Welcome to part 2 of our 3-part series on how to get your home ready for viewings and in some cases, ready to market. House viewings are vital to the successful sale of your property. More often than not, all that is needed to make your house look presentable is a quick clean and tidy. But what if that is not the case? Do you have concerns about whether your home is appealing to potential buyers? Part 2 of this series focuses on the inside of your property in further detail.

1) When did you last do a “deep clean”?

The aim of the deep clean is to revert your home to its original “show home status”. Remember, first impressions count and having your home look sparkling may offer it the wow factor when people first    walk in. 

A deep clean will likely mean mopping the floors, dusting skirting boards, bleaching bathrooms and sinks, cleaning the windows, and wiping down doors and cupboards. Look out for any stains or          miscolours and do your best to get rid of them. 

No potential buyer wants to enter to the sight of dirty dishes so make sure that daily routines such as hoovering, doing dishes and making the beds shouldn’t      be forgotten about! If an item has a home then make sure it is put back where it belongs.

2) Declutter as much as possible

Potential buyer wants to see themselves in your home and one way they do this is by imagining where their furniture will go. It’s therefore important to declutter the house to show as much space as possible to aid the imagination of your buyer.

The idea is to have your rooms looking as big as possible. What appears to reduce the size of a room is clutter.

Therefore, utilise cupboards and existing storage space, consider if the room I question needs to contain everything it does. Do you have a shed, garage or external storage whereby certain items could be placed – if so then make the most of these spaces?

If possible, leave plenty of room for flow as buyers look around and imagine their furniture in position and if you have an open plan home, consider whether creating zoned areas would help demonstrate how each space could function.

3) Update the décor

Décor is personnel to the individual. For example, when I bought my house, one of the bedrooms contained leopard print wallpaper. Not to my taste but the previous owners found it tasteful!

Not everyone can see past the décor and sometimes find it hard to look any other way. Therefore, and whilst many interior decorators may disagree, our opinion is that when looking to sell a property, neutral colours provide more appeal. These make it easier for potential buyer to imagine their décor that matches their incoming furniture.

You may already have neutral colours and in that case, consider whether a lick of paint would help lighten and brighten the room so it looks crisp and clean.

Always remember to play to your property’s strengths, choosing appropriate colours and styles. Brighten up dark corners or hallways with lighter shades.