10 Tips to Prepare Your Property for Viewings

Getting your property ready for viewings is so important. You need to sell buyers not just on the space, but the idea of living there themselves. It’s important that potential buyers step into your home and feel connected with it as they will be more likely to make an offer. In fact, with a well-staged home you can improve the number of offers immensely, so don’t dally and instead get started with our 10 top tips to prepare your property for viewings:

1. Declutter Your Space

Clutter is your enemy, so go through your home methodically and declutter from top to bottom, then pack up as much as you can. You want your rooms and storage space to feel spacious, your shelves to be balanced, drawers to open easily, and in general for viewers to get a sense of the space – not your belongings!

Tip: This is a great time to actually start packing. When you go through your clutter, pack away the items you love and want to keep, and then sell, donate, or get rid of the rest. We don’t often have a reason to declutter so aggressively, and this is the perfect opportunity to start, plus you’ll have half of your home packed up ready to move!

2. Remove Personal Belongings

Some personal belongings can feel cosy. Photos of your family can help convey to buyers that this is a great family home, but don’t overdo it. Remove and pack up some of your personal belongings so that potential buyers can best imagine themselves in your home.

3. Give Your Home a Deep Clean

Either use some elbow grease or hire a professional cleaning service to deep clean your property from floor to ceiling. When cleaning and sprucing up your home, it’s important to remember the exterior. Get professionals to powerwash dirt and grime off your property, bring in window cleaners, and repaint windows and doors if necessary.

4. Improve the Light

Remove plants, furniture, and other bulky items away from your windows. Consider adding mirrors or painting your walls white so that the space feels bright and spacious. Natural light is such an important feature in any home, and you can make your property feel more naturally lit even if it isn’t.

5. Improve Front and Rear Gardens

Be sure to weed, shape, and care for your front and rear gardens to improve the kerb appeal. Beautiful gardens are important to 1 in 5 buyers and add additional charm to a property that can be hard to resist. With a beautiful front garden, you can sell them your home before they even set foot inside

6. Make Repairs

Consider getting a surveyor in to run a check over your property. You can use this report later on when showing off the house, especially if the report turned up nothing of note. If there are repairs to be done however, get them fixed before you put your property on the market.

7. Refresh the Paint and Fix Wallpaper

If your paint looks worn, wallpaper is peeling from the wall, or there are other issues that affect the aesthetic – and certainly the structural integrity – of your home, you might want to consider repainting the whole property. If you prefer dark and dramatic walls this could work against you when selling your home. Consider painting them a light cream, white, or off-white colour instead. It could mean the difference between a sale and no sale!

8. Consider Renting Furniture or Decorations

There are companies out there that will rent furniture or decorations to you for the purpose of house viewings. If your furniture is too big or bulky for the space, you might want to consider doing this, so that you showcase a furnished home that feels big, spacious, and flowing.

9. Add Fresh Flowers

Fresh flowers, or alternatively baked goods, are a great trick to make the space feel fresh, luxurious, and smell great. Use them sparingly and do pay attention to how flowers smell next to each other, as you don’t want a clash of the senses.

10. Invest in a Homebuyer Survey

If you feel confident, you could even invest in a homebuyer survey yourself rather than potential buyers needing to do so. If repairs have been done, let your estate agent know so that the information can be passed onto viewers. They will then know your property is a sure thing, and there aren’t any hidden surprises lurking!

For expert advice on preparing your home for viewings, contact the team at Warren Powell-Richards today.