How to present your home for inspections

Selling your beloved family home? Yes, it’s gorgeous and anyone would be lucky to snap it up. But remember; affection can make you blind to its imperfections.

Try putting yourself in a buyer’s shoes before going to market and really critique the place - warts and all.

If you’re looking for a good price, ask your agent for a brutal list of to-dos to help your property shine.

Then roll up your sleeves and get working on:

Curb appeal

Your sale begins from the moment a potential buyer drives by or parks outside. What they see can make their hearts soar or sink - before they step foot inside.

So, try parking at the front of your property and casting a discerning eye over the place.

Ask yourself:

• Are garden beds weeded and the grass mown?
• Are toys cleared off the lawn?
• Would planting or pruning enhance street appeal?
• Are paths and driveways swept and pressure washed?
• Do all outside lightbulbs function?
• Are the front fence, gate and letter box well painted?
• Are bins hidden away?

And, most importantly, would I buy it?

For very little cost and a weekend’s work, you can enhance your street appeal significantly.  Front yard presentation can create a real heart connection, driving increased competition and a higher price. 

Cleanliness

Buyers will ‘feel’ a well cleaned property from the moment they walk through the door - just as they will recoil at a dirty one.

If you’re looking for a strong price, cleanliness can be a big sway factor.

While most of us live happily alongside hand marks on walls, dusty skirting boards and some mouldy bathroom grout, those things will stand out to potential purchasers.

At Jackson Jones, buyers often tell us they feel at home in a property because the vendors have high standards of hygiene. Clean equates to care, which indicates a property has been well maintained over the years.

If a home is dated, buyers can usually see the upgrade potential and may be excited by the capital-add potential. But if its dirty or smelly, they can struggle to get enthused about taking on a project.

When giving the place a good scrub, don’t forget to:

• Clean windows and window frames
• Dust blinds
• Check every light works
• Remove ceiling cobwebs
• Clean the oven
• Wipe down cupboard interiors
• Wipe down all surfaces
• Remove all animal hair

If this all sounds too hard, hiring a cleaner to do a first deep clean can be a great investment - then you just need to keep on top of things.

Quick fixes

Tackle those small jobs about the place that you’ve been ignoring.

That includes:

• Re-grouting around tiles
• Touching up paint and silicon
• Replacing leaky tap washers
• Patching wall holes
• Replacing cracked glass
• Ensuring gates, doors and windows open and close properly

But be careful not to overcapitalise and spend thousands that you won’t get back on sale price. Just tend to the low-hanging fruit.

Styling

Styling isn’t all about getting professionals in to fill your home with gorgeous pieces.

Again, it’s about taking a step back and working out what will appeal to buyers seeing it for the first time.

Can they move easily between rooms and around furniture items? Will they be able to picture themselves cooking in your kitchen or relaxing in your loungeroom?

Decluttering is always a good plan, although don’t get rid of so much that your home looks sterile and characterless.

Defining spaces helps, too. Consider dressing your smallest bedroom as an office if the home doesn’t have one - or turning an unused hallway recess into a study nook.

The same goes for outside. Aussies love to entertain, so even if your outside space is tiny, adding a table and chair makes the space useable and increases appeal.

Dressing living spaces with feature cushions, prints, vases and rugs which you can then take to your next home is an option. And it’s amazing how a stylish retro toaster and kettle combo can up the appeal of a bland kitchen counter.

Of course, if you do decide to hire professionals to style your home, the results can be sensational. In our experience, professionally dressed homes sell faster and always at the top end of budget expectations.

Light

If your home is light-filled and airy, happy days! Your agent will use this as a major selling point.

Always look to maximise natural light by opening blinds and drawing curtains back as far as possible.

For those who don’t have that luxury, make sure that your home is well lit and your lighting is organised to ensure there are no dingy corners.

You may love low wattage LEDs, but buyers often have a strong negative first impression reaction to homes that feel dark - even if they can easily add more lighting.

Always look to sell your home in its best light - literally. Don’t go for evening inspections if the sun drops behind a nearby mountain range early. And don’t schedule them for 10am if that’s when the winter glare is blinding through your patio windows.

Smell

Smell is the most primal of the senses, making the scents in your home vital to buyer perceptions.

Yes, its lovely to open the windows and allow hints of vanilla and freshly mown grass to drift on through. But if it also invites in the neighbour’s Baby Keam playlist or the air brakes of passing double B’s, that’s not helpful.

Opening the windows for an hour will help get rid of stale odours before you close up again for inspections.

Scented candles, fresh flowers and quality room sprays can all help create a favourable impression. But don’t overdo it with strong incense or perfume – you can just as easily drive buyers out as draw them in.

The memory of how a space smells will linger long after your buyers have left. After hosting inspections at one particular property, the caramel-scented candle always made me want to head straight to the nearest bakery. I loved the smell of that home…which was sold within a week.

And finally

You’ve got the property ship-shape, Now ship out!

When buyers are inspecting, it’s far easier for agents to do their job if you’re not taking zoom calls in the study. Buyers are more likely to relax and picture themselves in your home if you’re not in it.

At Jackson Jones, we make sure you’re easily contactable during inspections, so if the buyers ask curly questions, we can get them an immediate answer and eliminate lingering doubts.

A significant number of buyers are nervous around dogs, so take pooches out during inspections, if possible. Cats are less of a problem, but some people may still be allergic to Fluffy. And buyers will focus less on pet smells or marks if those pets aren’t to be seen.

Remember, you’ve done the hard work. Grab a coffee and let someone else fall in love with the place..