Purchasing a home is both a financial and emotional decision so the look and feel of your home will be an important factor in attracting interested buyers. Here are our top tips for helping you make your home more attractive to buyers
1. First impressions count
What will people see the first time they walk up to your house? Make sure your property has ‘curbside appeal’ with a well-maintained fence, driveway, letterbox, front door, lawns, hedging, and exterior. Outdoor living is a big selling point so make your outdoor space inviting.

2. Declutter
Remove clutter from your home and put it in storage. This includes oversized or too much furniture, large bench top appliances, and personal items like photographs, CDs, books and magazines. This will make your home appear bigger and allow buyers to picture themselves in the space.

3. The personal touch
Your house should feel like a home. Once you’ve decluttered, a few personal touches such as flowers, a bowl of fruit on your kitchen counter, and a pot plant here and there will do wonders to help buyers feel like your property could be their dream home.

4. Freshen up your walls with a coat of paint
Use a neutral, light shade to make your home appear more spacious. This also gives prospective buyers a blank canvas to visualise what they would do with a room. Don’t forget to paint or varnish the doors too.

5. Make your home sparkle
Clean every room in your home, including the windows inside and out. In particular, ensure your bathroom sparkles, remove any mould and replace your shower curtain. While you’re cleaning, you should eliminate the source of any unpleasant odours inside and outside your home. A bad smell will quickly turn off prospective buyers.

6. Do necessary repairs
Buyers don’t want to spend their time or money doing repairs to a home they’ve just bought. You can remove that barrier by fixing anything off its hinges, replacing broken tiles, repairing holes in walls etc. Replace threadbare carpet and ensure wooden floors are well maintained. Give your home some TLC so that buyers know that it’s been well looked after.

7. Kitchens sell houses
If you can afford to invest a bit of capital before you sell, spend it in the kitchen. Reface or replace your cabinetry and upgrade counter tops. If you’re whiteware is old, consider renting modern appliances.

8. Brighten your home
Aim for soft lighting throughout the home and bright light in the kitchen and bathroom. Use lamps to brighten dark corners. If you have old curtains or blinds, take them down and replace them with basic cotton or linen ones and make sure they are tied back to make the most of any natural light. Make sure you replace burnt out light bulbs.

9. Pets
We love our pets but not everybody else does. Be aware that many people have allergies to, or are simply not used to animals. Keep them out of the way when prospective buyers are visiting your home.

It may sound like a lot of work, but doing these simple things, can really pay dividends by helping you to attract interested buyers. Remember, you’re not just selling a property but a potential new lifestyle for the homeowner so put yourself in their shoes when preparing your home for sale.