It’s the first question on any seller’s lips when they decide to put their home on the market: How much is my property worth?
And it’s a loaded question, of course, because there are dozens of factors that can affect your home’s price.
But there are things you can do to your property in order to give it the best chance of achieving a sensational sales result.
Here are five ways to position your house for selling success.
While the majority of potential buyers will first encounter your property online, a good proportion of them may follow up with a drive down your street to check it out for themselves.
RE/MAX Northern Realty sales associate Chris Della says it’s critical that their first impression is a good one.
“Cleaning up the front of the house and the yard is actually going to increase your chances of people wanting to walk through the house. It’s street appeal,” Della says.
“Painting and fixing the fence is an easy and quick way to get attention. It’s easy to get some paint and paint the inside and the outside of the fence. It makes the yard look bigger and more presentable.”
Arguably the cheapest way to add big dollars to the price of your home is to invest in a few tins of paint and give the inside a fresh coat.
Della says using light, neutral colours instantly enhance the sense of space within a property, which will stick in buyers’ minds.
“Paint isn’t always necessary but it always helps to give the property a fresh lick, just to make everything feel brighter and bigger.”
“Always go with neutral colours – whites in particular – just to make the room feel bigger. It also forces you to declutter as well, because you don’t want to get paint on pieces of furniture that you really want to keep for your next place.”
Della says too many vendors overcapitalise with how much they spend on their renovations.
He says kitchens and bathrooms usually give you the best bang for your buck when trying to add value to your home, however he urges caution.
“I do say to people that they can renovate their kitchen and bathroom, especially if it’s really needed, but if someone approached me and said, ‘Chris we’re thinking of selling in the next few months’, in general I actually tell them not to spend too much money on renovations.”
“In certain markets, often buyers want to do their own kitchens and bathrooms anyway, so don’t go too crazy.”
Rather than spend thousands on an entire kitchen renovation, Della says you can give your kitchen an instant boost in appeal by simply painting old bench tops and cupboards.
“There’s a product called White Knight and you use it to paint the bench tops,” he says.
“For example, we had a bench top that was green, and we painted it grey to make it look a lot fresher and also much better in the photos.”
This one will barely cost you a cent.
Della’s top tip for maximising your home’s selling potential is to simply remove as many of your possessions as possible for the duration of the campaign.
“I always tell my clients the main thing is to declutter, to make your spaces feel bigger.”
“You’re going to be moving out anyway, so if there are things you can move out then that’s going to help us with selling.”
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