Selling your home is a stressful event; the prospect of strangers looking into every nook and cranny of your personal living space is enough to make you change your mind about moving.
But if you are set on moving home here are some tips to make sure your house sells quickly and easily (no mean feat in today's housing market): Get Rid of Old Carpets Old, dirty carpets are a real turn off for buyers, particularly if they are also in a dated pattern or colour.
You might think you can't afford to replace them but it is definitely worth considering doing so even if you can only replace them with a very cheap carpet.
A clean, new, budget carpet is better than a 30 year old Wilton covered in stains.
Better still would be wooden flooring; again a budget laminate will look fresh, clean and contemporary.
If you really can't stretch to replacing the old carpets then look underneath; if you have floorboards in reasonable condition, you may be better of just dumping the carpets altogether.
Clean the bathroom.
Cleaning a bathroom to prepare a home for sale does not mean a superficial wipe with a standard bathroom cleaner but a really thorough scrub.
If necessary get the professionals in who can work wonders on mould, dirty grout and scaled up taps.
Buy new towels, bath mats and other accessories that will spruce up even the oldest bathrooms, that's assuming you have a white bathroom suite, and remember that you can always take these things with you.
If you are unfortunate enough to have a dated coloured suite from the 1970s or 1980s then you may have to think about replacing it if the house doesn't sell quickly but providing it is priced appropriately this may not be necessary.
Tidy up the garden You don't have to go to the trouble or expense of buying new plants but you will need to mow the lawn (and keep it mowed regularly), tidy up the edges and get rid of any weeds.
If you have a pressure washer, or can borrow one, then also clean up the patio, paths and any other hard surfaces.
A few statement plants, such as standard bay trees, in pots by the front door always look impressive and, again, you can take them with you to your new home.
Clear Your Clutter Last but definitely not least you need to understand that your personal possessions are presenting your home as suited to your lifestyle.
You may love your children's drawings, or your embroidered cushions and the mementoes of all your travels but these things never show a house off to its best advantage.
So whether you like it or not you need to get rid of the clutter so that you can present the house as a blank canvas so that potential buyers can visualise their possessions in the space.
Although furniture is clearly required to define a space, some of it should probably go in order to aid that visualisation process.
It is not necessary to sell or dump your clutter as it is easy and cheap to rent a self-storage unit but you will have to go through the process of de-cluttering, which is not always easy, especially if you have been living in your home for a few years.
But creating a clutter free home is one of the most effective ways of making your home appealing to a potential buyer.
But if you are set on moving home here are some tips to make sure your house sells quickly and easily (no mean feat in today's housing market): Get Rid of Old Carpets Old, dirty carpets are a real turn off for buyers, particularly if they are also in a dated pattern or colour.
You might think you can't afford to replace them but it is definitely worth considering doing so even if you can only replace them with a very cheap carpet.
A clean, new, budget carpet is better than a 30 year old Wilton covered in stains.
Better still would be wooden flooring; again a budget laminate will look fresh, clean and contemporary.
If you really can't stretch to replacing the old carpets then look underneath; if you have floorboards in reasonable condition, you may be better of just dumping the carpets altogether.
Clean the bathroom.
Cleaning a bathroom to prepare a home for sale does not mean a superficial wipe with a standard bathroom cleaner but a really thorough scrub.
If necessary get the professionals in who can work wonders on mould, dirty grout and scaled up taps.
Buy new towels, bath mats and other accessories that will spruce up even the oldest bathrooms, that's assuming you have a white bathroom suite, and remember that you can always take these things with you.
If you are unfortunate enough to have a dated coloured suite from the 1970s or 1980s then you may have to think about replacing it if the house doesn't sell quickly but providing it is priced appropriately this may not be necessary.
Tidy up the garden You don't have to go to the trouble or expense of buying new plants but you will need to mow the lawn (and keep it mowed regularly), tidy up the edges and get rid of any weeds.
If you have a pressure washer, or can borrow one, then also clean up the patio, paths and any other hard surfaces.
A few statement plants, such as standard bay trees, in pots by the front door always look impressive and, again, you can take them with you to your new home.
Clear Your Clutter Last but definitely not least you need to understand that your personal possessions are presenting your home as suited to your lifestyle.
You may love your children's drawings, or your embroidered cushions and the mementoes of all your travels but these things never show a house off to its best advantage.
So whether you like it or not you need to get rid of the clutter so that you can present the house as a blank canvas so that potential buyers can visualise their possessions in the space.
Although furniture is clearly required to define a space, some of it should probably go in order to aid that visualisation process.
It is not necessary to sell or dump your clutter as it is easy and cheap to rent a self-storage unit but you will have to go through the process of de-cluttering, which is not always easy, especially if you have been living in your home for a few years.
But creating a clutter free home is one of the most effective ways of making your home appealing to a potential buyer.
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