Buying a house is invariably the most significant investment we ever make. Because of the extent of this financial and emotional commitment, we all endeavour to get the best possible price for our property when it comes to the time to move on. Part and parcel of selling your home is making sure your house is as flawless as possible. To give you a head-start, we have put together only the most cost-effective and time-efficient tips.
First impressions are important
It can be difficult to recover from a poor first impression, so it’s imperative to make sure your house’s exterior is in ship shape! Tidying up an unkempt front garden, wiping smudged windows and giving the front door a lick of paint should be just a few of your priorities when you are striving to make your house more presentable.
Fix structural problems
You may think you can keep any structural defects away from prying eyes but any evaluator worth their salt will quickly identify any underlying problems with your house. It therefore goes without saying that any missing or broken roof tiles have to be replaced, any leaks have to be patched up and any structural cracks have to be addressed.
Keep a blank canvas
You have to put yourself in the mind-set of the buyer – they want to imagine their own furniture and accessories in the rooms, so keep a neutral colour scheme to make this as easy as possible.
Pet bowls and beds may be endearing to the few, but to the majority, they can be off-putting. Personalised touches can create a barrier that potential buyers will struggle to see past, preventing them from visualising themselves living in such an environment.
Invite light into your home
Not only will natural light give your house a more homely feel, but it will help to make the rooms seem more spacious. Relieving your home of thick, heavy, oppressive curtains in favour of light voile curtains is a sure-fire way to invite light into your home. Light can also make rooms feel more spacious.
Make space
Space brings with it possibility. A potential buyer can envisage themselves manipulating an empty space to cater for their every whim and desire. Installing mirrors into a cramped hallway can effortlessly create the illusion of bigger rooms – as can simply ridding your home of unnecessary clutter.
The best of a bad bunch
If you really want to drastically alter the value of your property with a sizeable investment, experts have estimated that loft conversions add the most value to your home (10%) compared to adding an extra bathroom (6.1%) a new kitchen (5.8%) or a conservatory (5%). Rather surprisingly they found that central heating is potentially the most economically viable alteration you can make, with an added 5.4% value for a comparably meagre £3235 investment.
Whatever changes you elect to make, it is worth remembering that there is very little point adding value to your property to the extent that it becomes an outlier for your area. Very few people will want to pay £400,000 for a house in a £250,000 area. The simplest tips often prove to be the best, and the housing market is no different.