Preparing Your Home For Sale

When considering selling your home, it's important to view the property as if you were a prospective buyer.

How does it present itself? Is it inviting, bright, and spacious? Does it appear clean and well-maintained, or is it cluttered and dusty? Can potential buyers easily picture themselves living there, or is it dominated by your personal items?

Investing some time in preparing your home for sale can greatly impact both the speed of the sale and the final sale price.

Once your property is nearly ready, it’s a good idea to contact your local real estate agent. They can guide you through the selling process. We have compiled a range of tips, strategies, and advice to help you sell your property more quickly and at a better price.

The kitchen is the pivotal room in any home sale. As the most expensive room in the house, a kitchen in need of major upgrades can deter potential buyers. However, enhancing your kitchen doesn't necessarily require a complete overhaul; small improvements can make a big difference.

Clear the Clutter

If your kitchen counters are overloaded, declutter them. Make sure items are stored neatly in cupboards.

Update Appliances

Prospective buyers are aware of the cost of new appliances. If your oven or dishwasher is outdated, consider replacing them. This investment can make your kitchen more attractive.

Freshen Up the Walls

A fresh coat of paint can transform a dreary kitchen, especially if cooking splatters have left marks. Don’t overlook worn tiles; a little primer and paint can make a big impact.

Revamp Cabinet Doors

Swapping out cabinet doors can refresh your kitchen’s look. If new doors are out of your budget, simply replace the handles. This can make a surprisingly great impact!

Enhance Lighting

Lighting is a crucial aspect of any kitchen. Installing fluorescent or spotlights under upper cabinets can provide better illumination for benchtop work areas.

Upgrade Benchtops

Many assume replacing a damaged benchtop is too costly, but affordable options are available. 

Improve Flooring

If your kitchen floor is worn, consider lifting old linoleum to polish the floorboards underneath. Alternatively, laying vinyl flooring is an easy-to-clean option, or you might prefer tiles for a modern look.

Regardless of your bathroom's condition, it must be impeccably clean. Nothing turns buyers away faster than mildew and a dirty toilet!

Clean, Clean, Clean

Scrub your tiles and grout thoroughly. Ensure windows, mirrors, and shower screens are spotless and streak-free. Hair in the drains can be a major turn-off, so double-check this before showing your home. Replace soap bars with liquid soap to minimize mess.

That Smell Won’t Sell

Bad odors can linger in bathrooms and will quickly repel buyers. Make sure to air out your bathrooms well. Open windows, use the extractor fan, and add potpourri or air fresheners if needed. Avoid overdoing it, as excessive scents might make buyers suspicious.

Fix the Fittings

Cracked basins, toilets, or tubs can make a bathroom seem unhygienic. Consider replacing these items. It’s usually affordable as long as you don’t need to alter the plumbing.

Buyers Will Lap Up Luxury

While not everyone has a luxury spa bathroom, you can still add touches of elegance. Fresh, plush towels, handmade soaps, a plant or fresh flowers, and boutique bath products can create a luxurious feel.

Space Savers

In small bathrooms, avoid cluttering the limited wall space with towel rails; instead, place them on the back of the door. If you’re renovating a small bathroom, consider wall-mounted sinks and toilets. Large mirrors can make the room appear twice its size, enhancing the feeling of spaciousness and adding practicality.

Keep the color scheme simple and light to make the bathroom feel less cluttered, and ensure you have good storage to hide personal items.

A New Coat

Stained or chipped bathtubs and basins can be rejuvenated by enameling companies, giving your fixtures a fresh look. They can even enamel old tiles, so if your bathroom’s color scheme is outdated, this simple, inexpensive process could make a big difference. Add a fresh coat of paint on the walls, and you’ll have a bathroom that feels brand new.

Buyers appreciate spacious living areas, so it's important to reduce clutter and maximize the available space.

Colour Your World (with Care)

Trendy colors like Barbie pink stripes might be eye-catching, but they can deter potential buyers. When selling, it's best to stick to neutral tones.

Neutral doesn’t mean boring. If your living area feels cold, consider warm neutrals like sand and bronze tones. For a cooler ambiance, opt for whites with a hint of blue.

Size Does Matter

Modern buyers favor large, open-plan living areas. If your home lacks a spacious living area, make the most of the space you do have.

Furnishings also play a key role; in a small room, especially one with low ceilings, keep furniture below waist height and limit the number of pieces to avoid clutter.

Go with the Flow

Arrange your living space to highlight ease of living. Consider the flow of traffic, conversation areas, access from seating to coffee or side tables, and task lighting for work or reading zones.

Watch Out Below

Flooring is one of the costliest parts of a room to replace, and buyers are aware of this. While it might not be practical to replace worn or unsuitable flooring before selling, you can still make the best of what you have.

Have carpets professionally cleaned. Re-sand and polish marked or damaged timber floors to restore their appearance.

Find a Feature

A key rule in interior design is that every room needs a focal point. This could be a fireplace or a view from your window. If your living space lacks a natural feature, consider creating a feature wall. 

Just Like Inside Your House, Your Garden Should Be Tidy and Clear of Clutter

Neat and Trim

Weed your garden and keep the lawn trimmed when opening your home for inspection. Remove any dead plants and replace them with new ones that suit your garden’s conditions to ensure they thrive until the sale.

Colourful Creations

Your garden is a great place to play with color. Instead of using a variety of colors in a small garden bed, stick to one shade and use varying tones. Add instant color with pots of blooming flowers from the nursery.

Creating a Courtyard

In many inner-city homes, gardens are replaced by small courtyards. To maximize this space, create a focal point such as a water feature, statue, or urn. Place it at the furthest point from the entrance to draw the buyer’s vision and create a sense of space. Use large pavers to pave the area, making the ground look wider and less busy. Avoid dark colors in courtyard structures as they can reduce the perception of space.

Styling Your Garden

Give your garden a simple makeover before selling by adding defined borders to flower beds and creating a focal point. Timber borders are popular, or you can outline beds with small shrubs or grasses. Incorporate a few larger plants as focal points, keeping them in proportion to the size of your garden.