How to Prepare your Home for Sale

Creating the smell of fresh coffee or warm bread is not the only way to make potential buyers fall in love with your property

They say the smell of fresh coffee or freshly baked bread can help make a property more appealing to viewers when your a home owner looking to sell your home.

While aromas that generate a positive response can help viewers fall in love with your home, London Bridge estate agent Williams Lynch says the key to increasing a property’s appeal is to dress it in a way that will match your target buyer’s aspirations.

This means that you might have to take an objective view of the furniture and possessions on display before inviting viewers in.

Many vendors have possessions that they love, and have great sentimental value, on display in their living areas, but they can be a turn-off for viewers, says Belgravia estate agent Best Gapp.

One way to increase the appeal of your property to a certain group of buyers, such as young professionals or growing families, is to put yourself in their shoes.

This means appealing to the side of who they want to be, and not necessarily who they are. If you are putting a family home on the market, for example, you might want to place a large dining table in one room that will allow everyone to sit round and eat together.

Although the family buying your home might have busy lives and normally eat their evening meal in front of the living room TV, you need to paint a picture of their dream lifestyle.

South London estate agent Eden Harper –which has branches in Brixton and Battersea - has come up with a 12-point checklist that every vendor would be wise to follow.

·         Make sure that your house is clean, tidy and organised.

·         You might want to think about d-cluttering and sending a few boxes of belongings to a family member to look after.

·         If the house hasn’t seen a lick of paint for a few years, it is worth doing it. Keep colours neutral and fresh looking.

·         Bring your bathroom up to date and new-looking with tile paint.

·         Try to keep your master bedroom decoration as genderless as possible.

·         If you have an old fireplace, give it a clean-up and a polish and try to turn it into a feature.

·         You can stain kitchen cabinets to give them a new, modern and fresher look – and it is a lot cheaper than buying a new kitchen.

·         Think about adding a dishwasher or tumble drier. Although it might be a substantial amount of money that you have to pay now, you will probably get that back in the price of your house.

·         Give patios a steam clean to remove any weeds or algae. This will make a difference to the whole of the outside of the property.

·         Buyers love light and airy rooms, so try to keep your windows as clutter free as possible, open them if you can and make sure that the glass is glistening to allow in the maximum amount of light.

·         Show how much storage space you have or can create. It might mean buying cupboards, or borrowing from a friend, but it will make a difference.

·         Remember that people do snoop, so don’t shove everything inside a cupboard. Make sure that everything is organised inside your cupboards as well as outside.

Estate agents cannot stress enough the importance of getting your house looking right for viewings. By setting people’s imaginations on fire with what they can do with your property, you can be sure that it will be easier to sell the house.