Selling your property can be a crazy ride and it might take a longer – or even a shorter – time than you imagined. Get yourself selling and moving-ready as soon as possible so that you’re ready for impact.
Start decluttering as soon as you decide to sell
You need to start on this before you’ve even instructed an estate agent. Clear away shoes and coats that are out of season, hide your hair removal cream under the bathroom sink and leave your kitchen counters as open and spacious as possible.
It might even be an idea to depersonalise your space by removing kids’ artworks from the fridge, sports certificates, photos and fussy trinkets. You might feel like you’ve created a void, but viewers will fill it with visions of themselves living in your property.
Redecorate
Once you’ve cleared the decks, give them a new coat of paint. There’s nothing like removing all the clutter to show up scuffs and grubbiness, so get to work on it! If your kitchen’s looking a bit tired, replace the cupboard doors, and put plants in those suddenly empty spaces (where laundry and cricket pads used to be…).
Do a deep clean
Ideally, you should get the professionals in, but if you can’t afford this, clean the oven, de-scale every conceivable surface and brave the badlands behind the sofas.
Then start on the garden
Lots of viewers are put off by a neglected or overgrown garden, so make sure yours is looking its best. If you have the space, place a new table and chairs in a prime evening cocktail sort of position.
Find the best estate agent
This isn’t the one who comes up with the highest valuation, as some agents will make unrealistic promises so you instruct them. Go for the middle-of-the-road figure, especially if it’s from an agent that’s got a fair number of “Sold” signs in the area.
Start your paperwork early
Find and instruct a conveyancing solicitor early on so you can get a break-down of all the costs involved. Ideally, agree on a fixed fee for the service beforehand and then collect together all the property’s paperwork, such as boiler service records, building certificates and guarantees for double glazing and the like.
Invite in the viewers
You should let the agent take care of this and, ideally, you should leave the building! If you have a busy family life, then it might be an idea to hold an open-house viewing once a week to get as many viewings as possible in one go.
