According to research, the average time it take to sell a house in the UK is 129 days. The same study also reveals that this figure can be impacted by the state of the market, with properties in ‘cold’ markets taking 52 days longer, on average, to sell compared to houses in ‘hot’ markets. Many will be wondering what steps they can take in order to improve their chances of selling their house in a timely manner for the best possible price.
We have dealt with how to stage your home, how to add value to your property and how to sell your house quickly for a good price elsewhere; what we’ll offer pointers on in what follows is how to present your house for sale in order to give yourself the best chances of impressing prospective buyers and closing a deal for it.
Making Your House More Appealing to Buyers
‘How to make your house more sellable?’ is a question which many house sellers wanting to get a better and faster deal on their properties have asked themselves. Making your house more appealing to buyers is a sure-fire way of reaching this goal and there are a few easy steps anyone can take in order to obtain the desired results.
Clean Up and Declutter
How to present your house for sale: clean and tidy up.
A dirty and messy house will definitely not attract any buyers, no matter how attractive your property might be in terms of size, price, or location. Unless you haven’t been living in your house for a while, or you’re a particularly messy person who doesn’t tidy up often, a professional cleaning service probably won’t be needed. For most properties, it’s enough to simply tidy up any loose objects which are lying around and dust off areas which don’t see much use. As long everything is stored neatly, buyers won’t be put off by the property.
Try to Make the Property Neutral
Having a property which is too personalised can be a turn off for some buyers. This is because people want to be able to picture themselves in a particular house before they make a purchase; it might be difficult for them to do this if you’ve left constant reminders throughout that this is in fact your home.
If you’re the type of person who heavily personalises every room in terms of wall colour and permanent fixtures, it will be quite difficult to make the property seem neutral. However, simply taking any personal photos off the walls and hanging neutral paintings or images in their place can go a long way in helping prospective buyers visualise themselves in your house.
Fix the Little Things
If you’ve lived in a property for very long, you might have gotten used to the little things that need fixing to the point that you don’t even notice them anymore. However, for prospective buyers who are viewing your property for the first time, details such as a cracked bathroom tile, a rusty doorknob, or a creaky door will detract from the overall experience of the house. It is best to fix these small issues so as to present a version of your property which is as polished as possible – this will increase the likelihood of prospective buyers falling in love with your house.
Take Care of Your Outside Space
It can be easy to focus solely on the inside of your home as that’s where you spend most of your time and this is the space which those viewing the house will spend most time viewing. However, the outside of your property is the first thing prospective buyers will see. Thus, making your front garden and outside walls as appealing as possible will make a great first impression and perhaps set the tone for the whole property visit.
If the outside walls of your property show particularly heavy wear, give some thought to repainting them. Keep in mind that neutral colours would be best for repainting a property which you want to sell. When considering how to present your house for sale, it’s best to keep things as neutral as possible. If your home’s walls show particularly large cracks, subsidence might be to blame. We’ve explained what subsidence is and how to treat it in a previous post. If your house is suffering from such issues, it would be best to try and fix them before attempting to sell.
Similarly, if your garden is particularly messy or outgrown, hiring a gardener or taking care of the outside space yourself will also go a long way in making a great first impression.
Follow These Pointers but Also Listen to Your Realtor
As a rule of thumb, following your realtor’s advice in terms of how to present the property you’re trying to sell is most often best. They will know how the market is like at the particular time you’re trying to sell and will know what buyers are looking for. Asking them for as many pointers as possible can help you attract buyers. If you want to plan ahead, check out our post on what documents are needed for a house sale or on how long conveyancing takes.
