We’ve put together a few cost effective tips and tricks to help you prepare your home for selling. These tips are not just for attracting buyers but for the real estate agents who will assist in selling your home.
Clean and declutter
- Make your future move easier by beginning the packing process before you get the real estate agent in to view
- Clear out all clutter and remove items you don’t regularly use
- Donate items that haven’t been used in the past 12 months
- Throw away items that are broken or damaged
- Clean everything – windows, blinds, furniture and carpet
Paint and flooring
- Your taste may not be everyone else’s – in order to make your home appeal to the largest possible audience go for neutrals colours
- Get rid of multi colours – agents/buyers want to see a blank canvas where they can inject their own personality
- Clean carpet and if you can’t get the stain out, replace it!
Finish projects and repairs
- Don’t let anyone through until those projects are finished – if you started a deck – finish it!
- You’ll most likely find a buyer more quickly and the sales process will be much smoother if everything that needs to be done is taken care of before you list your property
Research to get a realistic price not an emotional one
- Be prepared for the agent – do your homework on what has been selling and what has not or is still on the market within close proximity to your own home
- Look at the prices of what did sell and look at the detail – find the closest comparable to get a good idea on price
Don’t get sucked in with the steak knives!
- Don’t spend on unnecessary real estate advertising gimmicks ie. fish where the fish are when it comes to advertising spend and stick to the basics like realestate.com.au or domain – don’t line an agency’s pocket through internal advertising initiatives like their own agent magazine or website etc
Spend on photographs
- Engage a professional photographer to take photos of your home, the same goes for a videographer if you’re using a video. True, it’s an added cost, but it’s vital to showcase your property at its best
Be flexible and let them in
- You want as many buyers as possible to see your property. Whenever possible, you should be ready to show the home at a moment’s notice. With today’s time-poor population, people may request an inspection at all hours of the day
Price – do vs don’t
Always put a price on it if you’re in the Competition Zone
- Maximise enquiry with the right people – particularly online. Punters hate it when they don’t know the actual price and may not enquire based on their perception of affordability and value
- You don’t want to attract the wrong people who may have low expectations and waste time with non-buyers
- It will also quickly tell you if you’re too low or too high on price by the rate of enquiry or offers
Agents tend not to put a price for a number of reasons including; they don’t know the price or value of your home or they have a client who is not realistic with there price expectations. Either way they will get you down through proof of multiple offers or time on market.
When a price may not be suitable
Don’t put a price if it has a major point of difference or it is outside of the competition zone (lack of supply)