Property presentation to maximise the sale price of your home is about removing any excuse for a buyer to ask for a price reduction.
If you follow and apply the 5 steps below, you’ll dramatically reduce the chance of “leaving money on the table” when you sell.
Property Presentation Tip #1:
Clean your house from top to bottom, inside and out
And then do your best to keep it clean and tidy until sold.
Cleaning costs nothing but if the carpets and curtains could do with a professional “deep clean”, it’s well worth the money.
Cleaning your house is possibly the biggest chore you’ll face when selling, lots of people do it half-heartedly – all the better for you! Eliminating bad odours is part of this process. We won’t go on about this but:
- Cooking
- Smoking
- Pets
- Damp
- Blocked drains
All produce odours that turn-off buyers – get rid of them. Make sure you clean all your blinds too.
If your house stands head and shoulders above your competition, you’ll be the first to sell.
Property Presentation Tip #2:
De-Clutter and Depersonalise
Get rid of the clutter and your house will look bigger. It will feel to buyers like a tidy, well-ordered place to live – just what they want!
What’s more, de-cluttering your house is a cathartic experience; it’s also the best way to mentally prepare for your move.
The act of de-cluttering helps you to:
- Start looking at your house as a commodity for sale (essential if you are to make sound, business-like decisions).
- Manage the emotional bond with your house that in extreme cases can cloud one’s judgment and stop you from selling.
- Focus on the new life you’ll create when you move.
Unless experienced first hand, this emotional side of selling is easy to underestimate.
Don’t be surprised if at first you find de-cluttering tough.
We would urge you to persevere because you’ll be rewarded with more money in your pocket and less worry on your mind.
Throw away (or donate) as much as possible and then throw away some more.
After this, look again at your cupboards and other storage areas – are they full to bursting?
If they are you need to consider thinning down your house further (possibly even consider renting a personal self-storage unit).
Ideally, cupboards and storage areas should not be more than 75% full.
Serious buyers will look inside your cupboards. If there isn’t enough storage for you, they’ll assume there isn’t enough for them.
Depersonalising is just as vital. Buyers will fall in love with your house when they can imagine themselves living there (when they can imagine your house as their own).
It can’t be done with evidence of you or your family everywhere.
That’s why show homes are always anonymous. You’ll never see a family portrait or anything personal.
Here’s what you do to make your house look lived-in without looking like anyone actually lives there – pack away into storage:
- All family photos
- Holiday souvenirs
- Trophies & certificates
- Collectible items
- Children’s artwork
Buyers do not want to buy your home – they want to buy your house and then make it their home!
Property Presentation Tip #3:
1st impressions count and catch-up on routine maintenance
It’s never too early to start making a good impression.
Your house may be stunning inside but if the outside doesn’t look great you’ll immediately put your buyer into price reduction mode.
Look at your property from the road. How does it compare to other houses in your street?
As you walk from the footpath to your front door, does every element of your property look cared for and well maintained?
A well maintained house screams out that it’s “well cared for” (a desirable attribute that buyers will pick-up on).
Property Presentation Tip #4:
Go neutral!
This continues the idea of “depersonalising” your house. It’s key to pulling off a quick sale! Colour is a personal thing – one person’s harmonious colour scheme is another’s crime against humanity.
Don’t let differences in personal taste affect your sale price. Take colour out of the equation all together. It’s cheap to do, just paint your walls a neutral colour (something like “Antique White” from Dulux works well).
Repainting boldly coloured or highly individualised interiors to something blander is the most cost-effective way to add value to your property. Rooms will immediately appear bigger and brighter (major selling points). You’ll also create a blank canvas. This helps buyers to project positive visions of what their life could be like in the house – part of the process of “falling for” a property.
Property Presentation Tip #5:
Define the use of each room!
While living in a house the use of certain rooms can become blurred over time, for example:
- The lounge becomes part office.
- The spare bedroom becomes a storage room.
- The dining room becomes the kids play area.
If this has happened in your house, think about converting these rooms back to their original use.
This makes sound financial sense and helps you sell for more because certain rooms hold a greater perceived value than others, for example:
- Buyers perceive bedrooms to be worth more than offices.
This is now also a good opportunity to make your house look bigger.
Remove all the furniture etc, that isn’t essential to the function of the room. This will free up a lot of space.
You’ll see for yourself the minimum amount of furniture needed to define the use of a room and achieve a maximum sale price for your property.
Aim for this because at the end of the day, space sells.
Conclusion
The 5 steps above make sure your house is saleable however, if you want to go further and get creative, you need to understand an important concept:
“Buyers are not looking to buy property! What they’re really looking to buy is a better life (property just happens to be the way they’ll get it).”
For the presentation of your house to really attract buyers (and the highest offers) you need to make buyers want what you’ve got – give them a glimpse of a better life and you’ll guarantee the maximum sale price for your home.
Comments