Preparing your home for Sale

First impressions count!

Start preparing your home as soon as you can. A real estate marketer will need a minimum of two weeks to schedule and prepare marketing for your property, which will include photos, possibly video and/or a Virtual Tour. And of course, it’s crucial to have your home looking its best for Open Homes/Viewings.

Building/Property Inspection

It’s not fun to find out about problems with your house at the negotiating table, so arm yourself with information before you start marketing your home. You can either fix the problems or factor it into your asking price and expectations.

Extra Set of Keys

Get an extra set cut - prospective Buyers and their agents will need to access your home.

Start Paperwork

Buyers and agents are going to ask a lot of questions, so start digging out the paperwork now; e.g. Earthquake Claim and Insurance Forms, Scope of Works, Insurance confirmation, specialist reports e.g. Geo-technical Report, renovation details, Warranties, Consents, rental contracts.

Boxes & Tape

A big part of the adventure you’re about to embark on, involves reducing clutter. Buy proper packing supplies, and if you need to pack away a lot of belongings, consider renting a storage unit.

Nothing Personal

You must pack to move anyway - this way you get a jump start on it! Pack away anything personal (ouch, I know it hurt to read that). You want your house appeal to as many Buyers as possible - it helps if they can picture their own things in the house and aren’t distracted by your personal tastes. Walk through every room in your house and pretend you’re a Buyer. If something would help people to get to know you, pack it away. That includes personal photos, knick knacks, souvenirs, and anything related to relationships and affiliations.

Home Staging

It’s important to make your house more appealing to prospective Buyers. Go with a central theme; keep colours like accentuate the flow and space. If you have decorating flair or home staging experience and you’re willing to put in the time and effort, you can stage your home yourself. Or to take your home staging to the next level: employ a home staging company. I can also give you some home staging tips.

Keep It Clean

A dirty home can scare off a potential Buyer. You can hire a cleaning service for a top-to-bottom deep clean or save money by taking care of this yourself - provided you’re willing to put in the time and elbow grease. This includes:

Clean the windows - inside and out.

Dust each room from top to bottom.

Vacuum everything: furniture, floors, wood trim and curtains.

Dust insides of lamps.

Use glass cleaner on mirrors and all taps.

Wipe down all appliances, including the inside of the oven.

Carpets

Unless your carpets are brand new, steam clean them. You’ll be amazed at what a difference it makes!

Walls & Doors

If your walls and doors are scuffed, clean them with Jif. And if your art needs an update, Briscoes and the Warehouse have some great, affordable options.

Start Paperwork

Buyers and agents are going to ask a lot of questions, so start digging out the paperwork now; e.g. Earthquake Claim and Insurance Forms, Scope of Works, Insurance confirmation, specialist reports e.g. Geo-technical Report, renovation details, Warranties, Consents, rental contracts.

Boxes & Tape

A big part of the adventure you’re about to embark on, involves reducing clutter. Buy proper packing supplies, and if you need to pack away a lot of belongings, consider renting a storage unit.

Nothing Personal

You must pack to move anyway - this way you get a jump start on it! Pack away anything personal (ouch, I know it hurt to read that). You want your house appeal to as many Buyers as possible - it helps if they can picture their own things in the house and aren’t distracted by your personal tastes. Walk through every room in your house and pretend you’re a Buyer. If something would help people to get to know you, pack it away. That includes personal photos, knick knacks, souvenirs, and anything related to relationships and affiliations.

Wooden Floors

You’ll need more than a broom to get into all the corners and cracks. If your floors are scratched, there are some great products that will make them look almost brand-new.

Entrance/Hallway

Most Buyers will have an emotional reaction to your home within 15 seconds of entering it. It must appeal to the senses; look/smell/ touch/taste. What they experience at the entrance is critical. It needs to be clean, de-cluttered and inviting.

Be disciplined - store things away, e.g. shoes and coats. If you don’t have a hall closet, don’t pile coats on a coat rack - that’s just drawing attention to your lack of a closet.

Spruce Up the Kitchen

The kitchen is one of the rooms Buyers are most attracted to (or put off by), so make sure this room is cleaned, de-cluttered and looks inviting.

