Getting your house ready to sell

So you’ve found the house or flat of your dreams and you’ve already started planning where you’ll put the furniture and what colour you’ll paint the walls. Now, all that stands between you and future domestic bliss is the small matter of selling your own property…

A quick sale is what you need, but the process of selling a property can be fraught with frustration and disappointment if you don’t observe some simple rules when buyers come to view. Follow these tips from LDG estate agents and you should be successful. Specialists in Soho properties, they’ve helped many homeowners make that all important sale.

By the time most of us decide to move, we will have fallen slightly out of love with our current homes. Lack of space, small garden, tired décor, limited parking: it’s easy to come up with a list of what’s wrong, but in order to sell your property you will need to reconnect with the reasons why you bought it in the first place.

Your first step should be to make a list of the things that attracted you to buy (make sure all these good points are reflected in the estate agents’ details). Remember the buzz you felt when you first walked through the door? What were the features that really stood out for you then and how can you maximise their impact for potential buyers this time around?

You’ll be familiar with your property’s worst features – that’s why you’re moving, after all – but you should try to look at them objectively. You may not have the time or resources to completely redecorate but there’s a lot you can do to hide the worst defects.

Has your spare room become a dumping ground? Then buy some cheap storage containers for your surplus stuff and conceal the rest under the bed. Possessions lying on windowsills or piled on top of wardrobes are a dead giveaway that your current property lacks adequate storage space, so clear up, and clean up.

Fix any outstanding DIY job – there’s nothing more off-putting for a buyer than to be confronted by a dripping tap in the bathroom, weeds growing out of the guttering or broken tiles in the kitchen. The message these unfinished jobs convey is that you haven’t taken care to maintain your property.

You may have been planning to replace that old kettle, toaster and bread bin as soon as you move, but the best time to purchase those items is now. Put fresh flowers in the hallway, clean towels in the bathroom and make sure that all the usual sights and smells of daily life (socks on the radiator, dog hairs on the couch) are banished.

Finally, even though you may FEEL desperate to make that sale, try not to show it. Don’t follow viewers around like a lost dog, give them some space to explore on their own (if you’re worried about security, make sure that any valuables are well concealed). Prepare in advance for buyers’ questions and offer them the answers that you would want to hear, especially when it comes to that all-important phrase: “We’ve always been very happy here”.