What You Should Know Before Placing Your Property on the Market


If you decided to sell your house, don’t put it up for sale just yet. You first need to do a couple of tricks to ensure the sale goes quickly and smoothly.

1. Declutter your home

First of all, nobody likes going into a house and feeling that it belongs to somebody else – they will have trouble seeing themselves there. This means you need to remove all your personal belongings like photo albums and picture frames.

Decluttering also means removing the necessary stuff from the attic and the basement, as well as from other rooms. You don’t want the potential buyer to feel there’s not enough space.

2. Improve the curb appeal

Stand in front of your house and take a good look at it – what is the first impression it creates? Many potential buyers decide whether to go in or not based on the curb appeal. If they think it’s messy and unattended, they will assume it’s the same issue inside the house.

So, paint the fence, mow the lawn, trim the trees and bushes and get rid of debris and leaves that have fallen off. If it’s necessary, think of repainting the house – it will make a huge difference if the facade looks old-fashioned and washed out.

3. Necessary repairs

Not every repair will pay off. Of course, you definitely need to take care of the obvious problems – broken window, cracks in the wall or even broken lightbulb in the front porch can drive the buyer away.

However, certain repairs could cost you more money that you could get from doing the repair. You need to find the perfect balance between investing in repairs and the increase in the house’s value you’ll achieve. It’s best if you consult a professional on this matter. “Nothing is a bigger turn-off for a would-be buyer than walking into a bathroom and being confronted with proof of the fact that you’ve lost the will to live halfway through a regrouting job”, says UK’s property expert Kirstie Allsopp.

4. Home staging

Home staging can easily pay for itself, but it’s not something you can do on your own if you have never done it before. Your agent is far more experienced in home staging, so ask for their help in this matter. It could make a huge difference when you put the house up for sale.

5. Don’t let the buyer get away

Around one-third of potential house sales fall through at some point. If you have an interested buyer, it’s important to react fast – one day or two of delay can be all that it takes for the buyer to change their mind and withdraw their offer. Conveyancing agencies know how competitive the market is, so they know how to react fast if the homeowner finds a potential buyer. A reliable conveyancer in Parramatta or another Australian agency will ask for all the necessary information and prepare the documents, so that the deal moves as fast as possible.

6. Clean the house thoroughly

Potential buyers will react negatively to any signs of dirt in the house. Spend a day or two before the first buyers appear to clean the house completely, from the floor to the ceiling. Everything matters – clean windows, vacuumed carpets, dusted shelves, fresh linen and impeccably clean kitchen and bathroom.

7. Pick a good agent

Don’t go for the first agent you hear of. You should talk to at least three of them. Look for those who have already had successful sales in your area. Those are the ones who will know the buyers interested in that area very well. They will know which price those buyers are ready to pay, meaning they will be helpful when setting up the price.

The crucial thing is not to rush. For the sale to go fast and smoothly, it’s better to spend a few weeks of preparing everything. The better the preparation, the faster and more successful the sale will be.