Selling Your Property This Spring?

Get the best price and add a little momentum to the process with our Selling Checklist.

Posted on Friday, February 17, 2023

Making the decision to sell your home is exciting! And the process of preparing your home to sell is what’s going to help you achieve the best price possible. It may seem daunting, but every process, breaking it down into smart and manageable chunks of effort will see you flying into the Spring market ready, organised and with your day job and daily life all in check.

Selling Checklist

1) Get the property valued

Nice easy first step. It’s a phone call. The benefit of doing this first is that we can advise you on what needs doing in order for you to get your price, but also what isn’t worth spending on. Basically, if it won’t add value we’ll advise you to save your money. Call 020 8520 9300, it’s free and will help you get the ball rolling on your plans. 

2) Run your own inspection

You know that feeling when you walk through your front door after a holiday and suddenly you see everything in your home as it really is? Do a post-holiday walk-through, sunhat optional. Notice the snags and list them. You have to get in the frame of mind of a potential buyer to do this. Book a handyperson, just get them sorted, using your priorities list from your valuation. Getting necessary fixes sorted will increase the value of your home and make it a job done for the rest of the time you’re living there. Win:win.

3) Remove yourselves from your home

This will be a toughie for some of you. But a home that potential buyers can walk through and project themselves in, will sell more effectively. Family photographs, super personal artworks and expressions are better off packed away safely. See it as getting yourselves in the frame of mind to move.

An extension of this is the decor. You don’t need to neutralise the space entirely, but if a buyer is torn between two properties the one with a giant purple wall covered in flame-coloured flocked flamingoes might be the one that’s easier to pass on, as it’s likely to be a job that needs sorting. Whites and neutrals reflect the light and create calm, this is what buyers want.

4) De-clutter

Here’s why: your property will look bigger and bigger is more valuable. It’ll look like a home that’s able to cope with the detritus of life. It will appear ordered and workable and make your photos pop. Potential buyers find mess and clutter distracting and it highlights a need for more storage or worse, more space altogether. Come on, the corners of your rooms are in there somewhere. 

De-cluttering is also the best possible way to start your packing process. The more you get into that frame of mind, the more it’s likely to happen.

5) Clean

A no-brainer. Cleaning is awesome. It’s the stage of preparation that costs the least and delivers the most impact. It doesn’t require the hiring of professionals and improves everyones’ lives in the home immediately. 

Key areas for effective cleaning are pets, windows, bathrooms, mirrors and floors, and the ultimate moment of freshness is when you walk in. Note that freshness doesn’t mean fragrance, which can be divisive. Fresh is the result of a recent clean and an open window.

To get even more out of that first impression see our blog Enter The Hallway >>

6) Use lighting as a tool

It can amplify the charms of a room immediately, create space, illuminate particular features and generally present a positive mood. Having some low lamps also brightens up dark areas and cosies up the space.

7) Clear the garden

No need to go bananas out there and no need to spend on expensive shrubs. Just clear anything out of the garden that shouldn’t be there, take a trip to the tip. Clear away any dead plants and define your borders. This could mean a bit of weeding and a good brush. If there’s room for dining, make that clear by putting a table and chairs there, you don’t need to spend unnecessarily look in charity shops or borrow a set from a friend. 

What you’re doing in the garden is setting the scene for the space to be viable and enjoyable, with a clear purpose if there is one.

This is an exciting time and we’re here to help all we can.

Start with that valuation and we’ll be ready with a market appraisal when we meet. You might be in for a pleasant surprise.

See you soon!