Remove appliances from bench tops - you want them to be clear as possible.

Clean inside all the cupboards; remove everything and wipe them out. Don’t cram all your dishes and food back in, show that your kitchen has enough storage.

Clean inside the fridge, and remove magnets, photos etc.

If you have a self-cleaning oven – use it.

Put away any alcohol.

Consider investing in fresh flowers and a nice bowl of fruit, for Open Homes and Viewings.

Bathrooms

Remove all toiletries you have on display.

Invest in some new white towels (don’t use them yourself).

Buy affordable accessories: soap dish, toothbrush holder, etc.

Consider replacing toilet seat, shower curtain, bathmat, toilet paper holder, towel rack/hooks.

Bedrooms

They must be inviting, which may mean cleaning, de-cluttering and investing in a few props. If you’ve jammed in a dresser that doesn’t really fit into the space, consider storing it off-site.

If you’ve converted rooms into Studies/Offices, convert at least one of them back to a bedroom.

If you don’t already have one, invest in a neutral-coloured duvet cover and pillowcases.

Straighten books on bookshelves.

Remove personal photos, knick knacks and grooming products.

Clean out the wardrobes.

Consider getting a rug if the floors are cold.

Living Room

You may need to clean the sofa and chairs and invest in some new cushions. Consider getting a rug to bring the room together. Hide any clutter, hide TV, stereo, speaker wires.

Dining Room

It needs to be a room someone would want to eat in. Remove any clutter from the room and table, and if your dining chairs have seen better days, consider getting them reupholstered.

Wardrobes, Cupboards & Storage Areas

This may take more than one day. Invest the time to make it look as spacious and clean as possible… And what a great way to rid yourself of all that stuff you never use! Buyers DO open wardrobes and cupboards, so don’t cram all the stuff you don’t want on display, into them.

You don’t want Buyers to think there isn’t enough storage in your home, so take the time to pack away what you don’t need in the immediate future. Donate or throw away things you don’t really need.

Does Your Home Smell Nice?

If you’re a dog owner, wash any couches, beds and surfaces where the dogs sleep; you may not smell ‘dog’ anymore, but Buyers will.

Use Shake-n-Vac or similar product on the carpet and consider lighting scented candles or vanilla scented plug-ins (avoid strong scents).

Litter box – put it out of sight and clean it twice a day while your home is on the market.

Repairs

Make a list of all the little repairs you’ve been avoiding and get them done. If you aren’t a DIY-er, get a handyman to take care of it (I can recommend some).

Paint Touch-ups/Re-painting

A fresh coat of paint is one of the cheapest ways to freshen up your home, remembering that bold colours are a turn-off to some buyers. Tip: light colours will help small rooms look bigger. Don’t forget about skirting boards and ceilings.

Change Light Bulbs & Update Light Fixtures

It’s easy to forget about burnt-out bulbs, but you want your home to be as bright as possible. Lighting makes an incredible difference to how a home looks to potential Buyers.

Replace bulbs with the brightest ones you can safely use. If you have dated light fixtures (it’s OK, a lot of us do), take a quick trip to a hardware store and pick up some modern ones.

Front Yard & Curb Appeal

People’s first impression of your house has a big impact. Stand on your street and look at the front yard and house what do you see?

As a minimum, clean any scuff marks off the front doorsteps and touch-up/re-paint any chipped paint. If your front door has seen better days, consider investing in a new one.

If you have a front deck, make it look inviting.

Invest in some seasonal plants.

Clean up the garden.

Buyers may see your home at night - make sure your outdoor

Lighting is showing off your home.

Back Yard

What you can accomplish here depends on what time of year you’re selling. Spring/Summer: Clean up the gardens, trim the trees, cut the grass, stain the deck, clean the patio furniture and BBQ. Winter: do your best to make it look presentable.

Garage

De-clutter, sweep it out, do any repairs, touch-ups or cleaning required.

Pets

Plan to have your pets out of the house for Open Homes/ Viewings. And make sure you vacuum to get rid of pet hairs.

“All your hard work will be well worth it, and I’ll be here to guide you through the home preparation process. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you need any advice.”