Top Tips On How To Sell Your House Fast

Selling your house can take a while, which can be a real nuisance if you’re waiting to move house. If you’re struggling to sell, you can try some of these tips to make selling your house much faster. 

Garden

If you have outside space, then you need to make it look like an appealing place to spend time in. A lot of people see a garden or a balcony as an extra room or an extension of the house, so it could be a deal-breaker. 

• Cut the lawn. Untidy grass makes a garden look ugly. A trim can get it looking neat and attractive to potential buyers. 
• Put the bins out of sight. Bins aren’t appealing and can make the outside of your property look cluttered and untidy. If you can, hide them somewhere like a garage or an alleyway. If you can’t, consider building a small store in your garden to store the bins in. 
• Make it secluded. An overlooked garden can be off-putting for buyers so put up fences or hedges to prevent this. 

Outside

Any good real estate agency, like Compass, will tell you that curb appeal is everything. People often make a decision about whether or not they’re interested in buying a property before they even get inside. It’s important to get your home looking good on the outside, not just the inside.   

• Clean windows. If your windows are covered in a layer of dirt it will your home seem unloved and unlooked after. Cleaning will help the appearance and make it look better inside. 
• Ensure the house number is visible. You want people to be able to find it easily when they come for a viewing. 
• Leave an outside light on. In the winter, when it gets dark early, leave a light on the outside. Leave it on until you go to bed so people passing by can see your house.
• Cut back overhanging trees and large bushes. These look messy from the outside and can block light from getting inside the house, making it feel gloomy. 

Appearance

Staging a property, like property developers do when they are trying to sell a home, is a good way to get someone to fall for it. 

• Tidy up. For every viewing, make sure your house is clean and tidy. Buyers won’t want to have to step over your toddler’s toys or look at last night’s dishes waiting to be done. 
• Lay the table for dinner. Get out the best plates, napkins, and glasses. A set table helps people to imagine themselves in your home, having a family dinner or hosting a dinner party. 
• Make the beds. Choose neutral bedding and accessorize them with cushions so they look inviting. 
• Add fluffy towels to the bathroom. Fold the towels. Make sure they are clean and a neutral color. 
• Turn on lamps. This can make dark corners look brighter and can make your home feel cozy. 
• Make it smell good. Bake bread or brew coffee to disguise the smells of pets or cooking. Burn scented candles or essential oils too. 
• Control the temperature. Make the house is warm in cold weather and cool in hot temperatures. 
• Use seasonal flowers. Flowers can make people feel good. If you don’t want to spend on fresh flowers, buy some good quality fake ones. 
• Get rid of clutter. If you have a lot of old toys, knick-knacks, or just a lot of stuff sitting around the house, then try to find somewhere to store it. This will make your rooms feel bigger and give a blank canvas which makes it easier for people to picture themselves living in the property.  
• Remove mail from the doormat before viewings. A pile of mail left on the doormat can make it hard for the potential buyer to even get inside when they come for a viewing. It can also make the house feel more unwelcome. 
• Put rooms back to their original use. If you are currently using the dining room as a playroom for the children, and the spare bedroom as an office, try to put these rooms back to the use that they were intended for. People can sometimes find it difficult to picture a house as a three-bedroom home if they can’t see all three. 

Decor

How your property has been decorated, including the color of the walls, your furniture, and the condition of the carpets and wallpaper, can cause a potential buyer to either love or hate it immediately.

• Paint over brightly colored walls. People can be put off by bright colors in a property. Some of these colors can make rooms feel small. Instead of bright colors, choose neutral colors. If you really need to add some personality or color to a room, do it with accessories like flowers or cushions, rather than paint. 
• Replace brightly patterned or peeling wallpaper. Some people really like wallpaper, whereas others really hate it. If you have wallpaper in your home, try to imagine you’re seeing it for the first time. Does it have a bold, bright pattern on it that might not be to everyone’s taste? If so, it’s going to be best to replace it with something a bit more neutral. If the wallpaper is peeling, have it repaired or replaced. 
• Touch up the paintwork. In day-to-day life, it’s inevitable that walls, floors, and skirting boards will suffer from wear and tear, especially if you have pets and children running around. Touching up the paintwork on these, or giving them a completely fresh coat of paint can have a big effect on the room. Don’t forget to also check and touch up the paintwork on ceilings. This is especially important if you like to burn candles, as these can make your ceilings filthy. 
• Cure mold and damp spots. Mold and dampness are unsightly, and they can also be bad for your health. It can become very difficult to get rid of if you leave it untreated. Unfortunately, you can’t just decorate over a damp patch and hope for the best without curing the root of the problem. If you do this, the damp will only come back quickly through the paint or wallpaper. 
• Strip wooden doors and floors. Stripping old wooden doors and floors can give them a new lease of life and give your property a touch of something unique. This can take a little while to do, but it can be well worth doing. It can look particularly effective in period properties. 
• Replace tired carpets. If your carpets look worn or are hanging onto the smells of cigarettes of pets, replacing them can improve your property immediately. 

Kitchen

The kitchen in your property is one of the biggest selling features. If the kitchen is outdated or shabby, then you might want to think about having a new kitchen put in. If you can’t afford or don’t want to spend this money on a home you’re moving out of, then there are some smaller, more affordable things that you can do to improve the look of your kitchen. 

• Replace the worktops. A new worktop can make your kitchen feel fresh again. 
• Paint or replace cupboard doors. If your cupboards look dated, but the carcases are still in good repair, then you can just paint or replace the doors and get the feel of a new kitchen. If the doors aren’t a standard size, there are lots of companies that make custom doors at a reasonable price. 
• Replace tiles. Tiles can date a property. Replace them with more modern ones. Choose neutral!