get the best selling price for your home
Daniel Baxter is the co-founder of Your Hot Property, a website dedicated to providing homeowners with the tools to avoid a range of fees when trying to sell their property. Here he runs through some tips and tricks for decluttering your home before you sell.
When selling your home, you really want to maximise the amount you can get for it but there are some common mistakes that can really affect the price you sell for. Here are some tips to help you make the most of what you have!
1. Remove any items that don’t belong in that particular space
Piles of paper, clothing, fridge magnets, appliances and children’s or pet’s toys are all examples of clutter. Make it easier for potential buyers to envisage the space by removing as much clutter as possible. The less furniture you have, the easier it is for prospective buyers to see the full potential your home offers.
2. Scale back on furniture
We have all visited houses with too many lounges and chairs in the living room. Does your bedroom have a full matching suite which means you can hardly walk around in it? If a room in your property has too much furniture in it, then during the sale period, place some of it in storage. By following this rule, a potential buyer will view your property and potentially think it is much larger than it actually is. That is the kind of optical illusion you want!
3. Put away your personal effects
These items may mean something to you, however they are simply seen as clutter to any potential buyer. People want to be able to imagine your house as theirs. To do that, they will want to imagine their own family pics and furniture, not yours. Remove as many family photos, kid’s drawings, trophies and any other personal items as you can to make the space as neutral as possible. Follow William Morris’s mantra ‘have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful’.
4. Clean, Clean, Clean
Once you have decluttered then don’t forget to clean. A clean home is an inviting home. Make sure you vacuum, dust and do whatever is necessary to get the property sparkling. This will be the biggest factor in making your house look great and assist in attracting the right buyer!
Places you should pay particular attention to include:
- Kitchens and bathrooms – make sure every surface is clean and sparkling.
- The carpet – get it professionally cleaned to remove any stubborn marks before you put it on the market.
- Stainless steel appliances – polish and wipe down anything stainless steel to remove fingerprints and marks.
- Clean all the windows.
- Dust around and under any visible cabinets and ornaments
If you make your house look as decluttered, clean and neutral as possible, your potential buyers will be able to imagine themselves living there and that is what you want!
For more tips on getting your house ready to sell, or if you would like to know more about selling your house yourself and avoiding agent’s fees, go to www.yourhotproperty.com.au.
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