Most people find that selling their house is an incredibly stressful time – it is both an emotional and financial burden to you and your family. It can often be a long, dragged out process with a number of steps to undertake before you even get to auction. Once you have understood the logistical and monetary aspects of preparing your house for auction, there are a range of physical ways that you can increase the likelihood of a successful sale. These will really benefit your property in the long-run. This article will talk you through 5 easy things that all sellers can do before the auction of a property.
1 – Painting
Ensuring that the decoration of the house is fresh and finished to a good standard will positively affect the auction of a property. Peeling wallpaper should be redone and chipped paint fixed so that the house can be given the best chance at auction. Undertaking work like this will also allow you to check the house for any signs of damp or mould, which is not only unsightly but is potentially dangerous to your health and will need to be fixed and/or disclosed at auction.
It is also a great idea to fix any painting on the outside of your home, on the building itself or fences. Unstained fences can turn green after a while – so if your fence is looking worse for wear, then a coat of paint in a colour that compliments your house will help. This will up your property’s curb appeal and be more impressive to a potential buyer.
Depersonalising your home is the easiest and quickest way to ensure your house is prepared for auction. Fancy feature walls and crazy colour schemes should ideally be changed to more neutral colours that don’t draw too much attention. This will allow prospective bidders to focus on the details of your house, rather than the flamingo wallpaper in the bathroom. Painting your walls white can also brighten up the space, making the rooms look larger and cleaner.
2 – Professional gardener
Unless you are a competent, green-fingered gardener, it might be a good idea to pay for a professional to come and do some work on your property. Tidying up the grass, bushes and trees will give a neat finish to the garden, and whilst this won’t really add much in value to your home, it is more attractive to potential buyers if they can see that the garden is at least tidy and the grass looks a healthy colour.
It is also wise to remove any oversized furniture from your garden so that the existing space is emphasised. A larger looking garden is a bonus when it comes to selling your house at auction. Planting some flowers and adding hanging baskets will also create a positive first impression for potential buyers and can help them to imagine themselves living in the property. You may even consider hiring a professional arborist if you have any large trees that you’d like pruned or even removed, which can make your garden look more manicured, neat and provide more natural light.
3 – Pressure clean driveway
Pressure cleaning the driveway will not only make it more presentable and aesthetically pleasing, but it will make the space seem larger. This is one of the first things that potential buyers will see when looking at a house, and making a positive first impression counts for a lot. Most of the time, when we first see a property we get that instant feeling, and a dirty, muddy drive will not evoke the happy, excited to view the property attitude that makes for a successful auction.
Pressure cleaning your driveway will remove any moss or debris that has built up on the drive material and will help to maintain the driveway for longer. Keeping everything in good condition is important to help the next owners.
4 – Professional carpet cleaning
It seems obvious that a clean, well-presented home will look more attractive to prospective buyers. However, sometimes carpets can get overlooked – literally. A quick hoover may seem sufficient, but an unintentionally off-white carpet can be incredibly off-putting. It is usually worth getting a professional carpet cleaner in – you would be surprised the amount of dirt that can be lifted even from unsuspecting floors.
Clean, lighter coloured carpets will make any room look more spacious. Well looked after flooring can make all the difference to a sale. Often people are looking to move straight into a new home, and since carpets are expensive to replace, they will be inspected by viewers very closely. It is important that future bidders can imagine this place as their home, because this will positively impact your sale.
5 – Window cleaning
We know that first impressions count, and dirty windows will give the impression that the house has not been looked after and loved by the previous owners. The easiest way to clean your windows is to first wipe them down with a microfiber cloth to remove any dust, and then use a window cleaner and sponge. You can also mix 2 tablespoons of vinegar into a bucket of water and use that a cleaning solution – though this method won’t kill bacteria.
Making sure that the windows are clean will not only benefit the property from the outside, showing prospective buyers that the house is well kept and attractive, but also help to give the illusion that the rooms inside are bigger and brighter. From the inside of the home, dirty windows make rooms look dark and dingy – not winning features that tend to ever sell a house.
These are just 5 easy ways to prepare your house for auction, but there are many other things that you can do alongside these tips. Ensuring that your property is as well presented and aesthetically pleasing as possible will positively benefit your sale, and help ease what can be a long and arduous process.