Five tips on how to spruce things up for sale

OK, so you’re looking to cash in on our red-hot sales market, but your home is showing some age...

A full-scale makeover before sale can be costly, time consuming and ultimately futile if you fail to recoup what you spent - or if you develop unrealistic expectations for price. As Jackson Jones director Richard Jones says: “For every dollar you spend, make sure you’re adding at least two dollars in value.”

Renovations can really add appeal, but our advice is to work smart: Unless you’re planning a full-scale overhaul, cosmetic improvements can make a world of difference without costing the earth. And right now, getting your home listed pronto could be more important than making it overly schmicko.

Here are five top tips on how to speedily spruce things up for sale:

1) Scrub, scrub, scrub

When you live in a space, you don’t always see grubby hand prints on the walls and mouldy grout around the shower base. But buyers will. A dirty or smelly home is downright unappealing. It pays to make your home sparkle.

2) Touch it up

Chipped paintwork is generally easy to fix and touch-ups inside and outside your home make a big difference to their appearance. Vivid paint colours can limit your pool of buyers and may be worth toning down pre-sale. New tapware is another inexpensive fix which can work wonders to modernise a tired space.

3) Fix the bad stuff?

Buyers can see past dated bench tops, but defects like shower leaks or sub-standard guttering should be fixed properly if you're looking to get the best sale price. Issues identified in pest and building inspections can spook buyers into withdrawing or decreasing their offers. However: Any investment here should be discussed with your agent. Sometimes a negotiated price is better than significant investment.

4) Declutter

Buyers like to walk in and visualise themselves and their furniture in a space. That’s hard to do if your collection of stuffed frogs is littering the living room. Or if chunky dining sets and plush sofas are making good-sized rooms look pokey. Personal items and general clutter should be put into storage or packed away. And dominating furniture should be kept to a minimum.

5) Outside chance

Kerb appeal isn’t necessarily about a picket fence and colonial façade. A tidy garden with swept entrance path, mown grass, pruned plants and easily visible house number shouts “I am loved” and paints a picture of a well-maintained home. First impressions are powerful, so make yours count.