Hints and Tips for Selling your House

The Doherty Lees Real Estate team will help you present your home to prospective purchasers in the best possible light. It is often the little touches that can make the difference in achieving a reasonable price and a great price.

First Impressions - Yes they really do count. A good first impression is a lasting impression. A good first impression will welcome the potential purchaser into your home, make them feel comfortable and enable them to see past any minor inconveniences.

Open For Inspections - We recommend that before these events take place your home is cleared of all cooking smells, cigarette smoke and pets. Open curtains and blinds. Turn lights on in dark rooms. We also suggest that you consider the inviting scent of freshly cut flowers or the welcoming aroma of brewing coffee.

• Pets - Remove pets or keep them safely confined.
• Valuables - Keep them with you or lock them safely away.

Exterior

• Tidy your garden, removing weeds from flower beds, pathways and driveways;
• Remove any cobwebs from eves and dust from windows and flyscreens;
• Ensure your swimming pool is sparkling clean;
• Check that your letterbox is in good condition and your house number can be easily viewed from the street;
• Clean windows;
• Remove leaves and debris from gutters and replace loose or cracked roof tiles;
• Ensure the entrance to your home is easily accessible and inviting. Remove any shoes and children's toys and bikes;
• Position wheelie bins in a discrete location and remove any overflowing rubbish;
• If you have a door bell make sure it is in working order;
• Plant some seasonal, colourful plants in any empty garden beds or in pots to give a fresh and cheerful look.

Interior

• Remove clutter from all rooms and store elsewhere until your home is sold;
• Ensure kitchen and bathrooms are in pristine condition as these rooms are always closely scrutinized by purchasers. Replace washers on leaking taps etc. Avoid a cluttered look by removing kitchen appliances and keep your bench tops clean and cleared. Keep your pantry neat and tidy;
• Storage spaces appear larger when neat and tidy. Pack and store any extra linen and other items that you will not require;
• Make beds and remove clothing from floors;
• Clean air conditioners, ceiling and exhaust fans;
• Ensure furniture placement in all rooms allows for ease of movement. Extraneous furniture should be removed to allow a feeling of space and to give the prospective purchaser the opportunity to visualise a room with their own furniture.