7 ways to maximize the ‘sellability’ of your home

Follow these easy steps to make your home appeal to more buyers, and in turn potentially sell more quickly and command a higher selling price

The goal when preparing your home for sale is to show it in its best light, and to highlight for buyers just how much potential it has for them. What might be the perfect furniture layout, décor style and storage setup for your lifestyle might not suit most people, so the key is always to look at your home as objectively as possible and perhaps make some tweaks ahead of the marketing photographs and viewings. First impressions really do count, and the following easy fixes will get you well on your way to a fresh, appealing and market-ready home!

  1. Declutter
    • Too many items piled on worksurfaces or side tables, coats on hooks, books stacked on the floor etc. can give the impression that your home doesn’t have enough storage to house a buyers’ things. Spend some time boxing up extra items and store in the attic or garage for photos and viewings
    • Remove things from kitchen worktops – small appliances, kitchen roll holders, food canisters etc.
    • Consider removing some furniture to allow buyers to move around freely in the home – it might not feel like ‘real life’ to you, but you are selling buyers an idealized lifestyle, not necessarily the way we live day-to-day
  1. Depersonalize
    • Buyers are trying to imagine themselves living in your home �� ‘can I picture myself preparing meals in that kitchen?’, or ‘would that space work for my home office?’. Too many reminders that it is currently someone else’s home will make picturing themselves in the home harder
    • Remove family photos, children’s artwork, fridge magnets, sports memorabilia etc.
    • Remove toothbrushes & toiletries from bathrooms – going into someone else’s bathroom already feels very intrusive to a buyer, decrease the discomfort by removing these reminders of the current occupants
  1. Remove evidence of pets (beds, toys, food bowls etc.)
    • Buyers might worry about lingering odours, stains, allergens etc. if they see evidence that there are currently pets in the home
  1. Turn on all the lights / add accent lighting if needed / open all the blinds or curtains
    • Lighting can have a powerful emotional effect on potential buyers – insufficient or poorly placed lighting can make rooms feel cold and dingy, whereas the same room with table or floor lamps in addition to overhead lights can feel warm and inviting
    • Consider adding inexpensive floor, table and reading lamps with ‘warm white’ bulbs in the corners of rooms or on side-tables to create cosy reading spaces for example
    • Inexpensive undercabinet LED strips in the kitchen can really brighten up a workspace with accent lighting
  1. Remove rubbish bins, cleaning products, bath towels, tea towels, dish sponges etc.
    • Again the aim is to paint the picture of the idealized lifestyle, so remove reminders about the humdrum of everyday life from kitchens and bathrooms
  1. Consider the smell of your home
    • Smell is another big emotional trigger for buyers entering a home
    • Consider burning mildly scented candles to create the right kind of emotional response
    • Making a pot of coffee is another great tip, especially for morning viewings!
  1. And for bonus points – don’t let your décor be a turn off
    • The goal is to appeal to as many buyers as possible, so a quick repaint of any brightly coloured walls in the latest shade of ‘greige’ will go a long way to achieving this, and making your home look great in the listing photos

If you’d like any assistance in maximizing the value of your home as you prepare it for sale, contact Miller Town and Country today and our professional team can customize this advice for your home.

Okehampton: 01837 54080 / Tavistock: 01822 617243

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