Tips to Selling Your Family Home

First impressions count when you are selling your home and the difference between a nicely presented home, compared to a poorly presented home can be thousands. A well presented home will attract more interested parties, and result in a faster and more valuable sale. So here are some helpful tips to get your prized family home ready for sale, and ultimately sold quicker so that you can start enjoying your brand new lifestyle at Oak Tree Retirement Villages.

Landscaping/Gardens/Facades

The front of your house is the first thing a buyer will notice and based on how good it looks it may determine whether or not a buyer even chooses to come inside.  In order to make the best impression, make sure your lawns are mowed, your gardens tended to and the front of your house is tidy. Remember to put your wheelie bins away, make sure there are no parked cars on the driveway and focus on making the entrance to your house as nice as possible. A new door mat and a couple of pots beside the front door are a worthwhile investment.

Is anything broken?

If there is anything in your house that needs repairing now is the time to do it. Fixing leaking pipes, scratched paint, dripping taps, running toilets, even replacing blown light bulbs will make a big difference in the sale of your home.

Do you have a pool?

If so then make sure it is the feature of your garden. Make sure the pool is kept clean and looks inviting. Make sure the gardens surrounding the pool are also well attended to and any furniture that surrounds your pool, or within your patio area, is kept clean.

A lick of paint

It is amazing how much fresher a room can look after a coat of paint. Consider painting your walls a neutral colour that is likely to appeal to wider range of people. Feature colours should be used sparingly.

Sparkling kitchens and bathrooms

The kitchen and bathrooms are important rooms to any house. Make sure they are clean and inviting. Make sure your kitchen has clear bench tops, a clean stove, and sink. Put tea towels and dish cloths away. In your bathroom, hang up new towels, polish chrome faucets and mirrors, bleach any dirty grout and make sure it smells fresh.

De-clutter and de-personalise

A house with less clutter is more likely to sell than one that is filled to the brim with too much furniture and too many ornaments. Minimise what you have on shelves, put the TV remotes and guides away, remove tissue boxes, keys, etc and make sure the kitchen benches are clear. Also take down any photos on the fridge, or in frames. It important to de-personalise the house so that buyers wont be distracted. Remember you want them to start feeling that this could be their next home. It is hard to do with pictures of your family on display.

Pets

If you have pets make sure you put their beds and toys out of sight. Remember to check your lawns for any faeces and remove. Vacuum couches and any other areas which may be covered in pet hair and if you are concerned about pet odour consider lighting a few scented candles. 

General clean

Make sure you vacuum and mop all floors, clean windows and doors, clean out your fridge and cupboards (buyers do tend to snoop), dust all furniture and straighten any hanging artwork.  Hose down patios and garden paths, remove dirty marks from walls, and clean away cobwebs.

Understand the market

A big part of selling your home within a reasonable time frame is understanding the market value of your property. A good way to do this is to talk to your agent, but also try spending some time looking around at other properties that are for sale in your area. Look in real estate windows, in the real estate sections of the paper and best of all, have a look on www.realestate.com.au for a complete list of properties near you.  Try attending some open days if you have the time to see first hand other properties that are on the market and see what you actually get for their asking price. Remember, buyers compare your house up against another houses that are for sale around the corner. They will be looking for value for money. This means you need to be realistic in the price of your house in order to attract a buyer within a timely fashion. Your price must be competitive and comparative to what else is on the market.

Your agent

Select a well known and reputable agent to represent the sale of your house. Some agents offer cheaper commissions, or free advertising so understand what their product offer is, and the strategy for selling your house before you sign a contract with them. Feel free to ask as many questions as you can of your agent, and also don’t be afraid to follow them up weekly to get an update on how your sale is going. 

Oak Tree Residential sales

In conjuntion with these tips we can provide you with the services and expertise of Oak Tree Residential Sales. Click through for more information on this service.