Spruce it up!
 

If you would like your home to be more attractive to buyers, improve its condition and try to turn it more into a house that they can imagine living in. This need not be expensive, always consider cost vs.  benefit in this scenario to ensure you get the most bang for your buck. Regardless of whether the property will be sold to a residential buyer or a landlord, an attractive, liveable-looking home is going to offer reassurance that it won’t need lots of additional investment before it can be lived in, or in the case of a landlord, make them a return. 
 

Whilst the prospect of putting time and money into a house you are looking to sell can be off-putting, it can be a good investment, particularly as some quick and easy updates can really make all the difference. For a start you will get far more viewings with a fresh looking property. Below are some suggestions for making simple improvements which should cost you price of a small mortgage and typically will pay for themselves.

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• Front door: this is the first thing prospective buyers will see so ensure it is in good condition and suits the property. A neglected door suggests the same lies inside and automatically puts buyers into ‘we will need to spend money on this house’ mode psychologically, resulting in risks to achieving your asking price. Clean any windows in the door and polish any metal fixtures, achievable quickly with washing up liquid and a bit of old fashioned elbow grease. For older homes with a traditional wooden doors, a fresh coating of paint in a fashionable colour can work wonders.

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• Frontage: this is what gives your home kerb appeal, so put yourself into buyers’ shoes and think about what impressions it gives. Trim and tidy any garden areas or your driveway, clean windows, repair damaged brickwork, clear weeds and paint fences. This will go a long way to making a positive first impression on buyers, but best of all, all of this will cost you very little. 

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• De-clutter: clutter is one of the biggest turn-offs for buyers. Whilst you might be used to seeing your own stuff around, it tends to age a home and makes it harder for viewers to imagine their own belongings in the space. De-clutter to the best of your abilities. If you have a lot of ‘stuff’, pack up as much of it as possible and ask a friend or relative to temporarily store it for you. If that is not an option, it might be worth paying for storage until the house is sold. Ensure items such as paperwork and letters are not collecting on the doormat if you are not living in the property, for example if your have inherited it, as this generates a neglected and unwelcoming feel at viewings. If you are unable to visit the property regularly to pick it up, consider fixing a cage to the back of the letterbox so the floor stays tidy in the meantime. Regardless of what it takes, try and make the house as tidy as possible and keep it that way for viewings.

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• Kitchen: we all know it is often the kitchen that sells a home, particularly for residential buyers, so focus your attentions here next. Make sure all appliances are sparkling clean, even if they will not be sold with the property. Check for any grimy areas, such as degraded sealant or lime scaled taps, and clean or replace as needed. Sometimes heavily used kitchens develop and retain cooking smells and stains, in which case it might be worth freshening up quickly with a coating of neutral coloured paint. Tiles can also be very dating, so consider investing a little more in having these replaced if they are dated. Alternatively, consider tile paint as a cheaper option if you would prefer to keep costs down and do the job yourself.

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• Flooring: an item that your buyers will spend the most amount of their time on is another area worth paying attention to. Carpet can be a particular problem area, as it tends to harbour smells, stains and wear. If you have lightly soiled carpets, have a professional carpet cleaning company to give them a once over. Houses which have been rented out or lived in for a long time often have carpets which let the rest of the house down. In this case, it might be more beneficial to remove these altogether and replace them with laminate flooring, which many people find contemporary now and prefer. If this is beyond your budget, there are now many vinyl’s designed to replicate wooden flooring which are much easier to fit yourself.

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• Curtains: can also let down an otherwise attractive home, especially if they are dated, dirty or missized. Handily, most modern curtains can be washed in the washing machine as normal. Consider adding a scented fabric conditioner or some essential oils to the wash, and the freshly laundered scent will reinvigorate the room when rehung. 

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• Features: demand for period features is ever growing as these become more scarce, therefore are a real selling point if you are selling an older home. Be sure to draw attention to them by moving any clutter or furniture out of the way and highlighting them in your listing images. Original fireplaces are particularly popular. Give these an especially good clean, repaint them if they are looking past their best and replace any broken tiles or surrounding fittings.

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• Outdoor spaces: in a country where space in at a premium such as the UK, external spaces are very important to family buyers but are often neglected in homes which have been unoccupied, rented out, or lived in by an older person. Steer clear of doing any major work beautifying a garden, as plants can be very expensive and only attractive in season, but be sure to mow the lawn regularly, clear any obvious weeds, and keep borders looking trim. If outdoor spaces have been very overgrown, it is probably more cost and time effective to hire an odd job person to clear it for you. They should have the right equipment to get an otherwise laborious task done quickly, and clear all the waste for you too. Have a check in local newspapers or websites such as Gumtree. 

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• Problem solve: get your thinking cap on and address any serious problem areas which are likely to draw attention or have an impact on your sale. Structural issues and damp are obvious  and particularly likely to put off buyers of all types. However, even if they are not immediately apparent on inspection, leaving a buyer to discover them during contract enquiries or from a survey is likely to lead to wasted time, legal fees and more importantly reductions in offer prices. Problems like these can be costly to repair but can prevent a sale altogether, therefore appoint a professional and have them do the job properly if you are not qualified to address them yourself. Remember, keep the invoice and any guarantees to show buyers and share with your conveyancer.

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• Enlist the help of an imaginary friend: if the property you are selling is unoccupied, think about staging it so that it appears someone is living there to increase its appeal for residential buyers. Whilst buyers won’t want to see a lot of personal items, empty rooms can look very stark and unwelcoming. Placing simple furniture and décor items around the house will increase its homeliness in photographs and in real life, especially in main living areas. If you do not have any spare furniture to use, ask friends and family if they have any extra items to lend, or look online for websites where vendors are disposing of items for free provided you go and collect them. Freecycle is an example of this. A dining table and chairs should help buyers imagine where they will share family meals, and a few simple ornaments and pictures on the walls will make it feel like a home.

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