Getting your house ready for the market...
Deciding to put your house on the market is a big step, make certain that you choose a residential estate agent that understands your goals and is patient enough in guiding you throughout the process. Firstly, I recommend a slight mental shift; in a sense that you no longer view your house as home that you’ve loved and made tons of beautiful memories, but rather a product in process to be sold. This will help you to have an open mind, make business decisions and not over capitalise on your repairs or improvements.
Remember first impressions last… so make them count if your favour!
Let’s do the suggested to-do list.
1. Give the interior a fresh coat of paint, just to revive the property. White or earthy neutral colours always give the purchasers a sense of homely and cleanliness.
2. The kitchen comes first, most potential purchasers see themselves cooking in their dream kitchen. Pay attention to the lose cupboard hinges, doorknobs, and drawer runners. Faulty, broken, or outdated appliances will need attention and decision as to whether to repair, replace or upgrade. It is imperative to make an informed decision when deciding to upgrade.
3. Don’t over up-grade, if the aim is to sell at a good price, then you don’t have to break the bank hoping to get the highest price within a short period of time. Over Capitalising will mostly results on losses.
4. Allow lots of natural light in the house, clean the windows, blinds, sky lights and please open the windows to air the house.
5. Clean, clean, clean. Remove the rubble in the yard, remove clutter in the garage or playroom or even inside the house. When purchasers see clutter and rubble, they become less interested or often times purchasers would use that as a bargaining tool to lower their offering price.
6. Take care of the simple repairs, like replacing a cracked window, broken doorbell, lose or broken door handle, clean the tile grout in the bathroom, replace a worn-out toilet set with a new one, clean the pool, mow the lawn, and clean the garden.
All these suggestions are small D.I.Y projects that can be done to assist in giving a good impression of your property, without really breaking the bank. Purchasers pay attention to even the smallest of things and can ether lose interest or want to offer less that your asking price.
Author:
Ms. Lerato Mokgosi | Principal