Although it’s a buyer’s market at the moment, sellers can look at ways to make their homes more marketable. How can you ensure your home will sell quickly and fetch a good price?
Having a property in shipshape condition certainly helps. First impressions are vital, so make sure your property has “kerb appeal” — neat verges, a tidy garden, a lawn that has been mowed and trimmed shrubs. Beyond that, leaking taps, cracked tiles and dirty walls or floors are off-putting.
“Even when major repairs aren’t needed, most of us lead busy lives and can’t provide the time and elbow grease,” says Chris Tyson, CEO of Tyson Properties.
Tyson Properties has just opened what it calls a “maintenance division” to help prepare sellers for the market.
According to Tyson, properties can require anything from a quick repaint to plumbing repairs to make them more attractive to potential buyers.
It is attention to detail that can make all the difference. With this in mind, have a look at the following areas with regard to your property:
- Alterations and minor building jobs;
- Plumbing;
- Interior and exterior painting or touch-ups;
- Sanding and varnishing woodwork, hardwood flooring and decking;
- Tiling inside and out as well as garden paving;
- Landscaping, which may include tree felling and clearing undergrowth, a general yard clean and removal of garden refuse;
- Roofs, external house walls and garden walls, which may require pressure cleaning.
Tyson says that new owners are often prepared to wash walls, shampoo and vacuum carpets, clean the inside and outside of cupboards, wipe down doors and door frames, wash windows and so on.
However, before you put your house on the market, you should consider doing some of the hard work yourself — clearing out garages, packing trash, fixing skirtings, checking plug points. It could mean the difference between making a sale, or losing it.
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