PREPARING AND PRESENTING YOUR PROPERTY FOR SALE
As a property owner you play an important part in the sale of your home or apartment. To assist you in ensuring you achieve the best possible price for your property, we have listed 55 tips in the preparation and presentation of your property for sale.
Maintenance The Rule of Thumb is – if something needs repair fix it! There may be several things in your house that you have simply become accustomed to over time – things that you have been promising yourself to attend to. Well NOW is the time. Buyers will mentally add up their perceived costs of repairing all those minor flaws and end up with an amount that is generally much higher than your actual costs will be. You might be saying to yourself “These repairs aren’t any big deal”, but the buyer is thinking, “if the owner didn’t take care of these little items, then what about the roof or plumbing or air conditioner?” Necessary, non-critical minor repairs and perceived owner neglect will either lower the price or lengthen the time to sell.
1. Check the condition of walls, architraves and skirting boards for chipped or peeling paint, and loose wallpaper. 2. Replace worn or dirty shower curtains, clean and repair grout if necessary. 3. Repair any taps that leak or do not function properly. 4. Check to see that all doors and windows are in good working order. Give special attention to your property’s exterior doors and front entry. Clean and paint if necessary. 5. Replace any broken or cracked windowpanes and ensure all fly screens are free of any tears or holes.
Cleaning
Space management
Every area of the property must sparkle and shine! Each hour spent will be worth the effort. Make it easy for the buyer to want your house.
Arrange furniture to give the rooms a spacious feeling and improve traffic flow around the rooms. Remove furniture from any room that may seem overcrowded and, if necessary, put large items in storage.
6. Clean all of the windows, including the laundry and garage. 7. Clean all carpets and rugs. Clean and polish floors. Consider re-finishing a wood floor if necessary. 8. Clean both the exterior and the inside of all cabinets, drawers and wardrobes. Make sure they smell pleasant – but keep it subtle. 9. Clean and polish all woodwork. Pay particular attention to kitchen and bathroom cabinets. 10. Clean all light fixtures. The glass covers of most ceiling fixtures can be made to sparkle by running them through the dishwasher. 11. Clean and polish ceiling fans. Take down and clean exhaust fan covers, these are dust magnets.
12. Pack up your collectibles – both to protect them and to give the room a more spacious feel. Leave out just enough accessories to give the house a personal touch. 13. Remove all clutter and make it a habit to pick up clothing, shoes and personal possessions for each and every inspection or open house. 14. Clean and organise all storage space. If your cabinets, drawers and wardrobes are crowded and overflowing, it makes the buyers assume that your storage space is inadequate. Give away items that you don’t use anymore, storing seldom used items elsewhere and re-organise the shelves. 15. Empty cupboards of off-season clothing and pack them away for the move. Organise cupboards to demonstrate the most efficient use of space. Cupboards should look as though there is room to put more. Leave as few as items as possible on floors and shelves. 16. Use light to create a sense of space. All curtains and blinds should be open. Turn on all lights throughout the house during the open for inspection.
Atmosphere When placing yourself in the potential buyer’s shoes, you will want to consider the overall atmosphere of your house. Keep in mind your sense of smell as you go through the checklist. Create the atmosphere of your house as shelter — a place that is safe and warm and in good condition. 17. A clean smelling house creates a positive image in the buyer’s mind. Be aware of any odours from cooking, cigarette smoke, pets etc. These may have adverse effects on potential buyers. Remember that some people are much more sensitive to odours than others. Smokers rarely notice the odour of cigarettes that fills their houses and pet owners may be oblivious to objectionable dog or cat odours. 18. You can use products like carpet deodorisers, air fresheners and room deodorises, but the best strategy is to remove the source of the smell rather than cover it up. 19. Unfortunately, often the only way to remove the smell of pet soiling from flooring is to rip it up and replace the carpeting and any underlay. Although it may be disruptive it is a surprisingly cheap option and by choosing a neutral colour scheme, can dramatically change the look of your property. 20. If smoking and cooking odours have permeated your house, have your carpets and furniture cleaned and air-out or dryclean your curtains.
21. Mildew odours are another source of problems. Don’t allow wet towels to accumulate in hampers or dirty clothes to pile up in cupboards. 22. Another source for odours to collect is the air conditioning filter. Clean the vent covers and change the filters at least once a month. A high accumulation of dust detracts from the presentation and can circulate odours through-out the house. You may want to consider having the air conditioning ducts professionally cleaned. 23. Once offensive odours have been eliminated, consider adding subtle, pleasant scents. Recent studies have shown that humans have strong and positive responses to certain scents – cinnamon and fresh flowers are excellent ways to enhance your property.
Staging This part of preparing your property for sale can be the most fun and involves the use of colour, lighting and accessories to emphasise the best features of your property. 24. If your property has been rented out and is now vacant we would strongly recommend that you use hire furniture for the period that the property is for sale. We work with a number of companies that offer this service and are able to organise and co-ordinate this service for you. 25. Study magazine ads and furniture showrooms to see how small details can enhance the appearance of a room and again, if you need assistance, we are able to help.
