If you’re selling your home, you’ll be keen to get the very best price for your property.
One way that you can maximise the selling price is to make your house as attractive as possible to potential buyers. Recent research from Post Office Money found that homes which had been recently renovated were listed for 10% than the average asking price.
Chrysanthy Pispinis of Post Office Money says: “Making the right changes to your home can increase its market value significantly; if improving your home’s asking price is your priority, it’s important to keep in mind the cost of the improvement and the value it could add.”
With this in mind, here are eight things you should consider doing before you list your home for sale.
Increase the kerb appeal
First impressions count, and in property terms this is known as ‘kerb appeal’. Many buyers will decide whether they like a property from the picture or before they get out of the car, so it’s important that you generate a good initial impression.
Improving the kerb appeal of your home could include:
- Repainting or replacing your front door
- Repainting walls
- Repointing the brickwork
- Repainting or replacing your garage door
- Tidying up your front garden
- Replacing your house sign/number
- Repainting broken or cracked cladding
Redecorate
Redecorating is one of the most popular and cost-effective ways that you can give your home a new lease of life before selling. Anything from cleaning dirty walls to a new lick of paint can make your home more attractive to potential buyers.
It can also pay to fix any minor defects with your home. These might include peeling paint, dripping taps, squeaky floors, mould in kitchens or bathrooms, limescale, broken lightbulbs and badly fitted flooring.
Declutter
Over time, we all accumulate a lot of belongings. When you come to sell your house, it can help to declutter as this helps potential buyers to envisage what the house would look like if they were living there.
You might take out bulky furniture, put boxes of personal items into storage, or remove ornaments or photos from every surface.
Give your kitchen a makeover
The kitchen is often one of the main focuses for a buyer and they will mentally work out the cost of replacing the kitchen if they can’t imagine living in yours. It’s perhaps no surprise then that estimates suggest up to two-thirds of sellers renovate their kitchen before selling.
If you don’t have a large budget, then painting units, changing the floor tiles or replacing cupboard handles or doors is a low-cost way of freshening up your kitchen. Good lighting and clean surfaces also help.
If you have more money, then you may want to consider redesigning or refitting your kitchen. Choose a design and style with broad appeal.
Update your bathroom
According to research, 29% of homes sold this year so far had a new bathroom fitted, so it’s certainly one of the ways that you can maximise your selling price.
Some ways you can improve your bathroom without a complete refit include:
- Painting the walls
- Ensuring at least one bathroom has a shower
- Replacing your shower curtain or screen
- Replacing your sink, bath and toilet if they are dirty or damaged, or if they are in an unfashionable colour such as avocado, brown or pink. White units have broad appeal
- Ensuring the floor is clean and hygienic
- Painting or replacing tiles
- Ensuring the bathroom has an extractor fan for ventilation
- Adding a mirror to give the impression of more space
Tidy the garden
An attractive, well-kept garden can add a lot of value to your home. So, trim borders, cut the grass, and clear pathways.
Your garden should feel like additional living space rather than an outdoor expanse of grass. So, adding decking or a patio gives potential buyers the sense that they are benefiting from more usable space.
Make it smell nice
The Homeowners Alliance say that bad smells are the single biggest turn off for prospective buyers. So, make sure you tackle the cause of any bad smells rather than covering them up.
Giving your home a nice smell when buyers arrive to view might include:
- Having your drains professionally cleared
- Washing rubbish bins
- Opening windows
- Removing furniture that is smelly (e.g. with cigarette smoke)
- Doing the washing up
- Airing the kitchen to get rid of cooking smells
You can also take positive steps to make your home smell nice. Brewing fresh coffee or baking some bread in the oven can give your property a very homely feel, or lighting candles can also help to improve the odour in your home.
Add more space
Lucy Alexander of Homes Under the Hammer recommends adding space to your property to increase the value of your home.
She told the Daily Express: “The first thing I always say to add value to a property is to add space. You can convert the garage, you can convert unused spaces, you can go up into the loft to create extra living spaces.”
A loft conversion typically costs around £500 to £600 per square metre, as long as it adds more living space to your home (remember you have to make room for a staircase!). According to a recent survey by Sell House Fast, a loft conversion adds £23,755 to the value of the average home.
Adding an extension can also increase the value of your home, although this will typically cost around twice the price per square metre as a loft conversion.
Converting your cellar can also be a way of adding an additional room.
Natural light also helps to create a welcoming, airy space. This can be achieved through dormer windows, roof windows or sun tunnels – check whether you need planning permission for these.