Selling tips to showing your home in the best light

It’s a buyer’s market out there at the moment, so showing your home in the best possible light has never been more important.

You’d be amazed how often vendors neglect to take care of some basic housekeeping tasks that ensure a home is at its optimum as potential purchasers arrive to inspect it.

Here are some seller’s tips to ensure your home is presented in a way that gives you the best chance of luring more buyers, and encouraging them to

Declutter, declutter, declutter

When it comes to showing your home to prospective buyers, less is most definitely more.

Decluttering the property and removing anything that isn’t absolutely necessary allows the property to speak for itself, and gives buyers the chance to picture themselves and their future life inside it.

Mooney Real Estate principal Peggy Wilcox says clearing out personal effects and unnecessary clutter is the easiest and cheapest way to give your home a major shot in the arm.

“You want to depersonalise the property, so take down any photos that might be on the walls that might be too personal, because buyers like to be able to visualise themselves in the property,” Wilcox says.

“It’s probably one of those (unwritten) rules: when you think you’re finished decluttering, just take a little bit more away and then you’re finished.”

Notes and magnets on the fridge, ornaments on your TV cabinet or mantle and other items that are being stored in plain sight and serve no useful purpose in the display of the property should all be removed. It all adds to the sense of space.

The little touches

Once you’ve decluttered, Wilcox says it’s often worth replacing old or tired accessories with new ones, to brighten the décor and give an older property a little more zing as buyers first enter a room.

And they don’t have to cost you the earth.

“For the sake of going and getting an $8 pillow from Kmart, it just makes that bedroom or living space feel so much fresher,” Wilcox says.

In the same way, a dirty oven or stained benchtop will stick out like a sore thumb, and in a buyer’s market it could be enough to turn someone away. Take the time to scrub everything spotless, or have it done professionally if need be.

Boost the street appeal

First impressions last, and some buyers won’t even walk in the front door if they drive past and don’t like what they see at the front of the property.

A fresh coat of paint for your fence, as well as mending any broken pickets or bricks, trimming trees and bushes, mowing the lawn and throwing some fresh tanbark or stones on any barren areas are all easy ways to ensure your home catches the eye and draws people inside.

Paint the interior

In terms of bang for your buck, a fresh coat of paint is just about the best ‘renovation’ you can do.

Choose light, neutral colours, and a quick coat will give the entire property a lift, making it brighter, more spacious and almost certainly adding value.

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