Any tips on things to do to the house before placing on the market please?

amandacat

I’m relocating with my work and was going to leave selling until after Christmas but given the speculation of a potential housing crash I’m thinking I’ll try my luck now. I need to do a few jobs to make it more appealing. Any tips on jobs to do would be gratefully received. 
Things I’m thinking of are:
Paint front door as it’s a bit chipped.
Tidy and weed garden. 
Paint kitchen walls more neural as the current colour is a bit out there!
Some of the window blinds are looking a bit tatty, is it worth me forking out for new blinds?
Husband wants to repaint stairs and landing as there are some scuffs- is this worth the effort? 
I’ve already had the outside walls of the house professionally cleaned. 
Anything else you can suggest?
I’m intending at marketing my house at a price to sell quickly, I’ve done enough research of sales in my area and can see the prices that houses sell for and the overpriced ones that have sat on the market. That said I don’t want to give my house away or I won’t have enough equity to buy a new property so I need to have it looking attractive for potential buyers. I’m lucky that my area has fairly good kerb appeal, neighbouring properties have well kept gardens with flowers, I have parking for 2 cars and a south facing garden. Things that will go against me is I don’t have a garage and while my lounge is fairly large it’s technically a lounge diner and my kitchen is quite small.  
Thank you :-) 

walwyn1978

Tidy up, move as much stuff out of sight as possible both for photos and for viewings so the house looks tidy. If you don’t have much ‘out of sight’ space consider a small storage container at your local self store place. 

NameUnavailable

Yes paint any shabby areas, neutral colours and de-clutter. Make it as bland as possible but still homely.

Remember any prospective buyer will look around and see £££'s they have to find where you just see a little chipped paint, a wonky kitchen cupboard door, a bit of broken fence etc.

pumas

Definitely de-clutter, especially the 'small' kitchen. Clean thoroughly. Keep the blinds open! Take photos to see where you can improve the look.

Ms_Chocaholic

A couple of flowers out the front to give it a bit of kerb appeal helps and makes it feel more inviting, also if they are in pots you can take them with you when you leave.

tweet86

We didn’t do too much unless it desperately needed doing, but we made sure we decluttered. We boxed up things and stored away to make the rooms look bigger. Cluttered rooms tend to look smaller. We touched up a bit of paint when we moved which was silly really as she redecorated every room when she moved in. 

If it’s a popular area and things sell quickly don’t worry too much, just keep it well presented. Just put it on and see how buyers view it. 

Petriix

Definitely remove most of the stuff and do whatever you can to make it feel clean, light and spacious. Bonus marks for finishing touches that look modern and minimalist. Sometimes a shiny new tap or contemporary coffee table can make all the difference.

SaintJudy

Stupid tip but check the photos the EA takes for weird shadows - there's been many listings I've seen where I couldn't tell whether dark patches in corners were damp and mould or shadows from the light shade. I know it's always put me off, but then I'm moving quite a way so I didn't want to go for viewings I wasn't sure of because I've only been able to go to the area for the day when I've done viewings

SMR710

Autumn bedding for colour as gardens are starting to look tired now

Flugelhorn

tidy up and a bit of a de-clutter. Re new blinds etc - probably not worth it. We were about to replace a stair carpet (meant to do it when we moved in 12 years before..) supplies were still covid haywire, so we left it - made no difference to getting v quick sale so glad i didn't spend the money

amandacat

Thank you very much for the tips so far, really helpful. 
Looking at rightmove, I’d say about 90% of houses listed in my house’s price bracket up to early August are sale agreed. From mid August about 25% of what’s been listed are sale agreed, not sure if this is indicating a slow down in the market, or just that these houses haven’t been on the market long. 
I live on what I consider a new build estate but actually it’s 17 years old now but still looks quite new. Every house on my estate is sale agreed but no new houses on my estate have gone up for sale since the start of August so it’s difficult to judge how the market in my town (small inland town in Cornwall) currently sits.