Selling a house, especially if you are looking to make a profit from it, has never been easy! It requires a lot of preparation. This is particularly true for a city whose property market has, in recent months, seen exponential growth like Brighton&Hove City. For instance, over the last year, the city has seen a total of 3958 homes sold, which was a 15 percent increase from the previous year, and the prices also increased exponentially. This is to tell you that the market is actually proving to be quite favourable to sellers. Now, when it comes to selling your house, you just can’t sell it as is, unless you are looking to make some quick cash – which is always less than the initial buying price. But if you want to sell it at a profit, you got to work on it first. Having said that, we will give you a few, very important tips on what you can do to transform that property before you sell it.
Understand the local housing market first – for starters, before you even do anything with regards to the house, you need to do your homework first. What we mean by this is that you go to do more research on the local housing market. So, do a little bit of digging on Hove’s real estate market, paying special attention to the square footage and the various features of the properties usually on demand in that specific area. You also need to do a few comparisons of your home with a few other homes in the area, and in the region. This way, you will have an idea of the kind of improvements that would make your property competitive. You will also have an idea of how to price the property.
Declutter – if you’ve looked at house images before, perhaps you’ve noticed that there is one thing common in all of them – that there is very little in them. You know why? It’s because it lessens distractions. See, keeping your rooms without clutter allows prospective buyers to concentrate more on the space available rather than what is contained in it. So, make sure that you get rid of the day-to-day items that keeps piling all around the house, as well as excessive toiletries in your bathroom. Remember about the hallways as well, given that they are the main entryways to your home. Make sure they are clean and clear of any clutter, especially if you are about to receive viewers, or take photos for listing. Go as minimal as possible, and you will certainly be on the right track.
Depersonalize – this is similar to decluttering, as it’s where you remove most of your things from the house, to enable the prospective buyers to create a mental image of what the house can look like if they were to buy it. Let them dream a little, and it’s these little things that might easily be the deciding factor. We understand that depersonalizing the house will not always be easy, but the truth is, you need to think about why you are doing it.
Boost the property’s lighting – when it comes to selling any house, the lighting matters a lot. Actually, there is no doubt about that! Whether it taking photos of the house, or in-person viewing, the lighting factor is very crucial, as it can also easily be the deciding factor between buying and not buying. When readying your house for sale, if the property doesn’t have enough natural light, maybe you might want to consider changing that. This is particularly so for those rooms that are dark – introduce natural light. Floor and table lamps will also be very important in adding extra brightness, especially during the winter months. Basically, before you start showcasing your property, always make sure that there is enough light throughout the entire home.
Get rid of all the smells – if there is something that could turn potential buyers away pretty quickly are foul smells from the house. Sources of foul smells in your house could be things like pet beds, toilets, rubbish bins, mustiness, carpets, etc, which you need to ensure that they are well taken care of, especially before the property showings. In equal measure, you need to watch out on the good smells as well – don’t go overboard as it can also act as a turn-off. Subtlety is key! If you don’t know where a certain smell is coming from, consider involving professional cleaners who would be able to find the source and clean it. The cleaners will also help you select the smells that would be appealing to the buyers. So, no matter what, make sure that there are no off-putting smells.
Do some repairs all around the house – never ever sell a house without having a handyman come check everything out, whether they are in their perfect conditions or not. Most likely, there will be a few issues here and there that would require to be fixed, including locks, running toilets, cracks in the wall, leaky faucets squeaky doors, broken appliances, etc. When you try to sell a home with such kind of problems, of course, the buyer will automatically assume that you haven’t taken good care of the house, and for sure, it will turn them off. So, get a handyman first, and once he tells you everything is fine, then you can go ahead.
Do some painting work – when selling your house, of course, you want it to look as gorgeous as possible, and one way to ensure that this happens is by doing some repainting. Both on the interior and exteriors. Make sure that your choice of paint colors is brighter, welcoming, and warm. Remember, a fresh coat of paint will also allow you to cover some minor wall imperfections.
Get a local real estate agent – lastly, property agents do play a significant role in all successful property transactions, and we highly recommend that you hire one to help you in your sale. Hove estate agents understand the local market pretty well, and that’s exactly what you need. Find an agent with experience, both on the local market as well as national market. Also, make sure he or she is well-conversant with social media, as it could be one of the several ways you could find prospective buyers.
Final word
First of all, congratulations on this step you are about to take. Secondly, we hope that you will find these tips helpful and that you will be able to make the most out of your investment. Good luck!
