tips pls for getting a house ready to sell

jenster

what are peoples top tips for staging a house to sell

what jobs should you do before selling
and how much should you spend in getting a property ready ?

or are more property's selling as seen rather than in showroom condition

Socksey

In l reality, as long as the house is clean and tidy and not too much clutter about the place.....
If you have something that is particularly unusual in the line of decoration, then perhaps neutralise it... but everyone has their own taste... some people like the whole bland, showhome look... others don't...
I'm more concerned about have basic diy jobs been attended to ... are the windows falling apart... is there damp.... does the kitchen need replaced etc....
As long as it is bright, clean and smelling fresh... I personally wouldn't spend a fortune on it...

benjus

Last year I sold a property I had been renting out, and that the tenants had left in a rather sorry state. It needed new floor coverings throughout, a new kitchen, and the plasterwork in various areas could have done with being re-done from scratch. The paintwork was, of course, in a terrible state.

I didn't have the money to refurbish it to a pristine state for sale, so I just got a few essential jobs done (e.g. getting the boiler fixed), then had the whole place painted in white emulsion and white eggshell on the woodwork. It looked so much better, even though it still needed renovation, and I found a buyer within a couple of weeks.

Hoploz

I've done the same as benjus. Flat had been rented out for years, bathroom and especially kitchen looked pretty dated although in good working order. Carpets all need replacing as they are worn, we cleaned well, gave the walls a lick of emulsion, painted some wood panelling that was hideous dated blue to magnolia to brighten it up and it sold in a couple of weeks as well.

My advice is to do any obvious unfinished DIY jobs, make sure the place is clean and tidy, declutter so you can see things looking bright and clean, clean the windows and put some flowers in tubs to cheer the driveway and garden up etc.

Anything major is factored in to the asking price. Some people are keen to do their own renovations, others want new finished properties, you can't please everyone.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

Being clean and tidy is not all about looking nice, it's showing that the house is spacious and easy to look after. If there are piles of clutter everywhere it suggests there's not enough storage, especially if you're tripping over stuff like suitcases, binbags and hoovers.

skater_kat

would you furnish and stage the house or leave it to sell vacant?

Hoploz

Mine was sold empty.

If you've got some spare furniture you could put it in, it helps to see how much room around a bed etc, but I wouldn't bother hiring any in or anything.