Be prepared to sell your home

Are you preparing your home for sale? The following are some suggestions for some relatively low-cost improvements and repairs you might consider, inside and outside your home.

INSIDE

● Do a complete spring clean, removing all the junk from your house.

Store it in a friend’s house, or give it to a charity shop.

● A fresh coat of paint can make a big difference: choose light colours to brighten up dingy rooms.

Also, clean up dirty or damaged wallpaper, tiles, ceilings and so on.

● Make sure all the fixtures and fittings are in good working order, and clean.

That means chipped door handles, torn flyscreens, broken window latches, dirty light switches, dripping taps, and so on.

● Do doors and windows open and shut with ease?

● Polish your wooden and tiled floors and have your carpets professionally cleaned.

● Make sure your bathroom, laundry and kitchen are spotless.

● Repair your heating, airconditioning and plumbing, or any other appliances that are to be included in the sale.

OUTSIDE

● You want to give the impression of a healthy, luxuriant, colorful garden.

If there is time, plant some flowers and reseed the lawn.

If not, consider hiring or borrowing flowers and shrubs, especially for the entrance to your home.

● Make sure the plants you do have are kept healthy and neat.

Put down fertiliser and mulch, weed your garden beds, and prune the shrubs and trees. Make sure the whole garden is generously watered.

● Keep your lawn mown and raked, and make sure your driveway and paths are swept (including the footpath outside your home). ● Thoroughly clean the outside of the house, including its guttering and windows.

● Clean up your garage and garden shed (if this is impossible, keep it safely locked).

FINALLY

On the day your home is open for inspection, consider the following tips:

● Have you cleaned up everywhere? That means inside cupboards, under beds and so on.

● A few finishing touches to the garden can also make a difference, so rake up those fallen leaves and branches.

You might put the sprinklers on to give the lawn a wet, healthy appearance.

● Buyers are often concerned with how much light a home receives.

Open all curtains and blinds, and consider using some artificial lighting in very dark rooms.

● Make sure your home feels comfortable. If it’s cold, heat the rooms, especially if you have an open fire.

If it’s hot, make sure your home is cool: if you only have fans, consider borrowing an airconditioner.

● Put out flowers in vases, particularly near the front door where first impressions are made.

● But don’t clutter the place with decorations.

Each of us has different tastes, and it is harder for a prospective buyer to imagine what the home might be like if it is filled with your own idiosyncratic style (this may mean storing away that collection of hubcaps).

● A home which smells beautiful will seem much more attractive to buyers.

Make sure your home is properly aired. Put out potpourri, or even bake something in the oven the morning of the inspection. Avoid incense and other strong aromas.

● Have you removed all your valuables?

● Go out and see a movie!

Your agent knows best how to run the inspection, and you may get in the way. - Real Estate Institute of Australia