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

Flugelhorn

I think you may be right re the market, it was certainly very lively until recently - as though everything had to be crammed into a small window of time. We had an agent doing his nut to try  to get us to list with him in June as I reckon he just didn't have any properties left in that price bracket - they were all STC . Not sure what is going to happen now - you have the advantage that there aren't any others for sale at present - less competition

writer5

As well as what has been suggested, make sure all your paperwork/guarantees for any work you've had done/boiler servicing etc is in order to avoid delays further down the line.  

theoretica

Scuffs that are dark marks on top of paint can sometimes be cleaned off, which is worth doing where a full repaint may not be.

Angela_D_3

clean clean and then clean again.  Absolutely no smells.  Definitely touch up paint work,  it makes the world of difference 

gwynlas

De personalise and aim for neutral everywhere. Clean crisp white bedding looks good in photos and you could move same set room to room if necessary. Sort out cupboards in small kitchen and do not have anything on work surfaces other than kettle/toaster/coffee machine. Similrly in bathroom hide toiletries have neat towel on show,  Agree with previous poster re storage space most places have a variety of sizes available.  Post a couple of pictures here if you need guidance on anything. Check out local agents and style of descriptions. Think of information you think should be included to target specific  groups such as whether earsily commutable, good schools etc. Make sure you have a dining table and chairs in lounge even if it is a dropleaf.

coachman12

There have been plenty of helpful comments already on this thread and I can't add to them. 
My concern is the mention in the O/P of selling before Xmas amidst the fear of housing crash next year. 
I think this winter is the worst time in history to try and sell a house. We are heading for a crisis worse than last March/April with the combination of winter + flu + huge second wave of Covid already well advanced, and so much uncertainty about what the Govt may or may not do. In fact, if lockdown is severe again, there will be no house sales anyway (no viewings, no EAs at work, etc).
There was a window this year for selling----May to September. That is gone now and restrictions and health concerns can only get worse. There may or may not be a crash next year; or there may be a huge upturn if a vaccine appears. Who knows ? Personally, I would wait to find out, even if it is possible to attempt a sale in October and the rest of the winter.
So my comment is not about your nice home----it is solely about the wider factors mentioned in the opening post. Good luck amandacat, whatever you decide to do.

amandacat

Hi and thank you, I agree this winter could be a bad time to sell. I’m going to market it and see but am I under no disillusion that it will definitely sell. If things escalate with covid and it doesn’t sell and the market dries up then I’ll take it off the market and put it back on when things pick up.  

getmore4less

amandacat said:

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. 

I do a lot of "more like this" and it is very rare to see 90% 
for every 1 for sale 9 are SSTC.

You need to compare type as well no good if 90% selling in your price range are 3beds and you are a 2 bed. 

dimbo61

Get rid of the rubbish in your home.
Less is more and will make the house look bigger.
Why pack rubbish in boxes and transport to a new house.