Posted on: Wednesday, July 17, 2024
Summer lends itself perfectly to property viewings and to preparing your home. Here’s how to make your property as appealing as you can to set the scene for potential buyers and create those all-important good first impressions:
The front of your home is typically what prospective buyers will see first, so it must look the part. Use your phone to take pictures of anything that needs attention, whether that’s weeding, trimming bushes, cleaning window frames, or repainting the fences and the front door and create a checklist of quick fixes. Making the most of your home’s kerb appeal will help you make the most of its value, so pay attention to the details. Creating a pleasant pathway to your home should be the beginning of a captivating viewing.
Tidying away clutter from kitchen worktops and organising books, clothes, blankets or toys from the sitting room and other rooms will make them appear bigger. Deep cleaning your bathroom and kitchen instantly creates the right impression. Drawing back the curtains, checking light bulbs, and allowing light to flood your rooms will accentuate feelings of space further.
During the summer, outdoor cleaning is as easy and important as indoor cleaning. Trimming your grass and bushes, tidying away the toys, and weeding have a huge impact. Jet washing patio areas and revarnishing decking are also tasks that can make the world of difference. You may also consider making your garden more beautiful by planting a some vibrant new plants to add a pop of colour. Adding a bird bath or arranging outdoor dining areas in view of nature will show off your garden’s true potential.
Broken tiles, blemishes in your paint work and scratched skirting boards may not seem like much in themselves, however, if you keep on top of the small details, they will add hugely to the aesthetic appeal of your home, especially when combined with the rest of your preparatory steps. Then, as potential buyers take in each room, they can do so without being distracted by unsightly issues that may distort their perspective on the space. Taste is subjective, but repainting walls, particularly if you have spare paint stowed away, may be worth considering.
Now that you have cleaned, decluttered, and perhaps carried out a spot of redecorating, don’t be afraid to add some finishing touches. Often, it’s just a matter of re-arranging what is already there. Arranging your furniture by taking a step back and taking in your rooms objectively with a critical eye is important. Finishing with homely items, such as placing decorative cushions on the bed and flowers or candles on the table will create lived-in and attractive qualities in equal measure. All of this will help you achieve your home’s true potential value, which will help open the next chapter of your moving story.
If you are preparing to move this summer, find your local Guild Member for expert guidance.
We are required by law to conduct anti-money laundering checks on all those selling or buying a property. Whilst we retain responsibility for ensuring checks and any ongoing monitoring are carried out correctly, the initial checks are carried out on our behalf by Lifetime Legal who will contact you once you have agreed to instruct us in your sale or had an offer accepted on a property you wish to buy. The cost of these checks is £60 (incl. VAT), which covers the cost of obtaining relevant data and any manual checks and monitoring which might be required. This fee will need to be paid by you in advance of us publishing your property (in the case of a vendor) or issuing a memorandum of sale (in the case of a buyer), directly to Lifetime Legal, and is non-refundable. We will receive some of the fee taken by Lifetime Legal to compensate for its role in the provision of these checks.