1. Preparing Your Home

First impressions count - when preparing your home for sale make sure that you create a good first impression. You need to make your home appeal to a wide variety of potential purchasers, things that you think may make it homely, may put off that potential purchaser. There are a number of general rules when preparing your home for sale.

Make sure it is in the best possible decorative order. Additional costs of decorating before a sale are often more than made up for in the final offer price. Decorating can seem like a lot of work however it can make a huge difference to the asking price and sale of your house.

Key words for selling: clean, well decorated, neat, minimalist!

Ensure that the external area of the property portrays a good image.

Less is more. Less furniture and clutter allows people to imagine what they would do with the space it also makes spaces look bigger. A blank canvass will give purchasers the opportunity to imagine how they would like to decorate the place themselves.

Outside a simple neat lawn is often better than elaborate looking beds which may give the impression of a high maintenance garden.

External Appearance

A lot of potential purchasers have made their decision on whether or not they would by the property before they even enter it. A good first impression from the outside is essential. Make sure that any front garden has tidy lawns with neat hedges and lack of additional objects such a toys, gnomes and personal ornaments. The front path should be weeded, any gate correctly hinged and painted. If the outside of your home does not include a garden think about including window boxes and making sure that drain pipes and windows are properly painted. A good paint will only add value to the external appearance of your property and will give the impression of a well maintained house. If your home will be shown to people in the dark make sure that it is well lit and welcoming.

Internal Appearance

The most popular appearance for a home is a clean, well lit building. Light coloured walls will help make the most of any natural light a room does get it will also make it look bigger. Clearing away non-essential items of furniture makes a room look bigger and also gives the person viewing your property maximum ability to use their imagination as to how they could use the space. You would also be amazed at how much difference removing ornaments and trinkets makes, leave surfaces and mantelpieces clear of objects. Big mirrors also help enhance the size of a room, but make sure it is in keeping with the room and not too big. Well positioned flowers or plants will add to the ambiance of a room and make it smell nice. Your home should be immaculately clean including the windows, it is one less thing for the potential purchaser to think about or be distracted by.

In the kitchen once again it is essential that it is tidy and clean, this gives the potential purchaser the opportunity to think about the room without trying to remove the appliances and clutter and imagine the space as they would use it. It is also important that your kitchen smells good.

In the Bathrooms if your have water marks on the paint work a professional lick of white paint will help revamp the room. Make sure that the room smells clean and the bathroom has been cleaned. If the shower curtain looks tired or smells replace it that is a cheap thing to do and will make a great difference to the appearance and smell of the room.