26. Soften potentially offending views, but always let light into your rooms. 27. Add lamps or additional lighting where needed. Be sure that all fixtures are clean and have working bulbs. 28. If your kitchen has fluorescent lighting fixtures, use “warmwhite� bulbs for a bright appearance.
The front entry hether a graciously proportioned centre hall or a small foyer just large enough for a tiny table, this part W of your house deserves your particular attention. 29. Study your entry hall and ask yourself what kind of impression it makes of your house. Dried flowers or a small plant can make a striking focal point on a hall table any time of the year. Virtually any entry hall will benefit from a well-placed mirror to give the illusion of space.
30. Your entry hall flooring will be observed carefully by the prospective buyer. Make sure the surface is spotless and add a small rug or carpet square so that people entering can wipe their feet and to protect the flooring.
Living areas
Dining room
31. Think of these areas as furniture show rooms. Your job is to make each room generate a positive response. Add touches that make a room look truly inviting.
33. Avoid going overboard. To be effective, any stage setting that you create should appropriately reflect that character of your entire house.
32. If you have a fireplace place a few logs in the grate. If you have a gas log heater and are selling in the cooler months, have it on as it creates a warm and welcoming room.
34. Visually enlarge a small dining room. If your dining table has extra leaves, take out one or two. Consider placing your dining table against a wall if you cannot move around it with ease and remove any extra chairs. 35. Make sure there is something on the table – a runner with flowers, candles, pot plant – to add interest.
The kitchen
Laundry
Pay particular attention to your kitchen. This room continues to be the “heart of the home”. A pleasant, working kitchen is near the top of most buyers’ list of priorities and is a room that buyers always scrutinise closely.
A separate laundry can be an asset and is one of the most frequent requests that buyers make during a home inspection.
36. Avoid clutter. Clear counters of small appliances and store in cupboards, whenever possible, to maximise the appearance of work spaces. 37. Check the counter top around your sink and remove any dishes, washing liquid, brushes etc, which may be cluttering the area. 38. Sinks cabinets and counter tops should be clean and fresh. 39. All appliances should be clean, sparkling and shiny, paying particular to the “fixtures” – the oven, any overhead extractors and the dishwasher.
40. Add a fresh coat of paint. 41. Organise all cupboards, shelves and storage areas 42. Remove all dirty laundry. Keep up to date with your washing and take any dirty laundry with you when your property is open for inspection. 43. Ensure the ceiling is clean and free of mildew or mould, as this is a common result from clothes dryers.
Bedrooms and bathrooms Every bedroom in your property should look inviting to prospective buyers – use your best linen and quilts on the beds – a good trick is to use them just when the property is open for inspection. 44. Large master bedrooms are particularly popular among today’s homebuyers. Make your bedrooms appear larger - paint the room a light colour, remove some furniture if the room is crowded, minimise clutter to maximise spaciousness. Aim for a restful, subdued look. 45. An ensuite off a bedroom is a sale plus – ensure it coordinates with the colour scheme of the matching bedroom. Again, it is also a good idea to keep some “special” towels just for the times that the property is open so that they are always clean and dry.
46. Remove any unusual or personal possessions from the bedroom – such as posters that have been blu-tacked onto walls in childrens’ bedrooms.
Stairways 47. Make sure the stairs are safe! Stair lighting should be more than adequate, stairs must be clutter free, stair railings tight and secure and runner or carpeting tacked securely. Remove any items from the stairs and store elsewhere. Check the condition of the walls; paint or re-wallpaper if necessary.
If you are selling a house
If you are selling an apartment
If your property is a house, you will have additional areas to consider – the exterior of the house, the driveway, possibly a garage and garden/courtyard areas.
53. Of course selling an apartment has other presentation and preparation issues to consider – if it’s an investment property; will the tenant present the property in an appropriate manner, or would be better if the property was vacant?
48. The driveway should be swept and tidy with no weeds, oil stains or children’s toys. 49. The exterior of your house should be well maintained – gutters cleaned out and any peeling paint patched up. 50. Make sure any garden beds are weeded and mulched, any empty spots planted with seasonal flowers and all lawns are mowed. A pot or two by the front door looks welcoming. 51. If you have any wooden decking, does that need any repairs or a new coat of stain? 52. If you have a garage or carport, this also needs to be tidied and organised and any clutter or junk removed. During inspections, it is best if all cars are removed from your property – it will make the garage look more spacious and it is easier for any potential buyers to inspect.
54. Although the external condition of the property is a matter for the body corporate, you can ensure that any hallway or stairwell to your apartment is clean and free of rubbish and that any junk mail in any common areas has been removed.
General 55. Whether it’s an open for inspection or private inspection, it is imperative that you are not there and if you have a dog, that they are not there either. Buyers find it hard to feel comfortable to look and inspect a property if the current owners are there. They also find it hard to be honest about what they think of the property and normally rush through the inspection. Needless to say it makes selling your property more difficult.
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Biggin & Scott (Port Melbourne) Pty Ltd Phone: 8671 3777 Email: portmelbourne@bigginscott.com.au www.bigginscott.com.au/portmelbourne