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Putting your house on the market can be a very exciting time, and you may want to rush into it as soon as possible. However, there are a few very important things you should make sure you do before listing your home.

Check out these tips to make sure you are ready to list your property:

1.  De-personalise

If your house screams ‘you’, then you may want to get rid of a few things.

Having personal items and themes strewn throughout the house can cause people to feel unwelcome, and they will be unable to see themselves moving in.

When you put your house on the market, you want anyone to feel like they could move in right away. Your house should feel neutral in all respects.

2. Have friends give first impressions

The most important moment of convincing someone to buy your property is when they step through the front door. This is when you either lose, or win prospective buyers.

Make sure when people step through the front door, they feel like they could be stepping into their new home.

Keep clutter to an absolute minimum, and make the entrance feel homey.

Have a few friends over to give their thoughts on what they feel like when stepping through the front door. This way, you can get an honest and unbiased opinion.

3.  Backyard landscaping

The backyard is a vital part of any home, and will aid you greatly in selling your home. If you have prospective buyers who are sitting on the fence as to whether they want  your house or not, a good backyard can be all it takes to win them over. It’s the 1% that separates a nice house from a beautiful one.

4. Get your papers in order

Don’t waste your time cleaning your home from top to bottom, getting rid of every stray mark if you first don’t have the papers that you need.

Ensure that you have all your operating manuals for appliances, warranties, notes on paint colours and other important documents.

Having these things on hand can separate your house from the house down the street, as it shows buyers that you have everything under control.

5. Hide the pets

You may love your cute little kitty roaming around the house at all hours of the morning, but your prospective buyer may have other feelings.

Showing a buyer that you allow animals inside can make them cautious as to how clean a house is, and can put your home on the back-foot from the get go.

So, while you are trying to sell your home, arrange for your furry friends to stay somewhere else for a while.

6. Clean, Clean, Clean!

That’s right, there really is no avoiding it. You want your home to look its absolute best. It has to be better than brand new to convince someone to take out a loan on it.

Make sure every fingerprint is removed, every hair vacuumed and every stain mopped. You should even touch up exterior paint if it is starting to flake or peel.

So there you have it, just a few things you should take into consideration before you even think about listing your home.

Let us know below about some funny or crazy experiences you had when either selling or buying a home.

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  • De clutter and clean and repeat!

    Reply

  • Great tips. Also if you are going to repaint or re- tile neutral colours. That bright red might look great to you but not necessarily to potential buyers

    Reply

  • A Real Estate Agent I know only shows one interested person/ family through at a time.

    Reply

  • Very good ways of maximising your chances of selling at a good price.

    Reply

  • Great tips – doing these things meant we sold our house in a slow market for a great price. Well worth doing.

    Reply

  • I totally agree with all these but I think the other (which does go with number one) is to declutter. Get rid of about half of the things you have in each room. Try and just have practical and functional pieces. Makes rooms seem larger

    Reply

  • Some good stuff here.

    Reply

  • Yes. These are important points to validate.

    Reply

  • Excellent advice, and good to know if we ever want to sell.

    Reply

  • Putting your house on the market can be a very exciting time, and you may want to rush into it as soon as possible. However, there are a few very important things you should make sure you do before listing your home.

    Check out these tips to make sure you are ready to list your property:

    1. De-personalise

    If your house screams ‘you’, then you may want to get rid of a few things.

    Having personal items and themes strewn throughout the house can cause people to feel unwelcome, and they will be unable to see themselves moving in.
    When you put your house on the market, you want anyone to feel like they could move in right away. Your house should feel neutral in all respects.

    2. Have friends give first impressions

    The most important moment of convincing someone to buy your property is when they step through the front door. This is when you either lose, or win prospective buyers.

    Make sure when people step through the front door, they feel like they could be stepping into their new home.
    Keep clutter to an absolute minimum, and make the entrance feel homey.

    Have a few friends over to give their thoughts on what they feel like when stepping through the front door. This way, you can get an honest and unbiased opinion.

    3. Backyard landscaping

    The backyard is a vital part of any home, and will aid you greatly in selling your home. If you have prospective buyers who are sitting on the fence as to whether they want your house or not, a good backyard can be all it takes to win them over. It’s the 1% that separates a nice house from a beautiful one.

    4. Get your papers in order

    Don’t waste your time cleaning your home from top to bottom, getting rid of every stray mark if you first don’t have the papers that you need.

    Ensure that you have all your operating manuals for appliances, warranties, notes on paint colours and other important documents.

    Having these things on hand can separate your house from the house down the street, as it shows buyers that you have everything under control.

    5. Hide the pets

    You may love your cute little kitty roaming around the house at all hours of the morning, but your prospective buyer may have other feelings.

    Showing a buyer that you allow animals inside can make them cautious as to how clean a house is, and can put your home on the back-foot from the get go.

    So, while you are trying to sell your home, arrange for your furry friends to stay somewhere else for a while.
    6. Clean, Clean, Clean!

    That’s right, there really is no avoiding it. You want your home to look its absolute best. It has to be better than brand new to convince someone to take out a loan on it.

    Make sure every fingerprint is removed, every hair vacuumed and every stain mopped. You should even touch up exterior paint if it is starting to flake or peel.

    So there you have it, just a few things you should take into consideration before you even think about listing your home.

    Let us know below about some funny or crazy experiences you had when either selling or buying a home.

    Reply

  • great tips! will definitely come in handy one day!

    Reply

  • important things to do before list the house

    Reply

  • Great tips, we have a cat and wouldn’t think that would put people off but you are right some people might think they are unclean!

    Reply

  • I would also add put the non essential things into storage, when we put our last house on the market we got a price from one reaestate agent then before we got the next real estate agent in we packed everything up that we knew we didnt really need eg the stands of dvd and music we emptied out the storage Area and wordrobes and only left the basics in the kitchen. It made the house look bigger and like it had heaps of space and storage. We got a price of over $30,000 more from the second estate agent and he was amazed we had the place ready for sale at a high standard.(he comment was people dont usually clean the house enough when it goes on the market) It was sold with in two weeks at the higher price.

    Reply

  • This is great advice. 1 other thing to consider might be to get a pre-sale building inspection done so you’re well aware of the structural integrity of the home. No nasty surprises waiting for you when you decide to set the price you want. I’ve used http://www.safeguardhomeinspections.com.au in Melbourne and they were BRILLIANT!

    Reply

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