As a local agent, When looking for a new place to call home, one of the most exciting parts is picturing yourself living in the property and making it your own. This can be difficult. Changing your property into a blank canvas will help to tap into a large buyer pool.
Opening your house up for the perfect buyer, it pays to take the ‘you’ out of your property and treat it like a blank canvas. While Carolyn Wheatley can advise you on how best to prepare your home for sale, here are a few simple steps you can take on your own:
CLEAN UP YOUR CLUTTER
When preparing to sell, it’s a good idea to start decluttering as early as possible. If you run out of storage space you could even consider renting a storage facility for a while to store items off-site.
Buyers want to see how spacious a property is and the storage that is on offer, so don’t think your cupboard or garage will hide any clutter you may have. Look at your property through an unbiased lens and consider what you would want to see, and more importantly, not see when inspecting a property for the first time.
REMOVE ANY PERSONAL ITEMS AND PHOTOS
Imagine attending an inspection and opening the front door to a large portrait of an unknown family hanging in the foyer, try and make your house a neutral canvas by removing any personal effects like pictures and bathroom items.
STOW AWAY YOUR POOCH’S PARAPHERNALIA
While most homes have a pet, not all buyers are pet people so when selling it’s a good idea to hide away any of your pet’s belongings. As a rule of thumb, hide any trace of a pet during open homes.
CONSIDER YOUR KERB APPEAL
When preparing to sell, remember that the very first impression that buyers will get of your property is how it appears as they approach from the street. Take notice of the elements that will likely catch a buyer’s eye. Remove any personal belongings next to the front door, consider adding some pot plants or occasional chairs to your verandah, freshen up your façade.
REASSESS YOUR ROOMS
Buyers often make their property decisions based around the number of bedrooms a house has. It’s important to do some research and talk to Carolyn about buyer demographics in the area.
Consider what your target buyers want – are you located in a more family-friend suburb where more bedrooms, the better, or, with more people now working from home, are your buyers looking for home office space?
